Mr. Theodore "Rudy" Becker

March 4, 1933 - November 6, 2017

Theodore R. Becker (aka Rudy, Root, Dad, the Ru-meister and Pe-Paw), passed away peacefully November 6, 2017 at Juniper Village Memory Care in Williamstown, NJ, where he had lived since June 2015. His wife Doris, with whom he had shared sixty-four years of marriage, was by his side. Rudy was a career production chemist with the DuPont Company for twenty-seven years and a participant in the company’s “see America plan”; Rudy, Doris and their children lived in the Midwest and up and down the east coast over his tenue. He retired from DuPont in 1985 and began his second career as a house painter and skilled laborer for his children’s various home projects. He loved tooling around his property on his tractor and maintained a substantial vegetable garden. He routinely delivered Jersey’s ugliest/tastiest tomatoes in five-gallon buckets to family and neighbors and was known for grandly oversized zucchini. Rudy was an accomplished distance runner, having competed in high school, college, and adulthood, completing over thirty marathons after turning fifty-five, including Boston, The Jersey Shore and the Marine Corp marathons. He enjoyed the competition, camaraderie and ability to consume large quantities of food without gaining weight. He loved being around his kids and grandkids and the opportunities to provide advice/opinions about almost everything. In addition to his wife Doris (Stapleton), he is survived by five children, Michael Becker and wife Vickie (Harrah), Ellen Becker Adams and husband James, Mary Becker-Pashanamaei and husband Bijan, Paula G. Becker, Joanna Becker-Lippincott and husband David, son-in-law William MacDonald and grandchildren Duncan MacDonald, Ainsley MacDonald, Casey MacDonald, Kristy Becker Lashley, Annika Lippincott, Keeyan Pashanamaei and wife Devon, Melissa Dawson and husband Jimmy, three great-grandchildren, Brandon, Olivia and Aiden and many nieces and nephews. Rudy was predeceased by an infant daughter, Janet Marie and daughter Phyllis Carol Becker MacDonald. A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, November 18, 2017 at Trinity Old Swedes Episcopal Church in Swedesboro, NJ at 11:00 am. Arrangements by McBride – Foley Funeral Home, Paulsboro. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Trinity “Old Swedes” Church Historic Preservation Foundation (www.trinityswedesboro.org) or any organization supporting kitties and puppies. Memories can be shared at www.mcbridefoleyfh.com.