Bernard Becker ’41

Bernie died Aug. 28, 2013, at his home in the Central West End of St. Louis. He was 93 years old and a professor emeritus of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at Washington University School of Medicine.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he prepared at James Madison High School. A chemistry major at Princeton, Bernie won the Freshman First Honor Prize as well as the Wood Legacy, Old English, George A. Howe Analytical Chemistry, and Robert Thornton McCay Chemistry prizes. He graduated with highest honors and membership in Phi Beta Kappa. He was a student tutor and roomed with Joe Koven all four years.

Bernie attended Harvard Medical School and then trained in ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins. In 1953 he joined the faculty at Washington University as chairman of the department of ophthalmology. For more than 35 years he helped the department become an internationally recognized research and teaching center. In 1978, students, faculty, and patients led the endowment of two professorships in his name.

Bernie was a collector of rare medical books that he donated to the Washington University Library. He is survived by Janet, his wife of 63 years; his children, Stephen, Jack, Bud, William, and Robert; and 10 grandchildren. He was predeceased by his daughter Diane.