DENNIS BECKER

DENNIS BECKER  
Loving father, grandfather, husband and brother, died at home on April 18, 2018, after a battle with cancer. Dennis was born to George and Marion Becker in California in 1935 and moved with his parents and brothers, John and Mike, to Swarthmore, PA in 1946. He graduated in Economics from Swarthmore College in 1956 and then served two years in the Army, mostly in Germany. He graduated from George Washington University Law School in 1961, serving on their Law Review editorial staff his final year. In 1958 Dennis married fellow Swarthmore grad, Carol Dubivsky, with whom he had three children: Steve, Sally and Elizabeth. He married twice again, first to Frances Aubrey and then to Nancy Benedict Rix, with whom he spent the final 25 years of his life. Most of Dennis' career as an attorney was with the Federal Government, from which he retired in 1990 after serving with the US Bureau of Public Roads, the Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture. The highlight of his career of which he was most proud was the two and a half years he spent desegregating school districts in the South. In his retirement, Dennis was a major contributor to the incorporation of the town of St. James, NC, doing the necessary legal work to ensure it became a municipality. He served on the first Town Council as its Mayor Pro-Tem and was involved in town governance for many years. Dennis travelled extensively, enjoyed photography and golf, and loved to play cards, having recently attained the level of Regional Master in bridge. He loved spending time with his and Nancy's children and grandchildren, and he died believing he had led a full and fortunate life. Dennis is survived by his brothers, his wives and his children, as well as sons-in-law Tom and Brian, daughter-in-law Kirsten, grandchildren Sean, Stephanie, Kristin and Nick, Nancy's family and many, many friends. At his request, there will be no public memorial services.