Joseph Beck

Joseph “Joe” Albert Beck, 89, of Wooster, died Monday, December 22, 2008 at West View Manor in Wooster. Friends may call Saturday, December 27, 2008 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm at the Roberts Funeral Home-Sherwood Chapel, Wooster. Memorial services will be January 3, 2009 at 11:00am at St. Mary Catholic Church with Fr. Steve Moran officiating. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Erie, Pennsylvania at a later date. Online tributes may be made at www.robertsfuneralhome.com

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice & Palliative Care of Greater Wayne County, 2525 Back Orrville Rd., Wooster, OH 44691.

Mr. Beck was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pa. He attended Mt. Mercy and St. Paul’s Cathedral Elementary schools and graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1936. He received a B. S. Degree in Engineering from Carnegie Institute of Technology. (Carnegie Mellon University.)

He entered Pilot Training in the U. S. Army Air Corps in the fall of 1940 and received his pilot wings in May 1941. In 1942, he was transferred to the Troop Carrier Command and went to England with the First Air Corps Units sent there. His unit dropped airborne troops in the invasions of North Africa and Sicily. In 1944, he was transferred back to England and promoted to Commander of a newly arrived squadron.

He flew operations in the Invasions of Normandy and Southern France. In the Invasion of Holland, he was shot down and ended the European War as a Prisoner of War. During his military career he was the recipient of the distinguished service cross, the distinguished flying cross, 4 air medals, 9 battle stars and the Croix De Guerre and reached the rank of Lt. Colonel.

After the war, he left the service and returned to graduate school, receiving an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1947.

He worked for 19 years in South America in Uruguay, Venezuela and Argentina for a series of companies including Coca Cola, U. S. Steel Corp. and H. B. Maynard Co.

After returning to Pittsburgh in 1966, he worked for the K. K. Porter Company Inc. and then joined the Keystone metal Company in 1971 to manage its plant in Newark, NJ. He moved to Westfield, NJ and finally retired from Keystone in 1985. He worked as a Consultant for several years before joining the Engineer Corps of The Internal Revenue Service where he worked in the Manhattan Office. He was a member of the Harvard Club of New York City and had been a member of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association and the Edgeworth Clubs in Pittsburgh.

He married Martha on November 15, 1950 while in South America and had three children. The family has lived in Westfield, Mendham, Cranford and Mountainside, NJ.