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Alan Ira Becker

July 25, 1936 — August 8, 2024

Alan Ira Becker

Alan Ira Becker, age 88, passed gently on the morning of August 8, 2024, after a courageous struggle with multiple ailments, including diabetes and heart disease. His health challenges impinged upon his ability to live a life devoted to music, nature, fine dining, and family (not necessarily in that order). Despite his eternal iconoclasm and Peter Pan like embrace of uniqueness and discovery, Alan found himself the beloved patriarch of our family.

Born to Helene Eissler and Benjamin Becker, Alan grew up in the Bronx and Rego Park, NY. Alan inherited his mother’s musical talent and mercurial temperament, something that extended through generations of Eisler ancestors. He also possessed the artistic imagination and loving kindness of his father. Alan gave his first piano recital at Carnegie Recital Hall as a pre-teen. Having later graduated from the High School of Performing Arts with studies in performance, composition, and conducting, Alan was a master at piano, organ, trombone, and recorder. He is said to have turned down the conductorship of a symphony orchestra in Lima, Peru, in the 1960s.

He met his beloved Ruth on a blind date at a school dance. They married in 1961, and together immediately escaped the frigid northern winters for their preferred heat and humidity of South Florida.

As a performer and artist, he played with major orchestras and ensembles and led musical programs for local synagogues. As a music critic, he was a longtime reviewer for the American Record Guide, in addition to several newspapers, including the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel and the Miami Herald. One of his favorite annual assignments was to attend, critique, and review the performances of the Sarasota Opera Festival.

Alan was an enthusiastic advocate for late 19th Century-early 20th Century composers such as Nielson and Mahler, and especially lyrical composers such as Delius and Vaughn-Williams. As much as he admired Delius, he derided the music of Phillip Glass. His recorded music collection exceeded 20,000 CDs and DVDs. He was particularly proud of his hard-to-find LPs. Alan’s agglomeration also included sculptures of castles, dragons, and assorted trinkets and nick-knacks.

While music was his passion, librarianship was his profession. He headed the Florida Room at the main branch of the Miami Public Library, thus developing an encyclopedic knowledge of the flora, fauna, and parklands of the State. As Director of the Hallandale (FL) Public Library, he guided the growth of that institution into a rich resource for a fast-growing shore community. Upon its take-over by Broward County Library System, he served as the Fine Arts Librarian at the Main Library. Alan was fortunate to have the opportunity to combine two of his passions, expanding the collections of music, the arts, nature, and community education. He established the first Listening-Viewing Library of its kind and created a unique collection of musical scores.

As they faced the challenges of being elder members of society, Alan and Ruth relocated from their South Florida home, in Davie, to Land O’Lakes, in the Tampa area. Since 2016, they enjoyed the chance to live across the street from and watch their grandchildren, Ben and Hannah, grow into mature and empathetic young adults.

Alan is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Ruth (nee Friedman), and their daughters, Lauren Levy (Jason) of Land O’Lakes, FL, and Deborah Card (Kevin), of Ft. Lauderdale, FL; an elder sister, Winifred, lately of Massachusetts; grandchildren Benjamin Levy and Hannah Levy; as well as generations of nieces and nephews.

Since Alan was also a life-long and passionate advocate for environmental issues, the family would request that, in lieu of flowers or other gifts, that you instead make a donation in Alan’s name to one of the following organizations he so generously supported: Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, or Nature Conservancy.

The service will be available via Zoom at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8138743330?pwd=Zn7K8tZLzzJTLIGsaNEwts38kTnIfy.1&omn=85123590617

Meeting ID: 8138743330

Password: SEGAL2024

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