Stewart Becker ’26

Stewart Becker died Apr. 24, 1995, at Park Vista, a retirement community in Youngstown, Ohio. After our graduation Stewart spent two years in China teaching with PrincetoninPeking and traveling extensively in the Far East and in Europe.

In 1928 Stewart married Leila Hopper. He worked for General Electric until 1939, when he moved to Tucson because of his failing health. In 1941 Leila and their two boys reunited with Stewart in Denver, where Stewart had started an instrument company. In 1947 the family moved to Tucson, where Stewart began a teaching career in the physics department at the U. of Arizona. In 1950 he earned an MS in physics there, and in 1954 a PhD at Texas A & M. At the U. of Arizona, he transferred to the electrical engineering department and taught there until he retired in the mid-1960s. In 1988 Stewart and Leila moved to Park Vista, which is close to their son, Lawrence.

Stewart's principal interest was ham radio. He had one of the earliest licenses granted to ham operators. He wrote many articles, was an accomplished photographer, and worked extensively with cloisonne and polished stone jewelry.

Leila lived but nine months after Stewart's death. Their son John died in 1961. They are survived by son Lawrence, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

The Class of 1926