The Honorable Theodore W. Becker

1949 - 2024

Theodore W. Becker, a former District resident, past Mayor of Lewes, Delaware, and beloved community member, passed away at age 75 at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 6, 2024 at Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia, PA.

A native of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, Mr. Becker received his bachelor's degree from Ohio State University; following graduation he served as an officer in the medical corps of The U.S. Army for six years; thereafter in the National Guard from 1978-1994. He and his partner, W. Joseph Stewart, made their home on Capitol Hill for more than 30 years during which time Mr. Becker worked for the U.S. Department of Education and, later, as a retail executive, overseeing a national chain of decorator fabric showrooms.

Mr. Becker and Mr. Stewart purchased their home in Lewes in1974, and proceeded to acquire retail properties along Second Street, as well as a marina on Pilottown Road.

After Stewart-Becker Properties acquired today's Inn at Canal Square on Front Street in 2000 and began renovations there, Mr. Becker became a full-time resident of Lewes, in order to devote his time to property management.

In 2000 he and Mr. Stewart initiated and led a community-wide effort to save Lewes' waterfront from development. Both became founding members of the Greater Lewes Foundation, which organized an $11 million campaign to purchase the land and create the Lewes Canalfront Park, which opened in 2008.

Mr. Becker was elected to Lewes City Council in 2004 and served five terms before becoming Mayor in 2014. As a Councilman, he was instrumental in strengthening Lewes'. Historic Preservation Code which established the city's historic district.

Always looking to the future, Becker worked closely with Mayor James Ford to float Lewes'. first City Bond Bill, raising $19 million to upgrade City sidewalks, sewer, and water service, and lighting, City Hall, and Police Department expansion and to construct a new sanitation plant for the Board of Public Works.

Mr. Becker served on the board and finance committee of Beebe Hospital beginning in 2005; remaining ss an emeritus board member thereafter.

In 2021 Mr. Becker was appointed by Governor John Carney as a Delaware Commissioner on the Delaware River and Bay Authority. Earlier, in 2005, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner had also named him to the Delaware Health Commission.

In 2022, after two terms as Mayor, Mr. Becker turned his interests to the threat posed to Lewes and other coastal communities by climate change. He organized Lewes, Bowers Beach, Slaughter Beach and Kent and Sussex Counties, to join together to create the Bay Beach Association.

In December 2022, Mr. Becker underwent regenerative heart surgery to correct a condition. Before his recent illness, Mr. Becker was working actively with the GLF on an $8 million project to save the Fourth Street Preserve in Lewes.

A public Celebration of Mr. Becker's Life is being planned for Saturday, October 26 at 11 a.m. (rain date Sunday October 27) at the Lewes Canalfront Park, 211 Front Street, Lewes DE. His interment in Lewes will be private.

Donations to the Fourth Street Preserve project are encouraged in lieu of flowers, c/o the Greater Lewes Foundation, P.O. Box 110, Lewes, DE 19958.

Please visit Mr. Becker's Life Memorial at