Gordon Francis Beck

GORDON FRANCIS BECK lived large, loved to sing, play golf, and tell tales. His singing, though woefully off key, was joyful. He adored Susie, his wife of almost 49 years, and bragged on his children and grandchildren at every opportunity. He died peacefully at home on July 2, 2013, at the age of 69, with his family and dog, Boudreax, by his side. Gordon lived all over the world and spoke several languages. He was born in Oklahoma to Robert William and Ruth McCain Beck, raised in Venezuela, and educated in Missouri, New York and Arkansas. One summer, while visiting his grandmother in Little Rock, he met and fell in love with Susie Lowe. They wed on Aug. 14, 1964, and never looked back. He held various jobs all over the country in electrical engineering, computer programming and human resources. The Beck family moved all the time, living in Missouri, Texas, Ohio and Florida, before moving home to Arkansas in 1979. In 2002, he was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, and he immediately focused on treatment. He was honored to receive a double lung transplant on March 13, 2005, and referred to that date as his "new birthday." He took pride in his existence on the frontier of medicine, and particularly enjoyed the company of a certain silver-haired cowboy doctor from the East Coast. Though he had difficulties after his transplant, he took care of those lungs, and owes the last eight years of his life to the healthcare professionals at Vanderbilt and UAMS, as well as to his loving wife, and the lung donor and her family in Blytheville, Ark. During those "bonus years," he built a wooden boat with his sons and sailed it in the Gulf, saw three beautiful grandchildren born (Gordon, Evey and Felix Beck), delighted in the antics of his teenage grandsons (Patrick Seigrist and Bryan Lowe), and was proud that his eldest grandson, Sam Giles, is a combat medic-in-training in the US Army. He was grateful that all four of his children (Robin Devan, Marc Beck, Michael Beck and Bob Beck) are happy and healthy. Gordon left many friends and family reeling in the wake of his generous spirit. He loved his brother, Bob Beck of San Antonio, with a ferocity that some found uncomfortable. They finished each other's sentences. It was weird. Brothers-in-law, Marcus and Alan "Buz" Lowe, and Bill Bruton; sisters-in-law, Elizabeth Beck, Lou Bruton and Angela Lowe; son-in-law, Bob Devan; and daughters-in-law, Traci and Amanda Beck - all feel the loss but are uplifted by having known him. His spirituality was a comfort to him. He served as an Elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Little Rock. His church family, friends and relatives will gather at the church on Scott Street at 1 p.m. on July 8 to celebrate his life. His was a life well-lived. "So long, and thanks for all the fish."