Husband Clarence Edwin Becraft Jr [763]
Born: 24 Mar 1926 - Gaithersburg, Montgomery, Maryland, United States 1
Christened: - Goshen CT, Gaithersburg, Montgomery Co, MD
Died: 12 Mar 2025
Buried:
FamilySearch ID: G87K-NTQ
Father: Clarence Edward Becraft [619] (1899-1980)
Mother: Susie Emma "Sue" Irwine [762] (1900-1995)
Marriage: 5 Jun 1954 - Kingsport, , TN
Events
• Military: Becraft, Clarence E., Pfc. USA 43028494, Gaithersburg, Montgomery Co.
• He appeared on the 1930 Census census in 1930 in Gaithersburg, Montgomery, Maryland, United States. Clarance E. Becraft age 30 listed as head of household with wife Sue E. age 30 and children Clarance E age 4 and Babra E age 0.
• Event: The Frederick Post, 23 Oct 1946. Pfc. Edmund Becraft spent the weekend with his parents Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Becraft. Mr. Becraft is stationed at Chance Field, Ill.
• Visit: The News, 24 Dec 1951. Mr. Edwin Becraft returned from Chicago to spend the Christmas holidays with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Becraft of Gaithersburg. Also returning to...
• Event: The Frederick Post, 6 Feb 1952. Mr. Edwin Becraft, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Becraft, has returned to his home in Gaithersburg after spending the past two months...
• Event: GW Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, 2014. Mr. C. Edwin "Ed" Becraft
Featured Alumni
Ed first arrived at GW in the fall of 1944 ready to study engineering, but as so often
ed becraft playing baseball
happens in life, his path to his degree contained some interesting side roads, including taking time out to work and being drafted into the U.S. Army Air Force in 1946. In 1947, he was discharged from the military and returned to GW. During his first spring after returning, he made the GW varsity baseball team as a walk-on pitcher, and after his first season, he was awarded a partial athletic scholarship.
Ed was serious about his education and willing to do the work necessary to pay for it. In addition to his partial scholarship and the GI bill, he worked each summer in a canning factory to make ends meet. As a freshman, he hitchhiked daily from his family home in Gaithersburg to the Foggy Bottom campus. This required Ed to get up well before dawn and hitch rides with farmers transporting their goods into Washington. At the District line, he would catch a streetcar to the campus for 10 cents. After his freshman year, his parents helped Ed get a car.
Ed marvels at the advancements in engineering and technology since his years at GW. During a recent tour of the new Science and Engineering Hall, he recounted how he received a tutorial his freshman year on how to perform mathematical calculations on a slide rule. Although classes were challenging, Ed found time to join the Gamma Beta chapter of the Theta Tau professional engineering fraternity. He also found time to play varsity baseball through 1950 and in 1949 was voted the team's most valuable player.
ed becraft accepting an award
In 1951, he completed his studies and graduated with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He declined a contract offer by the Washington Senators to enter their minor league system and instead decided to take a job as a general field superintendent with the national construction subcontractor, the Anning-Johnson company. Ed is quick to tell you that his degree from GW opened the door to his career in construction.
In 1963, Glen Construction Company, a promising young company with annual sales of $1.5 million, hired Ed as an estimator. Ed spent 44 years with Glen. In 1970, he was promoted to vice president of estimating, and was again promoted in 1982, this time to vice president of sales and marketing. During the 1980s, Glen Construction Company's annual sales reached $150 million, and the company was listed in ENR as one of the top 100 construction contractors in the U.S. Three of the company's most noteworthy projects include the Tycon Towers in Tysons Corner, VA; the Radisson Mark Plaza hotel in Alexandria, VA; and the One Washingtonian Center office building in Gaithersburg, MD.
In 2000 Ed was promoted to executive vice president, and he continued to serve in this role until 2008, when he retired at age 81, after 55 years in the construction industry. Ed notes that he loved working in construction. The construction projects gave him a gratifying sense of accomplishment, and more importantly, he really enjoyed the professional relationships that were such a large part of it.
