Jerry Lee Becker

Jerry Lee Becker, a Navy and commercial pilot whose lifelong fascination with flight carried him from Post-Depression-era Wyoming to skies around the world, died on Oct. 19 in Albany, N.Y., He was 85.

Born June 25, 1940, in Thermopolis, Wyo., to Fred and Marjorie (Camp) Becker, he was the third of five boys raised amid the hard work of farm and ranch life. From those beginnings, he developed a deep love of mountain climbing, sky-diving, and the open sky. While still in college, along with his brothers, he was among the earliest climbers to summit the Washakie Needles. He completed the first free ascent of Chimney Rock in the Wind River Canyon. He continued sky-diving for fun into his eighties.

After joining ROTC at Casper College, Mr. Becker served as a Navy pilot during the early Vietnam years aboard the U.S.S. Hornet, flying anti-submarine missions in a Grumman S-2. He later became a captain for Continental Airlines, where he was a staunch union supporter who believed in fairness and the dignity of work.

Following retirement, he continued to fly, spending several years based in Paris piloting the vice premier of Lebanon. He met presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush and was impressed by both.

Mr. Becker married twice and is survived by his wife of 45 years, Rachael; sons, Erick, Garth and Michael; daughter, Shira; brothers, Keith, Dennis, and Chuck; and nine grandchildren.

He leaves behind a shipping container full of treasures, thousands of photographs of the sky, and a belief that an ordinary life, fully lived, could be extraordinary.