Obituary: Joseph (Joe) Becker
Joseph (Joe) Becker was born in a farmhouse near Blue Earth,brMinnesota. Joe was the fourth of six children born to Ambrose and Alma Becker,brwhom made their living by farming.
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Joe’s formal education began in a one room school for the firstbreight grades. At the age of sixteen, a disastrous crop failure forced Joe tobrseek another way of life to earn a living.
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World War II was in full swing, and manpower was in short supply.brNo one asked for age, or license as long as the job got done. Joe startedbrworking for W.C. Tilbury of Delavan, Minnesota at the age of 16. A lot of truckbrdriving was required, hauling to local markets. Several years were spentbrdriving for Gamble-Robinson of Albert Lea, and Farmers Union of Mankato,brMinnesota.
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In 1948 Joe met Mary Ann Flowers of Cleveland, Minnesota. Theybrwere married on February 15, 1950 and Mary Ann became wife, partner, sweetheart,brand very best friend. Of this union four children were born. Joseph, Thomas,brCatherine and Richard Becker.
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Joe purchased his first truck and became an owner-operator driverbrfor Kreutzer Motor Express of Mankato, Minnesota. Joe moved his young family tobrAlbert Lea, bought his first home, and began an eight-year association withbrAlbert Lea Transfer Company.
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January of 1964 saw the beginning of Becker HI-Way Frate. Joe andbrfamily built the one truck operation into a fleet of trucks, that served 1000brcustomers in 38 states. Joe continued driving while operating his own repairbrshop; for the company trucks, five full time mechanics, under Joe’s supervisionbrgot the job done. When the Vocational School was established, Joe was asked tobrbecome a member of the advisory board for the diesel mechanics classes. Somebryears later he Chairman of the Board, and soon became an Evaluator for thebrState of Minnesota, Department of Education; for the Diesel Mechanics courses,brat the various State Vocational Schools.
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brSeeing the need for more formal education Joe through the years took manybrtraining courses to further his own education; among some, Train the Trainer,brCommercial Motor Vehicle Safety Inspector, Refrigerant Recovery &brRecycling, Department of Transportation Safety Course, Installation andbrMaintenance of Air Brake Systems to name a few.
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The first drivers hired for Becker HI-Way Frate, were hand pickedbrand trained by Joe for six-month period of time. These drivers remained withbrthe company for several years, and never were involved in a reportablebraccident. The success of this program became the basis for the Becker DriverbrTraining Program that followed. The Efficiency part of this program has beenbrcopy righted. This program was co-sponsored by the Albert Lea Technical Collegebrin 1990. The school, and Joe were licensed by the State of Minnesota in 1991,brwith the blessing of the Minnesota Department of Education.
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Safety in the workplace and safety on the highway, sharing thebrroad with others has always been the forefront of any Becker training. Thebrresults have been recognized by the Insurance Industry as well as Department ofbrTransportation. Many coveted plaques covering years of safety in the workplace,brhighway safety have been received. Some Becker drivers hold 40 plus years ofbrsafe driving awards. Joe himself, holds 60 plus year, and enviablebrrecord.
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A special Thank you to all former employees, and students of thebrdriver training school, for all the kind words of sympathy, and encouragementbrat this difficult period of time.
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The family wishes to acknowledge for the following specialbrdoctors/nurses who made our caring for dad easier. Nurse Kirstin Meyer, and Dr.brMichael Ulrick who helped Joe’s greatest need. Dr. Mina Hanna, and those nursesbrof the Oncology Dept. Dr. Sanders, and all those of the Wound Center, Hospicebrnurses: Stacy, Erin, and our late-night guardian angel: Rachael.
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Joseph is survived by his children: Joseph (Sandy)Becker,brCatherine, son-in-law, (Terry) Sippel, and Richard Becker; daughters-in-law,brDelores Becker, JoAnn Becker; grandson, Jason (Kim) Becker; sister in-law, InabrMae Fischer, brother in-law David (LaDona) Flowers; brothers-in-law PhillipbrBorgemeier (Linda), Dale Hennek, sisters-in-law, Janet Hanf, and Iva LoubrBecker; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife: MarybrAnn, death of his parents: Alma, and Ambrose Becker, his sisters: Victorine,brVeronica, Mildred, brothers: Kenneth, Harold, his son: Thomas Becker,brbrothers-in-law: Howard Flowers and his wife: Lorraine, sister-in-law PaulinebrGraham and her husband James, Francis Flowers, and his wife Lucile, CharlesbrFlowers Jr., sister-in-law, Margie Borgmeier, father-in-law and mother-in-lawbrCharles and Etta (McFadden) Flowers, brothers-in-law Frank Fischer, brother-in-lawbrRobert Traynor, sister-in-law Lucille Becker.
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Included in his list of family members are the neighbor kids,brclassmates, and friends that adopted Joe, and Mary Ann as their own; especiallybrAngie (Teddy) Keniksman; who they considered to be their daughter.
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