Obituary for Harry Robert "Pat" Beck
Harry Robert (Pat) Beck died peacefully in the house he loved on May 12, 2022. He was born on April 5, 1963, at Wheeling Hospital to Harry and Jean Beck.
Pat often told how, when he was a newborn infant, he was placed in his great-grandmother's arms. She took one look, smiled and promptly expired. So began a life rich with stories and adventures. At the age of 17, he ran away to follow the drum. But the US Army, it being 1980 instead of 1880, sent him back home to complete his senior year. He served honorably as an MP, investigator, a machine-gunner, a paratrooper, and a sniper, participating in Reforger, and in missions in Central America before his discharge in 1985. After laboring as a Domino's delivery driver, he moved to Pittsburgh to work in the security field. Shortly after moving, he met and wooed the love of his life, later to become his wife of 27 years- Gretchen (Miller) Beck. He had several professions over the years: private investigator, security and police work, school bus driver, truck driver, and finally the profession that gave him the most joy, Minister, and Wedding Officiant with the United New Testament Church. He married many happy couples of all faiths, cultures, colors, and persuasions. Throughout life and in each of his professions he gathered and told stories of all he met and their whys and wherefores. He was at his best when telling a story, and could make his audience laugh, then cry, with a quick turn of a phrase. Like Scheherazade, he kept his friends, family, and acquaintances enraptured with his tales.
In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by his brother, Harry, and survived by his sister, Bonnie Jean (Beck) VanGilder, his niece, Kristine Knudsen Farabee, his brother Mike Prettyman, and his half-sister, Lisa Shiner. Harry and his other half, Gretchen, had no children. On the day of his cremation, the heavens wept.
A memorial service will be held during the summer. Those wishing to make a memorial to Harry are asked to make a donation to Orphans of the Storm (No Kill Animal Shelter), PO Box 838, 11878 PA-85, Kittanning, PA 16201 (https://www.orphansofthestorm-pa.org/), the shelter from which his favorite pet cats, Cricket and Sparky, were adopted. Please add or view tributes at www.beinhauer.com.
Pat often told how, when he was a newborn infant, he was placed in his great-grandmother's arms. She took one look, smiled and promptly expired. So began a life rich with stories and adventures. At the age of 17, he ran away to follow the drum. But the US Army, it being 1980 instead of 1880, sent him back home to complete his senior year. He served honorably as an MP, investigator, a machine-gunner, a paratrooper, and a sniper, participating in Reforger, and in missions in Central America before his discharge in 1985. After laboring as a Domino's delivery driver, he moved to Pittsburgh to work in the security field. Shortly after moving, he met and wooed the love of his life, later to become his wife of 27 years- Gretchen (Miller) Beck. He had several professions over the years: private investigator, security and police work, school bus driver, truck driver, and finally the profession that gave him the most joy, Minister, and Wedding Officiant with the United New Testament Church. He married many happy couples of all faiths, cultures, colors, and persuasions. Throughout life and in each of his professions he gathered and told stories of all he met and their whys and wherefores. He was at his best when telling a story, and could make his audience laugh, then cry, with a quick turn of a phrase. Like Scheherazade, he kept his friends, family, and acquaintances enraptured with his tales.
In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by his brother, Harry, and survived by his sister, Bonnie Jean (Beck) VanGilder, his niece, Kristine Knudsen Farabee, his brother Mike Prettyman, and his half-sister, Lisa Shiner. Harry and his other half, Gretchen, had no children. On the day of his cremation, the heavens wept.
A memorial service will be held during the summer. Those wishing to make a memorial to Harry are asked to make a donation to Orphans of the Storm (No Kill Animal Shelter), PO Box 838, 11878 PA-85, Kittanning, PA 16201 (https://www.orphansofthestorm-pa.org/), the shelter from which his favorite pet cats, Cricket and Sparky, were adopted. Please add or view tributes at www.beinhauer.com.