During his career, Ed was active in the Metro Washington Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors, serving as president of the chapter in 1981. In 1982, he was inducted into the Faculty of Building in London, England. He was recognized for his professional accomplishments again in 2012, when the American Subcontractors Association of Metro Washington honored him with the Arthur C. Meushaw Award. The award recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the construction industry throughout his career. Ed remains a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and of the America Institute of Constructors.
ed and june becraft in a golf cart
Ed has been happily married for 60 years to June Becraft, and the couple has two sons and five grandchildren. He occasionally plays golf with his sons, and he's quite a respectable player: a few years ago when he was 88 he shot his age for 18 holes.
• His obituary was published on 17 Mar 2025. C. Becraft Obituary
Obituary published on Legacy.com by Roy W. Barber Funeral Home on Mar. 17, 2025.
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Clarence Edwin Becraft went home to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on March 12, 2025. Anyone that knew him, could easily affirm that he heard God say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
He was the greatest man we ever knew, and more than just family members would agree. His greatness lay in the fact that years ago he asked Jesus into his life. Dad lived his life filled with the love of God and poured that love out into other people's lives. Qualities that describe Dad include\endash love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control \endash this is because they are the fruits of God's Holy Spirit. Now Dad has been lifted up to Higher Ground because he bowed down his knee to the One who created him and loved Him.
Dad was married to Mom (June Bentley Becraft) for 68 years. They met on a blind date set up by his friend Henry Miles. And as they say, the rest is history. Dad often said, "It must have been the Lord Himself who brought us together," and "It was Divine Intervention," which is written on their tombstone to honor the love and commitment they showed to each other, as well as others.
He loved her dearly. Mom battled Alzheimer's for 14 years, and Dad was right by her side each step of the way. When Mom fell and broke her hip and Dad could no longer take care of her in their home, she went to live at Sunrise of Rockville. Dad went down and visited her and shared dinner with her every single day, more times than not, being the one to spoon feed her. It was a true picture of love and commitment to their wedding vows.
Early in their dating relationship, Dad played the bass fiddle in a jazz combo band. Mom quickly got tired of sitting in the audience by herself, without her dance partner, and told Dad it was either her or the bass fiddle. So, Dad gave up playing in the combo. He would frequently recall the story to others, and in good fun would say, "I think I made the right choice." Often followed by a kiss on the cheek to Mom if she was nearby.
Dad went by various names. His mom gave him the nickname Buddy, while some friends called him Bones because of his tall and lanky stature, and in the Air Force his call name was Slim. He usually went by Ed and only people who really didn't know him called him Clarence (although we think his friend and boss, Mr. Hubert, would sometimes jokingly call him Clarence). Of course, he was Dad to us and once grandchildren came along (Ben, Josiah, Corrie, Hannah, and Sam), he became Grandad. You would often hear him answer the phone with, "It's Grandad," instead of a customary "hello."
In his life, Dad routinely put the needs of others before his own. He was extremely industrious and giving even at a young age. He bought his mom (Gammy to us) her first vacuum cleaner by making monthly installment payments to the store owner using the money earned from his paper route. When his father (Pop-Pop to us) tried to pay the store owner the balance, he replied, "No Buddy and I have a business arrangement." Dad was also the very first Eagle Scout ever in the Gaithersburg area, an honor that was easily exhibited by the characteristics he already embodied in his younger years.
Dad was a person of great character. His life is a picture of beating the odds. When he was 12 years old, he had a paper route that was seven miles long and his dog, Scrappy, would run along with him each and every morning- a memory he would often bring up. Dad worked his way and paid his way through college at George Washington University in Washington D.C. During the summers, he would work long, hot hours in a canning factory somewhere between 5:00am to 11pm. He would hitchhike into Washington to attend his classes each day. During the semester, he was out on Route 355 around 5:00 a.m., hitchhiking a ride with farmers heading into Washington to sell their food products. Later in the day, after classes, he would catch another ride to the Naval Hospital and hitchhike from there back to Gaithersburg. Dad was a walk-on pitcher for the GWU baseball team. He pitched so well that GWU gave him a partial athletic scholarship. At the end of his collegiate baseball career, the former major league Washington Senators offered him a contract to play in their minor league system, but he chose to pursue a career in construction.
