Dr. William K. Becker Jr.

Dr. William Kirby Becker, Jr. died on March 11, 2025 at the age of 72. He was born on July 10, 1952 to William and Joan Becker in Minneapolis. A lifelong Gophers fan, he attended the University of Minnesota for his BA, MD, and surgery residency. While working at a U of M lab, he met his wife Pat, to whom he was married for 48 years.

Bill had a distinguished career serving his country, advancing the field of surgery, and educating future surgeons. Bill joined the U.S. Army in 1983, working as a specialist in general surgery and surgical critical care at several Army hospitals. Military life took him, together with Pat and his children Amy and Anna, to Leavenworth, KS, El Paso, TX and San Antonio, TX.

At Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Bill was a surgeon in the Burn Unit as well as Critical Care Residency Program Director at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research, a premier casualty care research and emergency response organization. In 1989, after a pipeline explosion in the then Soviet Union injured hundreds of people, President Bush sent a burn team, led by Bill, on a three-month humanitarian mission to respond to the disaster. In 1990, he deployed to Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War, receiving a Bronze Star for meritorious service.

Bill was a respected researcher, co-authoring numerous articles on critical care and burn surgery throughout his career; he received his PhD in 1993. He was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and received a Bush Medical Fellowship.

Bill left the Army at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and moved to Grand Forks, ND, embarking on a rewarding phase of his career as an educator of new surgeons. At UND he served as Professor of Surgery and Program Director of the Surgery Residency Program. Bill later served in leadership roles as Chief of Staff at both the Sioux Falls and Fargo VA hospitals; in Fargo, he also was Director of Surgery Specialty Care. Bill’s commitment to his field and surgical community was so strong that he attended weekly care review conferences well into his retirement.

Bill and Pat moved to Turtle Lake in MN 27 years ago and later began spending winters in Naples, FL. Bill loved fishing at a cabin he owned with friends near Lynn Lake, Manitoba. He traveled across the globe–to China, Argentina, India, New Zealand, the Cook Islands, and across Europe and Scandinavia. He also enjoyed pheasant hunting, fonduing, pontooning, learning Finnish, and relaxing in the Florida sun. In his last years, his granddaughter christened him “Boppa”–he especially loved being a grandfather.

Bill is survived by his wife Patricia, daughters Amy and Anna (Mazen), and granddaughter Leonora; sister Julie Whelan; great-aunts Bonnie Roach and Charlotte Pehrson; sisters-in-law Deanna (Dave) Germain and Nancy (Patrick) Sonnek; two foreign exchange students who were like sons, Alexander Molchanov and Ante Matti Kalstad; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, William and Joan.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at 2:00 PM at Boulger Funeral Home and Celebration of Life Center, with visitation an hour prior. Interment will occur at Fort Snelling National Cemetery at a later date.

Interment at Fort Snelling National Cemetery at a later date.