Marvin Becktell

Passed away Friday morning, May 24, 2013. His journey began on April 9, 1921 when he was born to Jacob and Josephine Libove in Denver, CO. His father died in 1927, and he was adopted by his mother’s second husband, Homer Becktell in 1938. In 1943 Marv married Elizabeth Hickish and enlisted in the Army Air Corps. During WWII he served as a navigator on a B24 Liberator in the Pacific theater. After the war he returned to CU, graduating in 1951 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. The couple had two boys, Marty and Gary, and divorced in 1956. That same year he met Phoebe Stevenson. They married in Denver on June 22, 1957, almost 56 years ago. Their children are Kathy and her husband Steve Chervnsik, Patty and her husband Glenn Olson, and Joel. In 1959 Marv joined Sandia National Laboratory in Livermore, and was transferred to Albuquerque in 1969. He worked there as an engineer in weapons and energy related research and development projects. He retired in 1985. During his career Marv was an active member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, holding offices at both the local and national levels. During the children’s high school years, the family “adopted” three foreign exchange students: Thomas Capelle from Germany, Nathalie Bertrand (then Colmant) from France, and Luca Marzana from Italy. Over the next 35 years, the couple traveled extensively enjoying the exotic and the poignant of the people and places around the world. Family was always Marv’s focus. When each of their five grandchildren reached the age of 13, Marv and Phoebe shared their love of travel with them, taking each to a country of his or her choice. As the family grew, Marv treated everyone to a week-long family reunion in a house large enough to hold them all together. Following a month long cruise in late 2011, Marv’s health declined. Bit by bit he gave up pieces of his independence, which he took gracefully, continuing to live life as fully as he was able, attending plays and concerts and playing bridge. Following a hospitalization in January of 2013, Marv’s congestive heart failure continued to weaken him. By early May he was ready for hospice. He was blessed with the daily care lovingly provided by Rose du Chaussee, Nick Griego, and Rose Garcia. During Marv’s final three weeks, family gathered in groups to hear his stories and share memories. His sense of humor never diminished, and it was a joy to hear him joke and laugh from his bed set up in the living room in the hub of activities. He loved it, but said, “This is a hell of a way to have a family reunion.” Marv was preceded in death by his parents. Among his survivors are his wife, Phoebe; the above-mentioned children; nine grandchildren; one great-grandson; and his sister, Renee Filipow. Marv’s family would especially like to acknowledge Amber Care Hospice, the three caregivers, and the Nightingales for the gifts of compassion and love they provided Marv and the entire family on this last mile of his life-long journey. A celebration of Marv’s life will be held Sunday, June 2, 2013, 5:30 p.m. at FRENCH – Wyoming. Following this the family will host “Happy Hour” at their home as Marv requested. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that friends and family commit a random act of kindness in celebration and continuation of Marv’s legacy of openheartedness.

Marvin Becktell

April 9, 1921 - May 24, 2013