Dr. Stanley Beckman

Carl John Stanley Beckman; A Life Well-lived

Surrounded by family reading scriptures and singing, Dr. Stanley (Doc) Beckman passed peacefully into the presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Sunday December 19, 2021, at Green Acres in Fremont, Michigan. 

He was born on June 3, 1933 in Alexandria, Minnesota, to Reverend Carl Alfred, a Swedish immigrant, and Alpha Marie (Sundstrom) Beckman. Stan spent his childhood summers on his grandmother’s farm in the Red River Valley of North Dakota. A love of all things farm-related took root in his heart and remained his favorite pastime throughout his life. 

Stan was married to the love of his life, Joyce Elaine (McMillen) on December 27, 1955 in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Stan and Joyce both attended Asbury College in Wilmore, KY. Joyce first took notice of Stan when he spoke in chapel at Asbury after returning from a Venture for Victory mission trip where he played on a basketball team and shared the gospel in the Philippines. Stan was also a member of the Asbury College men’s traveling gospel quartet. Joyce was captivated by his tender heart. Stan took notice of Joyce in the Chemistry lab; he was a lab instructor and she was his student. He immediately fell for her. College was an impactful time in their lives. 

Following college graduation, Stan attended medical school at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, NC. During this time, their first child, Angela (Fahlen) was born. 

After graduating from medical school, Stan completed an internship in South Bend, Indiana, where their son, Brent (Beckman), was born. It was during this time Stan became an avid Notre Dame fan. 

He then served as a physician on the Navajo reservation in Shiprock, NM. He very much enjoyed these years in Public Health Service. Their third child, Kristin (Carlson), was born in Shiprock, NM. 

He ventured on with his wife and children serving overseas as a physician for the state department caring for US embassy personnel and their families. Their fourth child Kimberly (Hoekert) was born in Okinawa. 

Stan was then assigned to service in Taiwan. It was here their fifth child, Sonja (Heinzman), was born. Upon the discovery of Sonja’s hearing loss, Stan and Joyce returned to the United States to begin early intervention for Sonja. At this point Stan decided to specialize in radiology and began a residency program at Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

He moved his family to Newaygo upon the completion of this residency, and then Dr. Beckman worked at Gerber Memorial Hospital in Fremont, Michigan for 42 years as a radiologist until his retirement at the age of seventy-three. It was in Newaygo where he and his wife settled in and his children grew up and graduated high school. He loved attending his children's sporting events and programs, cheering and rooting for them and their friends. This continued into the next generations and you could find Stan and Joyce traveling to events celebrating and cheering for their grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and their friends. During these years, he cultivated a passion for running. He ran in many races alongside his children, their spouses, and his grandchildren. Most evenings you could find Stan running the roadsides with his wife accompanying him on her bike. Weekends were filled with sledding down their family hill in the winters and boating on local waterways in the summer. In his retirement years he loved cutting wood, helping the family make maple syrup, traveling with Joyce to visit his grandchildren and great grandchildren, and he perfected the making of homemade ice cream enthusiastically enjoyed by his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. 

Stan is survived by his bride of 65 years, Joyce Beckman, their 5 children and their spouses, nineteen grandchildren and their spouses, and twenty-five great grandchildren.  He is also survived by his sister Marian Eckhardt, sister-in-law Gloria (Beckman) Peterson, and generations of nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents Reverend Carl and Alpha Beckman, brother Dr. Donovan Beckman, brother-in-law Walter Eckhardt, and by his nephew Jim Bowker.  

The family wishes to thank Green Acres and Spectrum Health Hospice for the compassionate and skilled care they provided to Stan in his final months of life.

A private family interment was held on Stan & Joyce’s 66th wedding anniversary, December 27, 2021.

A Celebration of Life service for friends and family will be held on Stan’s birthday, June 3, 2022, at Harvest Fremont, where we will in turn celebrate, cheer and root for our dear husband, father, grandfather, and friend for a life well-lived. Well done, good and faithful servant!  A time of Praise and Worship will start at 2:40 PM, followed by the Celebration of Stan's Life beginning at 3:00 PM.  A time of food and fellowship will follow at the Fremont Christian School Gym. Please RSVP for the catered dinner to Angie: 231-414-5003 (Text or Voice Message).

Suggested Memorials:

~ Life International www.lifeinternational.com 72 Ransom Avenue NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 616-248-3300 

~Fremont Area Community Foundation, The Reo and Bessie McMillen Memorial Fund facommunityfoundation.org 4424 W 48th Street Fremont, MI 49412 231-924-5350

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