John August Becker

Godfrey: John August Becker died on September 28, 2017 after a brief but hard-fought battle with cancer. He was 51. John was born in Alton, Illinois on April 2, 1966, the third child of Paul and Janice Becker. He grew up in Alton and Godfrey and lived there his entire life. John loved nature and the outdoors. He participated in the bicentennial re-creation of the journey of Lewis & Clark, traveling in period costume and educating people about the epic journey. He was trained in wildland firefighting and participated in controlled prairie burns. He was a volunteer at Tree House Wildlife Center, a facility for rescuing and rehabilitating injured wildlife. He is survived by his mother, Janice Ramey, of Sequim, Washington; his sister, Melissa Becker, of Cle Elum, Washington, and his brother, Michael Becker, of Fresno, California. John was preceded in death by his father, Paul August Becker. John’s family is grateful to his many friends for their loving support of John during this illness and his previous lengthy hospitalization for hemochromatosis in 2010. We are particularly thankful to Dianne Gordon, who helped us all immeasurably throughout John’s fight to beat cancer. Dianne was a fierce, generous, and caring advocate. A celebration of John’s life will be held at noon on Sunday, October 1, at John’s residence. Anyone wishing to honor John’s memory may send a contribution to Tree House Wildlife Center or The American Cancer Society.