`Lou' Beck, 78, Was Dedicated Teacher, Founded Funeral Home

The young Lutheran-raised teacher noticed that her new husband, a Roman Catholic, always was smiling, and letting trouble slide off his back - good qualities in one who daily dealt with death.

She thought, "There must be something in that faith of his."

So the lady that was known as "Lou," an Iowa native who didn't use her first name, Martha, converted.

She and her husband, Steve Beck, founded Beck's Funeral Home in Edmonds (1952).

The energetic woman of regal bearing raised her four children and a handful of foster kids, maintained a notable flower garden and served Catholic and other charities.

Mrs. Beck died on Feb. 20 of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She was 78.

"Mom could do anything she set her mind to," said son John Beck

of Edmonds. "She took an adult woodworking course, then did all the interior finishing in our Lake Ballinger cottage and finished off by building the kids a sailboat."

Mrs. Beck never counted the things she did for her friends and family. She just did them, like delivering food baskets to the needy over the winter holidays.

Mrs. Beck also loved reading, the arts and supporting Cascade Symphony and Olympic Ballet.

She usually was so busy with projects and raising the kids, she could get "in a hurry," John Beck said.

Mrs. Beck's parents moved the family to the Gig Harbor area when she was a girl. She graduated from Weatherwax High School in Aberdeen and got her teaching degree from what now is Western Washington University.

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Mrs. Beck taught in Seattle. Her son, Steve Beck, Jr., of Edmonds, was one of her pupils.

"Her first love was teaching, whether her own kids or others," said Steve Beck. "She also was a den mother and took us on outings."

He said she wintered in Arizona, "and she went back into teaching, working as a teacher's aide, helping Mexican-American students learn to read. That was at Surprise Elementary School in Surprise, Ariz. We were surprised she did it!"

Other survivors include her daughter Melinda Beck; daughter-in-law Carol Beck, Jr., and son Peter, all of Edmonds; sister and brother-in-law Porge and Jim Miller, Bremerton, and sisters-in-law, grandchildren, nephews, niece.

Services have been held.

Remembrances may be sent to the Holy Rosary School Scholarship Fund, 4142 42nd Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116; the Edmonds Community College Scholarship Fund, 20000 68th Ave. W., Lynnwood, WA, 98036, or any charity.