Dr. Richard James Beck

Dr. Richard Beck, 72 of Carbondale, passed away on Saturday, March 17, 2018 in Heartland Regional Hospital. He was born on May 10, 1945 to James and Florence Beck in Madison, WI. Richard married Pilar Torres on August 31, 1968. They shared 49 years of marriage. He proudly served his country in the United States Army National Guard. Dr. Beck received his doctorate in Rehabilitation Counseling Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987 in the field in which he worked all of his life, which was rehabilitation counseling. He also earned a Master of Science degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Educational Psychology, and a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Political Science. Dr. Beck retired due to illness from severe heart condition from Southern Illinois University in 2003, where he was an Associate Professor in Rehabilitation Counseling. His specialty was the psychological management of chronic pain. He always believed that the field of rehabilitation counseling was a promise unfulfilled to persons with disabilities, because the American society in which it was practiced did not devote the resources needed to enable it to help the disabled. And in the case of the practice of rehabilitation counseling in the private sector, he believed that counselors became glorified claims managers who helped insurers to avoid paying permanent and total disability claims. His 1987 dissertation research documents this belief. Dr. Beck’s interest included music and reading. He played classical guitar, jazz guitar and mandolin. He read extensively in various subjects, but his special area was history, particularly Civil War history, since his great-grandfather was a Wisconsin volunteer who fought with Sherman’s Army of the Tennessee in Sherman’s March to the Sea. He loved oil painting, with an emphasis on nature and oceans. Dr. Beck would like his epitaph to be a quote from the song “You are my Special Angel” by Bobby Helms, especially the phrase: “the Lord smiled down on me and sent an Angel to love” which he took to refer to his beloved wife, Pilar. Dr. Beck is survived by his loving wife, Pilar Beck; his children, Joseph W. Beck and Cristina Lashbrook; two grandchildren, Mark Provo and Morgan Lashbrook; two brothers, Ronald Beck and James Beck, both of Fountain Hills, AZ; other relatives and many friends. He is preceded in death by his parents; three infants; a brother, Robert and sister, Margaret. Funeral Services for Dr. Richard Beck will be Monday, April 2, 2018 at 7:00 pm in Crain Pleasant Grove-Murdale Funeral Home. Military Rites will be accorded. Visitation will be from 5:00 pm until the hour of service. Cremation rites will be accorded following the services.

Dr. Richard James Beck

May 10, 1945 - March 17, 2018