Bench set for former planner, parks member

Brett Grams, center, facilities operations for Laketown Township, and a crew from Heavener Property Service of Saugatuck deliver a memorial bench in honor of Richard Becker to Sanctuary Woods Park, 4750 66th St., on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

The memorial bench in honor of former Laketown Township Planning Commissioner and Parks and Recreation Commission member Richard Becker was installed at Sanctuary Woods Park, 4750 66^th St., on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

Becker, 81, passed away in July 2024.

He was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Navy when he graduated in 1965. In 1968, he returned to Grand Rapids for a career in marketing and advertising and raise a family. He left active duty but retained his commission as an officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Becker rose through the ranks of the U.S. Navy and was promoted to the position of rear admiral in October 1991. He was in command of many different units specializing in public affairs.

He helped coordinate the 50th anniversary of the D-Day celebration in June 1994. He also coordinated funerals for President Gerald R. Ford and his wife Betty.

Becker served for 3 ½ years on the township planning commission, resigning in May 2024. He began serving on the parks commission in 2019 and was a member when he passed away.

A bench in honor of Richard Becker was installed at Sanctuary Woods Park, 4750 66th St., on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

The plaque on the bench reads:

In Memory of
Admiral Richard Lee Becker
Forever our lighthouse
Fair winds and following seas

Sanctuary Woods was Becker’s favorite park.

Purchasing a bench for a township official who died while in office has occurred before. In 2020, the parks commission purchased a bench in honor of Ellen Fitch who passed away in December of that year while serving on the parks commission.