{"id":110744,"date":"2021-07-25T15:32:54","date_gmt":"2021-07-25T22:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=110744"},"modified":"2024-05-14T15:48:36","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T22:48:36","slug":"the-temple-family-remembers-don-beck","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=110744","title":{"rendered":"The Temple Family Remembers Don Beck"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Former Peoples Temple member Don Beck died on July 9, 2021, following a lengthy illness. He was 78. The following remembrances are by other former members, as well as from some who met him in more recent years. The editors are grateful to Tim Carter for gathering these postings from Facebook in the days following Don’s death.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jean Brown (left), Tim Clancey, Don Beck, May 1979, Redwood Valley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Deb Harper<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m stunned\u2026 I know we are aging. Time does that to us all but some souls are forever young. Don Beck is forever young, a gentle lion among us. Let the children sing Welcome<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kristine Alles<\/a><\/p>\n

I had the pleasure of living at the Ranch with Don and getting to know him. He was smart, had a great sense of humor and a sweet spirit.<\/p>\n

Robin Wages Letterio<\/a><\/p>\n

Rest in peace, Don.<\/p>\n

Jim Jones Jr<\/a><\/p>\n

I find myself with a heavy heart this morning. There was many a time as I raised my sons that I referred to Don\u2019s mentoring of me, in academics or social skills, to understand things or accept those same concepts I could not change. It is truly peaceful, that another \u201cAngel\u201d got their wings. But as I think of the void that is the result of Don\u2019s passing, I have been blessed he passed my way.<\/p>\n

Janet Shular<\/a><\/p>\n

Today is full of thoughts of people from the past. This news is the exclamation mark. I never knew him well but admired his tenacity. Blessed Be.<\/p>\n

Vera Washington<\/a><\/p>\n

I am totally shocked to hear this. I remember Don\u2019s insight and wisdom. I had some short memorable conversations with him. I am glad I got to meet him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Don Beck (top row, second from left) Jonestown pioneer days<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Doxsee Phares<\/a><\/p>\n

I am sad to hear the news. I remember him as a gentle soul. He was Stephanie’s teacher in Redwood Valley, and she loved him. I’m blessed to have known him.<\/p>\n

Kimberly White<\/a><\/p>\n

What a cool man.. His son Danny was the greatest friend. Now they are together, and with others.<\/p>\n

Grace Grech Jones<\/a><\/p>\n

Don was a Kindergarten Teacher at the Public School in Redwood Valley. I can still remember his classroom and how it was set up. It was amazing! I, too, feel blessed to have known him. Rest In Peace, my friend.<\/p>\n

Kimi Arvold<\/a><\/p>\n

Don was so incredibly good with the children. A kind and gentle soul with a great sense of humor. I have good memories of Don. Rest In Peace Don, you will be missed<\/p>\n

Jamil Blackwell<\/a><\/p>\n

Yes, I have very positive memories of Don, a very decent human.<\/p>\n

Versi Connesero<\/a><\/p>\n

Don will be missed. I will always remember him directing the children in music. Rest In Peace.<\/p>\n

Jack Colbert<\/a><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Chip a little here, chip a little there, before you know it we\u2019re getting somewhere, we make ourselves prisoners by what we think, let\u2019s break our chains link by link.<\/li>\n
  2. It\u2019s bubbling It\u2019s bubbling it\u2019s bubbling in my soul\u2026It\u2019s singing and laughing cuz truth has made us whole\u2026..Folks don\u2019t understand it, I can\u2019t keep it quiet<\/li>\n
  3. D-O-W-N DOWN, DOWN ,DOWN \u2026. With segregation\u2026\u2026WELL\u2026\u2026!!! Up with democracy in every village city and town \u2026 Let it sweep through the country at the very same time\u2026 Every man, woman, boy and girl, let democracy flourish and be unfurled\u2026 Let it sweep through the Senate and all the lynch mob violent leaders\u2026 And if they start a filibuster, don\u2019t let them talk, just snatch \u2019em off their feet and send them for a walk<\/li>\n
  4. The games people play now, every night and every day now \u2026 never mean what they say now\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u2026 My first choir director.\u00a0He was a natural teacher.\u00a0RIP DON.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Don Beck, reviewing photos at California Historical Society, 2008<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Vicki Perry<\/a><\/p>\n

    He was so very smart and sweet. First thing I thought about him.<\/p>\n

    Laurie Harwell Henderson<\/a><\/p>\n

    I can totally picture the homecoming given to him by his Temple choir in heaven.<\/p>\n

    Sylvia Marciniak<\/a><\/p>\n

    Rest in peace, Don Beck.<\/p>\n

    Rikke Wettendorff<\/a><\/p>\n

    I had many interesting exchanges with Don, including the occasional ones where I was on the receiving end of his wrath for simply not getting what he was trying to tell me. He didn\u2019t suffer fools gladly, but \u2013 testament to his big heart \u2013he always took pity on me and we could continue our dialogue….<\/p>\n

    Ron Kohl<\/a><\/p>\n

    Don was in my thoughts recently. Laura and I always visited him when he returned to visit his second home in San Diego.<\/p>\n

    Susan M White Hicks<\/a><\/p>\n

    Very special man. When I first began reaching out to PT survivors more than a decade ago he was nice enough to tolerate me. Although we never got very close I always appreciated and respected him for the ability to be kind and abrupt without harshness.\u00a0RIP Mr. Beck.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    (Former Peoples Temple member Don Beck died on July 9, 2021, following a lengthy illness. He was 78. The following remembrances are by other former members, as well as from some who met him in more recent years. The editors are grateful to Tim Carter for gathering these postings from Facebook in the days following […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":108495,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-110744","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/110744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=110744"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/110744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127192,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/110744\/revisions\/127192"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/108495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=110744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}