Edward Ray Beckett's Obituary
Edward R. Beckett, Jr., went to his heavenly home on Saturday, March 1, 2014. He was born August 20th, 1930 in Montgomery, West Virginia to the late Edward Sr. and Edith (Jackson) Beckett. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his brother-in-law, Sam Sirianni and sister-in-law, Pam Quintier.Ed served in the United States Army after high school and later graduated from West Virginia University earning his bachelors and masters degrees in Guidance and Counseling. He was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity. Following college, he began his career as the Assistant Registrar at Marshall University. It was there he met his wife Lee, to whom he was married to for 55 years. He then served at Ohio University as Assistant Registrar, Director of Career Planning and Placement and finally Associate Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs for the College of Osteopathic Medicine. During his time in Athens, he was also active in Kiwanis, served as chairman of the Athens County United Appeal, was involved in local politics, serving as President of City Council and then on to become the Mayor of Athens.In 1989, he retired and moved to Fort Myers, Florida where he began a second career as an Academic Education Advisor for the University of South Florida. When Florida Gulf Coast University opened, he was a founding academic education advisor for the College of Education.Ed was a civic minded person always interested in the welfare of children. He was a giving, loving, kind and generous man with an infectious sense of humor. He always had a positive outlook and saw opportunity when others saw barriers. Ed devoted his life encouraging others to pursue their dreams. His life was his family, whom he loved more than anything.Left to cherish his memory are his wife, LeVoy “Lee” Quintier Beckett; daughters, Sally A. Beckett of Fort Myers; Meg Christie and her husband Todd of Centerburg, Ohio; granddaughters, Lauren Smith and her husband Lance and Kelsey Mulpas and her husband Shane both of Centerburg, Ohio; great-granddaughters, Ava Grace Smith and Charlee Ann Mulpas both of Centerburg, Ohio; brother-in-law, John D. Quintier of Fort Myers; sister-in-law, Margaret Sirianni of Fort Myers; nieces and nephews, Stephanie Sirianni of Fort Lauderdale, Sam Sirianni, Jr. of Fort Myers, John F. Quintier of Bluefield, Virginia and Jade Quintier of Fort Myers; great nephew, Frederick Boettjer and his wife Jennifer and their son, Samuel.There will be a visitation on Wednesday, March 5th, 2014 from 2:00 to 3:00 PM at St. Hillary’s Episcopal Church. Funeral will begin at 3:00 PM. Additional services and burial will be in Athens, Ohio under the direction of Jagers and Sons Funeral Home.In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Florida Gulf Coast University Student Scholarship Fund at www.fgcu.edu/Foundation/scholarships.asp or the Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Florida, Inc. at www.cac-swfl.org/. Memories and condolences may be placed online at www.fortmyersmemorial.com.
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