She was born in the Town of Rib Lake on November 4, 1931 to Joseph and Ilene (Newcomb) Probst. She graduated from Rib Lake High School and after a short work tenure in Junction City, married Raymond Becker at Rib Lake on October 15, 1949.
Mary was a firm believer in family, hard work and dignity of human life. She was active with Rib Lake Hope Hospice and was honored as the Wisconsin Hospice Volunteer of the Year in 1998. She was also an Emergency Medical Technician for the Rib Lake Ambulance Service and studied Nursing at Northcentral Technical College. She mentored 4-H club members and was active with ARC (formerly known as the Association of Retarded Citizens) and remained a staunch advocate for the care and education of the developmentally disabled throughout her life.
Mary made the world a better place through a life dedicated to her large family, friends, and community. Her kindness, generosity and compassion touched many. She was passionate about ecology and the environment. She was an avid reader and valued learning and higher education. She loved the outdoors and had a special connection with nature and the earth; she enjoyed studying and recording Mother Nature’s changes. She had a Master Gardener designation and you could often find her knee deep in dirt. She led by example and taught her children to reach high, live every day to its fullest and never give up.
The family would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to all of her friends and family for the time, love, laughter and friendship shared with her throughout the years. She loved you all. We are especially appreciative of the staff at Medford Aspirus and University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, particularly Michelle Bucki, Jessie Sperl, Dr. Walter Kao/Laura Delp and Dr. Ann O’Rourke – you gave us the gift of additional precious time with her. And to Ron and Ilene, words can never express our gratitude for your undying devotion and commitment to insuring Mom never lacked for anything.
She is survived by her children: Beverly (Tim) O’Meara of Chicago, Juliann (Mike) Albers of Hickory, NC, Ron Becker of Rib Lake, Marty Becker of Rio, Ilene (Mike) Coleman of Rib Lake, Bernadette (Dale) Strobach of Clear Lake, Duffy (Dennis) Johnson of Green Bay, Christine Becker of Monroe, Edward (Janine) Becker of Medford, Jill Becker of Rib Mountain, Jacqueline (Chad) Becker-Tylka of Chetek, Bonnie Becker of Wausau, Philip Becker of San Francisco, CA, and her siblings: Leo Liebl of Stevens Point, Teresa McGuire, Joan Eisner and Laverne Probst all of Rib Lake. She is also survived by 20 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by husband Raymond Becker in 1985, son Gregory Becker in 1972, sisters Dorothy Schrader, Geraldine Anders and brothers Oscar Probst and Fred Probst.
The family would like to invite all to a memorial gathering to celebrate her life. It will be held from 12 noon until 3:00 PM on Saturday, July 30, 2016 at Hemer Funeral Home in Medford.
Per her wishes, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to PBS (The Public Broadcasting System) in her memory at:
Friends of Wisconsin Television
P.O. Box 7929
Madison, WI 53707
www.pbs.org
(please note Mary Becker in memo line)
