William Becker D.D.S, M.S.D, O.D.hc's Obituary
Bill was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Helen & Morrie Becker June2, 1936. He was a child there among many relatives. His father worked in the family grocery store. His mother used to have him take care of his younger brother if she was busy. One time she asked Bill to take Burton for a haircut. The barber asked Bill how to cut it and he said "give him a buzz" so when he went home his mother was mad that the barber had cut his hair so short.
Bill always liked dogs, so he would bring home any stray dog. Most of the time he wasn't allowed to keep them. When he was 7, he moved to Tucson with his mother and brother. He was excited about going West, so he wore his levis and toy gun. They travelled by train and when it stopped in New Mexico for people to get off and buy lunch at the station Bill got off and went to talk to the Indians sitting in front of the station. The station master called "All Aboard" and his mother couldn't find Bill. She was frantic because she didn't want to leave without Bill & couldn't leave Burton alone on the train. Finally he was found & got on the train.
He attended schools in Tucson and his Tucson High School report card shows that his best grade was a 1 in Physical Education. He ran around with a mischievous crowd that sometimes got into trouble. He used to roll his father's car out of the driveway after his parents went to sleep and then start it and go to see his friends. In the summers he would visit his relatives in Milwaukee. He was friendly with his cousin Irving who was a general dentist. From that time together he decided to study hard and become a dentist. He always said that he didn't want to work with screws and nails like his father did in his hardware store. Oddly enough with all-Bill's schooling he became a dentist who specialized in dental implants so he was back to using screws.
He was always curious about how things worked & sought out education on how to improve on them. After he graduated from dental school he didn't feel adept enough to go into private practice so he took a dental internship at Beth Israel Hospital in NYC. He didn't know how to speak Yiddish to the patients so his AfroAmerican assistant taught him. At that time he was married to Joyce. He had been given deferments and had a low draft number so he decided to volunteer for the Air Force. Joyce didn't want to spend 2 years in Bermuda so he signed up for Japan. Little did he know he would be sent to a very remote base in Northern Japan. There he & Joyce met very close friends that he is still close with. Karen was born there. When President Kennedy was killed he was called back to the base. It was raining very hard so he wore his raincoat. He was surprised that no one else had on a raincoat until the commander told him to take his off since it was disrespectful.
While living in Japan he decided he wanted to specialize in Periodontics and saw that Baylor had a 2 year program while other schools were all 3 years. He applied and was accepted but then found out that the 2-year program was only for foreign students not Americans living in foreign countries. After Japan he & Joyce were in Tucson watching the Huntley-Brinkley Report on TV about Squibb using Boplant to grow bone in the jaw. He applied for a grant and Squibb paid for his & Joyce's living expenses and all his tuition & school expenses in Dallas.
When he returned to Tucson to open his Periodontal practice Mark was born. He always liked fishing and in later years went to a fly-fishing school in NY. He used to take the family, including his father-in-law fishing.
He always wanted to learn more about growing bone so he went to UCLA to study with the specialist there. He also wanted to give back to his profession so he went every other week to USC to volunteer in the perio department.
Bill had many close friends, mentored many dentists, and had a great sense of humor. His family was very important to him. He will be missed by many people.
What’s your fondest memory of William?
What’s a lesson you learned from William?
Share a story where William's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with William you’ll never forget.
How did William make you smile?
