To request a copy of this photo for your own personal use, please contact our state coordinator. If you are not a family member or the original photographer — please refrain from copying or distributing this photo to other websites.
Thank you for visiting the Texas Gravestone Photo Project. On this site you can upload gravestone photos, locate ancestors and perform genealogy research. If you have a relative buried in Texas, we encourage you to upload a digital image using our Submit a Photo page. Contributing to this genealogy archive helps family historians and genealogy researchers locate their relatives and complete their family tree.
Submitted: 3/23/21 • Approved: 3/24/21 • Last Updated: 3/27/21 • R400898-G400897-S3
MAJOR GENERAL US Air Force
World War II
May 24, 1914 - July 2, 2006
Anna Gilaire Michlin Beck
Nov 21, 1921 - Mar 28, 2006
*Obituary
Buried March 31, 2006.
At time of death, survived by husb., Major General Abe J. Beck USAF, Ret.
BECK, , ANNA GILAIRE MICHLIN If you knew Anna Beck, you probably remember her as a kind, beautiful, gracious lady, a fabulous cook and a charming hostess with a flair for entertaining and the kind of genuine warmth that put everyone immediately at ease. You're right, of course, but there was so much more to this accomplished, multi-talented, extremely funny woman. As her son John recently put it, "Many people are unusual. She was unique." It's not coincidence that Anna's children and her extended brood of nephews turned out to be writers, artists and musicians. She inspired us all. Her writing, informed by her artist's eye and raconteur's sense of story, was in a class with that of Joseph Mitchell, A.J. Liebling or any other of the fabled essayists of the first half of the last century. Her humor, always blindingly quick, was as whimsically asymmetrical as James Thurber's and as gently sophisticated as Ludwig Bemelmans'. Unfailingly graceful and inwardly directed, it warmed you like that of Jack Benny. Anna's art was equal to her writing. Within her simple line lay a deep understanding and appreciation for humanity. Always true, the result could be touching or sharp but never cruel. Some of her finest work was caricature. With her flair for self-deprecation, she created a character called Anna Banana, seemingly half dog and half pig, all Anna and ever charming. Examples of Anna's writing and artistic talent abound in the two family histories that she researched and hand wrote and illustrated for her children and in her book about Mozart, another of her passions. Ask one of her kids if you can see them. Anna indulged her lifelong love of dogs through a series of various breeds with whimsical names: Tchorny, Lurvey, Willoughby, Milhous, Gorgo and Kong. She often said that she preferred dogs to people but her warmth and unending kindness to humanity belied that sentiment. Born Anna Gilaire Michlin on November 21, 1921 in genteel circumstances in New York City, Anna married an Army Air Corps officer in 1945 and for the next 27 years lived the challenging, itinerant military life at postings throughout North America. She is survived by her husband, Major General A.J. Beck (USAF, Ret.), daughter Stevie Beck of Minneapolis, Minnesota; daughter and son-in-law Poppy and Don Sundeen of Dallas, Texas; daughter and son-in-law Darcy Beck-Conley and Steve Conley of Omaha, Nebraska; son and daughter-in-law John and Nancy Beck of Lincoln, Nebraska; plus grandchildren and great grandchildren. She also wanted to acknowledge and thank her dear friend and caregiver, Dolores Gonzales and her lifelong friend, the late Jean Ohrbach ("Paoli"). Had she been born a decade or two later, Anna might well have been famous for her accomplishments. As it is, she will remain our beloved, inspiring secret and our precious memory. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday at Sparkman/Hillcrest Northwest Hwy. Chapel. Rabbi Gerald J. Klein and Rabbi David Stern will officiate. Interment Hillcrest Memorial Park. Donations may be made to the SPCA of Texas, 362 South Industrial, Dallas, Texas 75207 or to KERA 13, 3000 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas 75201. Dignity Memorial Sparkman Hillcrest 7405 W. Northwest Hwy. Dallas (214) 363-5401 OB6 Obituaries, Notices
Dallas Morning News, The (TX) - Friday, March 31, 2006
*Obituary
Buried July 04, 2006.
Preceded by wife, Anna Michlin Beck. They married in October, 1945.
