William Elliott Becker

~Always in Our Hearts~ William “Bill” Elliott Becker, age 77, passed away at home surrounded by his family on Saturday, January 20, 2018. Born to William and Maxine Becker on August 28, 1940 in Cleveland, Ohio, Bill had a happy childhood. His interests included playing the clarinet in a band, debate team and bowling. After joining the Navy at age 20, Bill traveled the world on various ships including USS Simon Lake, USS Enterprise, USS Prairie and finally the USS Kitty Hawk, specializing in Nuclear Weapons. During this time he developed a passion for classical music and stamp collecting that spanned several years. Bill met his future wife, a young Scottish lass, Fiona, on one of his tours of duty in Holy Loch, Dunoon, Scotland in 1967. After an unconventional courtship they married in Scotland in 1972, began a family and settled in San Diego in 1976. Retiring from the Navy after serving his country for 30 years, Bill began his second career with Southern California Edison (SCE) in San Onofre, California in Project Engineering. Bill retired a second time after 15 years with SCE to spend more time with his wife and travel. Bill especially enjoyed road trips and seeking out strange and unusual places. He also began building model train layouts. Adding to the enjoyment of retirement was the arrival of not one, but seven grandchildren (six rambunctious boys and one sassily sweet girl) within a five year period. Being known as ‘OPA’ was one of his greatest joys. He had a unique sense of humor and never missed an opportunity to teach and tease them. Bill is survived by his wife of 45 years, Fiona; children Gwen, Ian, Moira and Sheona; grandchildren Nicholas, Noah, Rex, Bradley, Olivia, Troy and Travis; sister Judy and brother Bob and an extended circle of family and friends. William E. Becker will be laid to rest on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at 10:00am with full military honors at: Miramar National Cemetery 5795 Nobel Drive San Diego, CA 92122 https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/miramar.asp Please arrive sharply at 9:30am as we will have a car processional to the burial site at 9:50am. Note: Floral arrangements can not be accepted for this military service. A memorial service and reception will follow at 11:30am at: Trinity Church 3902 Kenwood Drive Spring Valley, CA 91977 http://www.trinitypres.org/home.html