George Steffen Beck, of Cherokee, passed away on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at Tsali Care Center after an extended illness. He was the son of Niels K. and Anna Louise Beck who were Danish immigrants, that married in Racine, Wisc.
George was the youngest of five children, four of whom served in the Navy. George served on the USS Piper, a pre-nuclear submarine, toward the end of the Korean War. After the Navy, he attended and graduated with a Business Degree from Michigan State University. While there, he met and married Frela Owl Beck in 1961. They lived and worked in Owosso and Roscommon, Mich. In 1976, he and Frela and their children moved to Cherokee to assist Frela’s parents with the Piney Grove Campground, and eventually built apartments where the campground had been. Besides owning and managing the apartments, he grew Christmas trees for many years.
He was privileged to live 86 years and was married to Frela for 60 of those years. He is survived by his wife, Frela; son, Emil (Annalise) Beck of Newport News, Va.; daughter, Amy (Gene) Thompson of Rock Hill, S.C.; grandchildren, Cliff Thompson and Austin Thompson; sister, Carol Beck Havig of Billings, Mont.; plus special friends and relatives: Alberto and Vicki Cruz, Bruce and Patricia Beck, Tiana Melquist, Norman and Eleanor Stolzoff, and Ben and Judy Melquist.
At his request, services will be private and held at a later date.