Robert Richard Becker

Robert Richard Becker of Corvallis passed away peacefully on Aug. 25, 2013, in the presence of family. He was 90 years old. The son of Rudolph, a Lutheran minister, and Hermine, “Bob” was born on Feb. 16, 1923, in Rabbit Lake Township, near Aitkin, Minnesota. He was the youngest of five children and is preceded in death by his brothers Arnold, Leonard, and Herman and his sister Ruth. The Becker family soon moved to Wahpeton, North Dakota, where Bob attended school and displayed an early interest in chemistry, a field of study he would pursue his entire life. In 1942, Bob earned a scholarship to Harvard University, which he attended before joining the war effort. He served as a meteorologist for the Army Air Corps and was de-commissioned as a First Lieutenant in 1946. Following World War II, Bob finished his undergraduate degree at the University of North Dakota. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry, with an emphasis in protein chemistry, from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Bob realized his childhood dream of becoming a college professor at Columbia University, where he taught for eight years. He also worked as a biochemist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Union Carbide. It was during the Columbia years that he met Mary, who received a doctorate in biochemistry and nutrition and shared an enthusiasm for proteins. Married in 1956, they formed an inseparable bond, sharing a rich and productive professional and domestic life together. The Becker family moved to Corvallis from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in 1962 and have called this community home ever since. Bob enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Oregon State University until his retirement in 1989. He led an active research program specializing in the modification and aggregation of proteins, with important ramifications for immunology and disease control. He was a highly regarded instructor and graduate advisor, and was recognized as such as the recipient of the College of Science’s Carter Award for Outstanding Teaching, the Ritchie Distinguished Professor Award, the OSU Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award, and the Curtis D. Mumford Faculty Service Award. Never one to relax at home, Bob continued his thirst for knowledge into retirement, teaching courses at Ocean University in Qingdao, PRC, studying deep ocean vents aboard the deep-sea submersible Alvin, collecting data from helicopter surveys into the bowl of the still-active Mount St Helens volcano, and serving as the all-knowing science wizard for his grandchildren. Bob believed in serving both his academic and civic communities, and his contributions will remain timeless. He served as one of the first presidents of the OSU Faculty Senate, was a leader in the American Association of University Professors, and was one of the founders and the first president of the Association of Oregon Faculties. He served on countless OSU committees, task forces, and advisory groups, notably as a member of the Board of Intercollegiate Athletics (he was a devoted Beavers fan). Bob was also an officer and leader in several retirement organizations, including the board chairmanship of Oregon Public Retirees, Inc. He served as the Oregon Chapter President and Northwestern Regional Representative of the American Heart Association and worked from the 1970s onward on behalf of anti-tobacco legislation at both the state and local levels. He was a part of the driving force that curbed the public use of tobacco in Corvallis and was a proud recipient of the Maurine Neuberger Award for Distinguished Career Achievement. Anyone who knew Bob knew that - after his family and his profession - the driving force in his life was fishing. He took his daughters fishing from a very young age, handcrafted fishing rods for his grandchildren, and spent three weeks each summer for 20 years fishing in the wilds of Alaska. He had a great love for the high desert and the cabin that he and his family, friends, and graduate students helped to construct. He and Mary led an active retirement, traveling to visit their daughters' families, competing in bowling leagues, and enjoying friends in their exercise class. Bob is survived by his wife Mary; daughters Nancy Roberts (Greg) and Janet Becker (Mark Merrifield), and grandchildren Sophia and Anna Merrifield, and Jennifer, Katharine, and Jeffrey Roberts. A memorial service to celebrate Bob’s life will be held on Saturday, September 14th at 11:00 AM at McHenry Funeral Home, followed by a reception. A private burial at the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland will occur later in the week. In lieu of flowers, please direct gifts in Bob’s memory to the American Heart Association: www.heart.org

Tributes

Robert Richard Becker

February 16, 1923 - August 25, 2013