Vincent Becker, Jr.

A funeral service for Vincent Becker, Jr., 79, of Newark, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday at Brucker and Kishler Funeral Home, with chaplain Brian Humphreys officiating. Burial will follow at Newark Memorial Gardens, where military honors will be conducted by the Licking County Veterans Alliance. Family will receive friends from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home, 985 N. 21st St. Newark.

Vincent passed away April 19, 2021, at his residence. He was born March 16, 1942, in Newark, OH, to the late Vincent Becker, Sr. and Louise (Lescalleet) Becker.

Vince attended Woodside Elementary & Central Junior High. Prior to his ninth grade year, the family moved to a new development off Dry Creek Rd which required him to move to Utica High School where he was involved in both baseball and track. His senior year, he was County 440 yard dash champion and also anchored the mile relay team. Upon graduation in May of 1960, he was offered a partial scholarship to Ohio University for Track which he declined to continue working full time construction for a company he worked part time for during high school. He assisted in building 3 homes in the area. Eventually, he turned to the Air Force and was inducted on 16 Sept. 1960. After 6 weeks of basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio he was selected for radar training in Biloxi at Keesler AFB. Upon completion, he was assigned to Fort Lee VA during which time the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated, and his division was responsible for identification of all incoming aircraft from the Atlantic Ocean between Philadelphia and Savannah. Once picked up, they only had 2 minutes to ID all inbound flights. His service ended honorably on 1 June 1964.

Vince returned to Newark and began working for Owens Corning Fiberglas. Then went to work at Newark Air Force Station on the repair of the F4C guidance system. He was an assistant underwriter for Ohio State Grange Mutual Insurance and also an office and credit manager for Firestone in Newark. He graduated from COTC in 1973 and attended Franklin University. After graduating, he worked for National Gas & Oil for 4 years. He then went to work for The Ohio Welfare Department auditing nursing homes. Vince was very successful and as a result became chief auditor. From this he moved to auditing Human Services and Child Support agencies. He was also tasked with establishing and staffing a program to audit foster care agencies. Vince received a letter from then Governor Voinovich commending him for saving hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result of a federal audit.

After his retirement in 1998, he became involved in many veteran and community organizations. He served 5 years on The Veterans Service Commission and chaired committees that raised funds for a new veteran's memorial section at Cedar Hill Cemetery. Through the Licking County Veteran's Alliance it was his pleasure to spend over 20 years assisting with the funerals of over 2000 fellow veterans. He served as Commander at the American Legion Post 85 when the new building was built on 6th St from 1999-2000. As a volunteer with the Licking County Historical Society he served as a trustee, past president, and was honored with a lifetime trustee status. He was also named the 2017 historian of the year. Vince also served on the board of the Licking County Genealogy Society and chaired the Civil War Families recognition. He spoke to many groups regarding local history.

Vince served as a member and treasurer of Public Employees Retirees. He was a member of the Republican Party and served as Central Committeeman for the 5th ward and treasurer of the Patriots Club and also their PAC. He also worked several years as an election poll worker.

Vince was an avid bowler spanning 60 years. He was involved in many leagues and often served as league secretary. From 1976-1980 he owned and operated Palace Bowling Lanes and in 1980 he served as President of the Newark Bowling Association. Vince was inducted into the Newark USBC Bowling Hall of Fame in 2010. He served on the FOE State Bowling Committee from 1998-2002 and was also a member of the PBA from 1988-1995.

Along with bowling, Vince enjoyed golf. Although he did fancy himself a better bowler, he was known as saying he would have rather been on a golf course. A competitive person, he earned awards in bowling, golf, baseball, softball, track, horse shoes, and basketball.

He is survived by his wife, Charlotte Anne (Troyer) Becker; sons, Vincent Becker III (Lori Blazer), Jason Becker, David (Traci) Woodruff, and Tom (Lisa) Woodruff; daughters, Tracy (Marco) Nieto, Susie (Scott) Weber, Dawn (Rick) Devault, and Jennifer Donegan; grandchildren, Aaliyah Becker, Austin Blazer and Rhyan Blazer, David (Sumi) Nieto, Nichole (Alex) Prado, Jonathan Nieto, Alex Nieto, Scott Weber, Lawrence Weber, Parker Weber, Jake (Stacy) Wohlford, Courtney Wohlford, Chelsey Wells, Emalee Woodruff, Dereck Woodruff, Morgan Woodruff, Ashley Woodruff, Ian Donegan, and Taylor Donegan; 2 great grandchildren, Laynie and Lydia Wohlford; sister, Pat (Ron) Stevens; niece, Molly Orr; nephew, Michael Orr, and the mother of his sons Laura (Bell) Becker.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister Marjorie (Becker) Orr and brother-in-law Richard Orr.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Licking County Veterans Alliance or the Hospice of Central Ohio Newark.

To sign an online guest book, please visit www.brucker-kishlerfuneralhome.com.