While Dad was getting his degree, he had an English professor tell him that he was not college material and that he should think about getting out of school and to get a service job. Dad persevered, though, and he earned a degree in Civil Engineering. There is currently an office on the campus named after him. From 1946-47, Dad was in the United States Air Force upon being drafted.
Early in his career, he was working long hours with the national subcontractor, Anning-Johnson. After several years of this, he went to his boss and said, "There's got to be a better way to make a living." His boss said to him, "Well, have you ever tried sales?"
An HR psychologist from Chicago evaluated Dad and determined that Dad didn't have the right personality or what it takes to be a salesman. Yet Dad went on to become the number one salesperson in the nation for this company. In fact, it was rumored that the production team had to work hard just to keep up with his volume of sales.
Dad was always somebody that loved and cared about other people. He remained true to putting other people first. He eventually became Executive Vice President of Glen Construction and in 2012, the American Subcontractors Association of Metro Washington honored him with the Arthur C. Meushaw Award (lifetime achievement) for his significant contribution to the construction industry throughout his career. He also served as a leader in the Associated Builders and Contractors and had an illustrious 55-year career in construction always treating people with honesty, courtesy, and respect.
Despite all his time and effort and hard work in his career, Dad never lost sight of his family priorities. He still continually invested time in his family \endash Mom first, and then their two sons, Ed and Jeff. Dad would often come home from work, take off his tie (without changing out of his business clothes) and throw the baseball with us. Throughout his life, he always remained very dedicated to his church family as well.
Dad was one of the most loving, kind, patient people you would ever meet. He would get the names of a waitress or a waiter and call them by their name and talk to them and treat them with courtesy and respect.
He treated everybody with love, courtesy, and respect. Everybody.
His parents were Clarence Edward Becraft (Pop-Pop) and Sue Irwin Becraft (Gammy). He had two sisters: Barbara Becraft (age 95, still living in their childhood home) and Nancy Luther (recently deceased, age 89). His sisters would both frequently praise him on how great of a brother he was, and admired his love and loyalty to June.
C. Edwin Becraft was married to his wife, June Elizabeth Becraft (grandkids called her Bubbe), father of Ed Becraft, Jr., M.D. (wife, Sue, and children, Ben and Sam) and Jeff Becraft (wife, Brenda, and children, Josiah, Corrie, and Hannah). He is the grandfather (Grandad) of the five grandchildren who were just listed and the great-grandfather of James, Henry, and Luke (children of Ben & Casey Becraft), and Eleanor and Emerson (children of Josiah & Deanna Becraft), and Levi and Caleb (children of Ben & Corrie Chambers). There was no question that he was the patriarch and set the loving atmosphere for our family. He was 98 years old, just 12 days shy of turning 99.
As one friend recently stated, "It has been an honor for us to call your Dad a friend. And he was so much more than just a friend. He was one of those people who changes lives, ours included."
C. Edwin Becraft was filled with the love of God and he was always vocally thankful for that and for all of the blessings he had received from God. He spent his whole life sharing that love with others.
A service celebrating his life will be held on Saturday, March 22 at Epworth United Methodist Church facility, 9008 Rosemont Dr., Gaithersburg, MD 20877. Visitation is at 11:30 a.m. The celebration of his life service will be at 12:30 p.m.
If you would like to make a donation in his honor, you can contribute to the "C. Edwin Becraft" scholarship fund through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) for students who can learn about the love of Jesus through sports. Both Ed and Jeff were introduced to FCA by Ed and June and attribute their relationships with God to these camps. Make checks out to FCA and in the memo write "Becraft Scholarships" and mail to: Midlands FCA, P.O. Box 12657, Columbia, SC 29211.