A.J. BECK, Decorated general had 'mind like a laser'
Retired Maj. Gen. A.J. Beck found a fitting career in the military, something that was evident whether he was flying a World War II combat mission or playing checkers with his daughter.
The Dallas native retired here, where he completed his work career with a stint as a Zale Corp. executive.
Gen. Beck, 92, died Sunday of natural causes at his North Dallas home.
Services were Tuesday in Dallas, and burial was in Hillcrest Memorial Park next to his wife, Anna Michlin Beck, who died in March.
"He had a mind like a laser," said his daughter Poppy Sundeen of Dallas. "All of his life, he was a brilliant man and a man who really wanted to be in control of his life and as much of his environment as he possibly could be."
Mrs. Sundeen said her father was logical and strategic, even when he played checkers with her as a child.
"He would always refer to the checkers pieces as ... your front line of defense," she said. "To him, everything was military and everything was strategy. He really had the perfect career."
Born in Dallas, Gen. Beck was the youngest of seven children and the son of Russian immigrants. He was 14 when his father, a shoemaker, died.
"His work ethic was remarkable," Mrs. Sundeen said. "There were seven kids, and they all pulled together to take care of their mother."
Gen. Beck worked from the time he was a little boy, his daughter said. He sold newspapers downtown and delivered meat.
He was a graduate of Forest Avenue High School, now James Madison High School. He worked his way through Southern Methodist University, where he earned a law degree in 1939.
Gen. Beck practiced law briefly before joining the Army Air Forces in 1941. A pilot at the time of his enlistment, he received a commission as a second lieutenant.
He served in the southwest Pacific during World War II, flying numerous types of aircraft on 133 combat missions. He shot down one enemy aircraft while piloting a P-38 Lightning.
Gen. Beck's decorations include the Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, an Army Commendation Medal and the British Military Cross.
Gen. Beck was out of the military for about a year before resuming his Air Force career in July 1947.
He served with the Strategic Air Command and was promoted to major general in 1963.
In 1966, Gen. Beck was assigned to Washington, D.C., where he served in a weapons evaluation group with other senior officers from other branches of the military.
He was a judge advocate and a Strategic Air Command inspector general. He also flew missions on the Looking Glass flying nuclear command center.
His last military assignment was as commander of the Warner Robins Air Materiel Area at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1972, Gen. Beck was an executive vice president with Morris Paint Co. in Omaha, Neb., before returning to Dallas in 1974.
In Dallas, he was an executive with Zale Corp. He retired in 1980.
Gen. Beck served on the board of directors for the Golden Acres: Dallas Home for Jewish Aged and was a member of the Temple Emanu-El Brotherhood.
He also served as president of his North Dallas homeowners association. He was known in the neighborhood as a friendly man who helped people and their children but also enforced the rules, his daughter said.
At one time, a neighbor let his grass grow too tall.
"Daddy went over there with his flight jacket on and his Rottweiler along with him," Mrs. Sundeen said. "Not in a threatening way, but he knocked on the door and very politely said, 'You know you need to cut your grass and you need to do it today.'
"And it was cut," she said. "He was just really good at getting things done."
Gen. Beck's hobby was restoring classic automobiles. One of his favorites was a black 1947 Lincoln convertible.
"He was always tinkering with it," his daughter said. He made the replacement parts he couldn't buy. The Lincoln was sold in 1972 through an antique dealer to the Allman Brothers. His family didn't tell him who the buyers were, knowing he would worry whether the band members took proper care of his baby.
In addition to his daughter, Gen. Beck is survived by two other daughters, Stevie Beck of Minneapolis and Darcy Beck-Conley of Omaha, Neb.; a son, John Beck of Lincoln, Neb.; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to the Golden Acres: Dallas Home for Jewish Aged, 2525 Centerville Road, Dallas, Texas 75228.
Dallas Morning News, The (TX) - Friday, July 7, 2006
Mausoleum Garden
Photo courtesy of Annette Shaw
Contributed on 3/23/21 by hawkinsdonna48
Email This Contributor
Suggest a Correction
Record #: 400898
Location/GPS: View Map