September 27, 2011

CLAYTON, N.Y.  —  Bernard John Beck, 94, formerly of Cape Vincent and Clayton, passed away Friday, Sept. 23, at Samaritan Keep Home, Watertown.

The family will receive friends 5:30 to 6:20 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, at Cummings Funeral Service, Inc., 320 John St., Clayton, followed by a prayer service at the funeral home at 7 p.m. Burial will be in Calverton National Cemetery, Long Island.

Born Dec. 10, 1916, in Plain Edge, Long Island, the twelfth and last child of Felix and Charlotte Wiltberger Beck, who had emigrated from Europe in the early 1900s, he had attended Catholic grade school in Huntington Station, Long Island, graduated from Northport High School, and attended Officers Candidate School, Ft. Monmouth, N.J.

Bernard enlisted in the Army in 1939 and served in Hawaii through the 15th Coast Artillery until 1940. During World War II, he served as a 1st Lieutenant through the 129th Signal Radio Intelligence Company, European Theater. He was honorably discharged in November of 1945.

On Oct. 5, 1941, he married Dorothy Mae Scudder, of Huntington, at Ft. Hancock, N.J. She died July 4, 1999. 

Between late 2000 and 2009, Bernard and his close friend and companion, Irma Hammond, lived in Cape Vincent. They traveled and maintained their hobbies, interests and family connections until he relocated to Clayton, followed by assisted living and further care at Samaritan Keep Home, Watertown.

Bernard had worked for RCA and Voice of America. He was a recording supervisor for Columbia Broadcasting System in New York City for 25 years, retiring in 1980.

He had attended St. Patrick's Church, Huntington, Long Island before moving to Cape Vincent where he attended St. Vincent of Paul's Church. In 2009, he moved to Strawberry Lane, Clayton and attended St. Mary's Catholic Church.

Mr. Beck had been a member of the Eastern Apicultural Association, as a hobbyist beekeeper, and the Knight of Columbus. He enjoyed many years as an amateur radio operator, woodworking, spending time working on his sawmill in the Adirondacks, his hives of honeybees, and vegetable gardening.

Surviving are four sons, Bernard Clyde and his wife, June, San Jose, Calif., Paul Lawrence, Mountain View, Calif., Jerome Morton, Plattsburgh, and Anthony Stephen and his wife, Helen, Clayton; eight grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

His daughter, Dorothy Susan Beck-Cooney, died in 2005. All his elder brothers and sisters also predeceased him: Theresa, Carl, Joseph, Lucien, Marie, Theodore, Sophie, Mary, Otto, Philip, and Paul.

Donations may be made in his name to the Knights of Columbus, James St., St. Mary's Church, 521 James St., or T. I. E. R. S., P.O. Box 524, all in Clayton, NY 13624.

Information provided by Cummings Funeral Service and Newzjunky.com, Watertown