Alan D. Becker ’48

Alan D. Becker ’48 died September 16, 2013, in San Francisco. At Dartmouth he was a member of Pi Lambda Phi. He then attended Harvard Business School for an M.B.A. in 1951. Al moved to San Francisco in 1957 to become the co-owner of J. and B. Shoes Co., which had a concession with the Joseph Magnin’s department store chain. After selling his interest he entered a variety of entrepreneurial efforts ranging from medical devices to shopping center redevelopment. Interested in giving back to the community, he became director of planned giving for the Asian Art Museum. In 1988 he established his own consulting firm as a business and personal coach for not-for-profit executives and others, wherein he was active until his terminal hospitalization. He was immersed in the inner circle of the San Francisco Democratic Party, where the family home was a frequent stopping place for nationally known politicians such as George McGovern, Ted Kennedy and John Anderson. He was a two-time delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Learning that the collection known as the San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum had been evicted from the public library, he persuaded the War Memorial Board to lease part of the Opera House for $100 per month to house it. Passionate about the arts, he traveled around the world to art festivals and opera performances with his second wife, Carole, whom he married in 1991. He is survived by Carole, sons Jim, John and Daniel and grandchildren, Rachel, Jake and Cole.