In Remembrance Of Thomas J. Beck

May 28, 2015

Thomas J. Beck, professor emeritus at Thaddeus Stevens College in Lancaster, Pa., passed away on April 14 at Hershey Medical Center. Tom was born in Lancaster, Pa. The son of Edward J. and Mary Beck, he graduated from Lancaster Catholic High School in 1958 and found employment for a year at the Hamilton Watch Company. He soon enrolled at Millersville University and graduated with a major in both history and English in 1964. He received his Master's in Education from Temple University.
Tom's first employment after college was with the School District of Lancaster as an English teacher at Edward Hand Junior High School. In 1971, he accepted a position at Thaddeus Stevens College, where he taught a variety of communication topics until his retirement in 1999. His area of expertise was technical writing.
During his tenure at Stevens, Tom served on and chaired various committees. In 1992, he was president of the faculty senate. He held membership in a number of education associations. Tom also taught business communications for the Penn State branch campus in Lancaster County.
Tom also held his real estate license for over 15 years with Dan Diller Realtors.
After retiring from education, Tom and his wife enjoyed traveling to different parts of the world, including over 60 countries. He was also an active member of both the Lancaster County Master Gardener Program and the Lancaster County Postcard Club, where he twice served as president. In 2005, he compiled a commemorative centennial book about Stevens College for the school's 100th anniversary.
Tom's hobbies were family photography, bird watching, and his great love was vegetable gardening.
He is survived by his loving wife, Betty J., Lititz, Pa., and two daughters, Allison Gordon, wife of Barry, East Windsor, N.J., and Pamela Degler of Lancaster, Pa., and two grandchildren, Alexander and Elizabeth, East Windsor, N.J.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 20, at 11 a.m., at Brick Gables located at 800 East Newport Road in Lititz, Pa.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Thaddeus Stevens Foundation, 740 East End Ave., Lancaster, Pa. 17602. The arrangements have been entrusted to the Spacht-Snyder Family Funeral Home and Crematory.





 

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