Family: William H Becker / Dorothy M Jenkins Becker

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Anniversary- Becker, Bill and Dorothy

Golden Anniversary for Beckers

Bill and Dorothy Becker, Rossville, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a family dinner. Dorothy Jenkins and Bill Becker were married in the Central Park Christian Church Chapel March 7, 1953.

Their three children and spouses are Steve and Sharon Becker, Golden, CO., Kathy and Jim Billings, Topeka, and Patty and Lee McQueen, Vilonia, AR. They have three grandchildren, Lori and Ken Murphy, Topeka, Megan McQueen and Kurt McQueen, Vilonia, AR; and two great-grandchildren, Emma and D.J. Murphy, Topeka.

Bill served in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Merchant Marine in the South Pacific during World War II. He worked as an auto body man in Topeka for 12 years, as an auto damage appraiser for seven years, and retired from his own business, Becker’s Appraisal, in 1988 after 13 years.

Dorothy worked as a legal secretary for 30 years and as Administrative Assistant for Judge Joe H. Swinehart of the Kansas Court of Appeals for nine years and Chief Judge Bob Abbott of the Kansas Court of Appeals for three years, retiring in 1988.

They lived in Topeka until 1955, when they moved to the country east of Rossville, where they still reside.

Bill and Dorothy Becker are happy and a bit surprised to realize they’ve been married 50 years.
“What were the chances of meeting my true love?” ponders Dorothy. “In the 1950s, I was a transplant from Missouri to Topeka, a divorced mother with two small children and no support from my former spouse.”
Bill, who was born in Topeka, lived in Seattle at the time. Dorothy worked with his sister in a law office. “He was also divorced, and she kept saying we were perfect for each other!” writes Dorothy.
They met in May, when Bill returned to Topeka. He met her children “and promptly fell in live with them,” says Dorothy. “By September, we were dating; by October, we were very much in love.”
They married on March 7, 1953. Bill adopted Dorothy’s children and raised them as his own, along with their third child.
“I think I fell in love with him because of his sense of humor and the fun we have always had together,” writes Dorothy. “We are both independent, but we never let that get in the way of our devotion for each other.
“We were 27 when we married and never expected to have 50 years together. When we married, Bill said there would not be another divorce, and that is how we lived. We settled any problems and worked them out. It’s been a wonderful 50 years.”

Note: Photo of couple in the news clip

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