Hubert Preston 'Herb' Beckers, 88

Hubert Preston "Herb" Beckers, 88, died at his home in Kalispell on Thursday, July 24, 2008. He was born on his family's farm north of Bigfork on Sept. 7, 1919, to Herbert and Gena (Cook) Beckers.

From the time he was a child, Herb worked on the family farm. When he was young, he worked in the fields, pulling weeds and harvesting crops. As soon as he was able to drive, he sold berries and vegetables door-to-door in Kalispell and to grocery stores as far away as Havre and Great Falls.

He graduated from Bigfork High School in 1937 and won a scholarship to Carroll College in Helena. While there, he worked for and lived with Pete and Esther Tongren, who became a second family to him. He transferred to Montana State University and worked as a caretaker at the Catholic Church in exchange for a place to live, returning to Helena to work for the Tongren's during summer breaks. He played trumpet for the MSU Bobcat marching band. He attended ground school and learned to fly airplanes when he was not working or attending class. In 1942 he graduated from Montana State University with a major in agriculture and a minor in economics.

After Pearl Harbor was bombed on Dec. 7, 1941, Herb received a draft notice. He had participated in ROTC in college and he was an accomplished pilot by the time he graduated. He had signed a letter of intent to join the Army Air Corps after graduation, and he reported to Twenty Nine Palms, Calif., and served with the West Coast Training Command, first as a glider pilot instructor and later as a flight commander in the U.S. Army Air Force Program. He received his honorable discharge Dec. 7, 1945. He was a patriot and he loved his country. After he was diagnosed with his last illness, Sen. Wayne Allard of Colorado arranged for an American flag to be flown over the U.S. Capitol in honor of "Hubert P. Beckers, a great American patriot."

Herb began work as a soil conservationist with the United States Department of Agriculture in Thompson Falls in February 1945. He spent weekends working in Bigfork on the family farm until it was sold and his father retired. He worked as an engineer and work unit conservationist in Thompson Falls, Hot Springs, and Chinook, and as a district conservationist in Miles City.

He married Margaret Gilligan on Aug. 13, 1951. He retired from the USDA as the area conservationist in Billings in 1975, and he and his wife returned to Kalispell.

The family is especially grateful to Jerry and Lois Styck, neighbors of more than 30 years, to Dr. Timothy Stutzman and his staff, and to the hospice caregivers who were so kind to him - and to his family - during the last months of his life.

Herb was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Charles; and his sisters, Marie and Margaret.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Margaret Beckers, of Kalispell; his three children, Betty Strobel and husband, Kevin, of Greeley, Colo., Jim Beckers and wife, Susan, of Billings, and Mike Beckers and wife, Roberta, also of Billings; and his seven grandchildren, Ryan and Kathryn Strobel of Greeley, and Brooks Johnson and Angelica, Gena and Allison Beckers, and Matt and Amanda Beckers, all of Billings. He is also survived by four great-grandchildren, Valerie, Andrew, Aundrea and Trystan Johnson, of Billings.

Mass of Christian burial will take place at 12:30 p.m. Monday, July 28, at St. Matthews Catholic Church, with Father Dan Wetzler as celebrant. Interment will be afterward at C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery. The family will gather for a rosary at 6 p.m. today, July 27, in the Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home chapel.

The family requests that memorials be made to the St. Matthews Building Fund, Home Options Hospice in Kalispell, or the Montana Association for the Blind.

Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for Herb's family. You are invited to go to www.jgfuneralhome.com to offer condolences and sign Herb's guest book.