May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
The first class of my high school career was Fr. John Becker's 6th period English class. Over 20 years later, some of the most influential books of my life are the ones that came from his assigned reading list.
Fr. Becker was my favorite teacher and the best I've ever had. He is likely responsible for whatever writing ability I display and definitely to blame for my love of really, really bad puns.
When we worked together at Brophy, Fr. Becker became a close friend and mentor. He always insisted that the purpose of a Jesuit education was to prepare young people for an "eyeball to eyeball" meeting with Jesus Christ. As a teacher at Brophy, I always did my best to stay true to that ideal. In spite of my many shortcomings, I think I can say that I did that much.
I will always cherish the man who introduced me to Chesterton and nurtured my latent natalist tendencies with stories of Suzie Schmotts and books like Cheaper by the Dozen. I'll write more about Fr. Becker when I'm not like the butcher who backed into the meat grinder--a little behind in my work.
Rest in Peace, Old Priest.
Obituary
Your first class in high school was sixth period?
ReplyDeleteWe had a floating 6th period. 6-2-3-4-L-5 on Monday, 1-6-3-4-L-5 on
ReplyDeleteTuesday, etc.
Sheesh.
Just read his obituary in the Catholic Sun yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if he'll become the patron saint of yearbook and student newspaper moderators. I could use one of those...