Francis H. Becker: 'incredible sense of justice'

BECKER, BEEDLE, HUGHES

Posted By: Cheryl Locher Moonen (email)
Date: 10/3/2015 at 23:15:28

Francis H. Becker: Becker remembered for 'incredible sense of justice'

More than a half-century ago, a "pipe-puffing, sandy-haired" lawyer was elected to the post of Dubuque County attorney. Francis H. Becker, so described by a 1965 Telegraph Herald article, later served on the Iowa Supreme Court. After stepping down, the Dubuque native entered private practice in Des Moines until moving to Washington state to live with his daughter, Redd, and her family.

On Feb. 3, Becker died at his Bellingham, Wash., home. He was 95. "He was constantly in pursuit of the right solution, the right answer," said Becker's son, Chuck, of Des Moines. "He had an incredible sense of justice. He looked at all sides of the issue and wanted the result to be something that was fair. I think that's what I remember most about him."

Becker was born in Dubuque in 1915. He attended Columbia College, now Loras College, and graduated from Washington University Law School in St. Louis in 1939. He practiced law in Dubuque until enlisting with the Army Air Corps during World War II and serving in the China-Burma-India theatre. Chuck said his father flew cargo planes over the Himalayan mountains to deliver supplies to the troops in China. The planes often times were so packed full of supplies that they barely cleared the mountaintops.

Becker married Alice Beedle in 1945, and after returning to Dubuque he served as county attorney from 1947 to 1951. After several years in private practice with Al Hughes, Becker was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court in 1965. A TH article that year about Becker's appointment called him a hard-working, well-grounded trial lawyer. "In court, he gives a smooth presentation, based on a briefcase full of facts. He is no arm waver or shouter before juries," the article stated.

Becker resigned from the court in 1972, and he went back into private practice in Des Moines. Becker's daughter, Leslie, said the family considered their father the "dapper dresser" of the bunch. In his retirement, he often wore handmade bolo ties and bright colors - deep blues, purple, yellow. Becker also grasped a command of language, using words that sent his children scrambling to the dictionary. When Leslie asked him about a particular word, he'd often reply that he didn't even know if he used it correctly. "And you know what, he was always right on the money, with denotation and connotation," she said. "He wasn't proud; he was very humble."

Becker is survived by his four children, Leslie, Doug, Chuck and Redd, and seven grandchildren. There will be no service at his request.

Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA) - Friday, February 11, 2011