Also, if you want to read an article about Ed as a highlighted GW alumnus, you can click here: http://cee.engineering.gwu.edu/mr-c-edwin-ed-becraft
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Wife June Elizabeth Bentley [6997]
Born: 20 Sep 1928 - Appalachia, Wise Co, VA
Christened:
Died: 21 Jul 2022 - Rockville, Montgomery, Maryland, United States
Buried: 30 Jul 2022 - Forest Oak Cemetery, Gaithersburg, Montgomery, Maryland, United States of America
FamilySearch ID: G2PN-M3S
Find A Grave ID: 242187073
Events
• Her brothers obituary appeared in the Bristol Herald Courier on 27 Jan 2001.
BENTLEY, JAMES ELMO KINGSPORT, TN -- James Elmo Bentley, 85, died at 12:04 a.m. Friday, Jan. 26, 2001, at his home in Lynn Garden. Born in Big Stone Gap, VA, on May 21, 1915, he has been a resident of Kingsport since 1935. Mr. Bentley was a veteran of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, serving during World War II in the Pacific Theater. He retired from Franklin Printing Company with over 46 years of service. He had been a member of Lynn Garden Evangelical Presbyterian Church since 1952. Mr. Bentley was a 50-plus year member of Kingsport Masonic Lodge 688, Lynn Bachman Chapter, a member of American Legion Hammond Post No. 3 and Charles DeWitt Byrd Post No. 3382 of the VFW. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ben and Leora Bentley and Harry and Gertrude Wallace; and one brother, H. C. Wallace Jr. Surviving are his wife of 61 years, Evelyn Russell Bentley of the home; two daughters, Jamie Buckles and husband Bill Jr., Big Stone Gap, VA, Jeannie Goins and husband, Phil, Kingsport; two granddaughters, Lori Anne Buckles, Johnson City, TN, and Shanna Goins, Kingsport; one grandson, Phillip Goins, Kingsport; two sisters, Betty Young, Big Stone Gap, VA, and June Becraft Gaithersburg, MD; three brothers, Bruce Bentley, Bristol, VA, Ben Bentley Jr., Charlotte, NC, and Jack Bentley, Richmond, VA; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and their families. Calling hours are from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday in the funeral home chapel with Pastor Steve Komoromi officiating. Interment will be in Oak Hill Cemetery with military graveside rites conducted by Charles DeWitt Byrd Post No. 3382 of the VFW. Memorials may be made to Shriners Children's Hospital, 950 W. Faris Road, Greenville, SC 29605-4277. Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. BRISTOL HERALD COURIER JAN 27, 2001.
• Her obituary was published in the Washington Post on 27 Jul 2022. JUNE BECRAFT OBITUARY
BECRAFT
JUNE BECRAFT
June Elizabeth Becraft, 93, beloved wife, mother and schoolteacher left this life and went into the arms of Jesus on July 21, 2022. She was married to her husband Ed Becraft for 68 years. A service celebrating her life will be held on Saturday, July 30 at Epworth United Methodist Church facility, 9008 Rosemont Dr., Gaithersburg, MD 20877. Visitation is at 1:30 p.m. The celebration of her life service will be at 2 p.m. More information at barberfhlaytonsville.com. Donations can be made to Epworth United Methodist Church.
Marriage Events
• They were engaged Kingsport Times-News on 21 Mar 1954. ...Edwin Becraft is being announced today ... parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ben H. Bentley Sr., ... Va. The bridegroom-to-be is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Becraft of Gaithersburg. ...
• Marriage: Kingsport Times-News, 6 Jun 1954. Appalachia was the scene of the wedding of Mrs. Clarence Edwin Becraft yesterday afternoon. The bride is the former Miss June...
Children
1 M Dr Clarence Edwin Becraft [930] (details suppressed for this person)
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Spouse: Sue [17032] (living)
2 M Jeff Becraft [931] (details suppressed for this person)
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Spouse: Brenda [17035] (living)