Craig Becker, age 56, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, formerly of Luverne, died Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, at the University of Minnesota Fairview Medical Center.
He was born on Nov. 24, 1968, to Linley and Lorraine (Visker) Becker at the Luverne Community Hospital, Luverne, Minnesota. His aunt Judy Visker almost delivered Craig, as Dr. Siebert was on his way from church, but she was able to be present at his delivery. Craig was blessed to have an older sister, Paula, and a little sister, Kimberly, who passed away in 1971.
Craig spent so much time as a child with his family and extended family camping and fishing. He had a special relationship with his grandpa Joe Visker, who loved fishing with him.
As Craig grew older, he played sports – football and baseball, but his love was hockey. Craig and his friends were the first players when the Luverne Optimist Club started a club hockey program. Craig had many memories of playing hockey on the outdoor rink, but his favorite was when he skated coast to coast and scored the winning goal for a regional hockey game.
In May 1985 Craig met Julie (Pick) Becker, and they dated throughout high school. Upon Craig graduating from Luverne High School in 1987, he began college at St. Cloud State University. He attended St. Cloud for two years, with his last year living with his cousin, David Visker. Craig had not decided upon a major, so he decided to transfer to Mankato State University and entered the Electronic Engineering Program. While he was at Mankato State University, Julie decided to transfer from St. Cloud, and their love story continued. Craig graduated from Mankato State University in 1994 with a B.S. in Electronic Engineering.
Upon graduation, Craig and Julie moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with Craig’s first place of employment being at Sencore Electronic as a quality technician. Craig worked in this position for five years until the company continued to lay off employees. Craig struggled as a supervisor with having to let people go, so he accepted a position at Gateway as a quality engineer. He loved working at Gateway and met some of the most wonderful people who have become lifelong friends. After many years, Gateway began declining and Craig assisted with traveling to Raleigh, North Carolina, to assist with the transition and was one of the last employees when this company closed.
For the remainder of his career, Craig worked at Raven Industries/Aerostar International as a senior quality engineer. Craig helped with the creation of many of the Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons (Olaf, the Grinch and many more). He was also involved with Google Balloons and most recently with Boeing.
On July 31, 1993, Craig married Julie (Pick) Becker, the love of his life and high school sweetheart. This summer they celebrated 31 years of marriage. They were blessed with two wonderful children, Thomas and Sydney. Both were the purpose of his life. He was so proud of both the way they led their lives and the successes they achieved. During their childhood, Craig taught them so many things but to especially love life! He taught them how to be good people on and off the ice/field, with your character defining who you are and how you will be remembered.
Because of his love of hockey, Craig was a volunteer hockey coach for the Sioux Falls Flyers throughout Thomas’ hockey years. Many of those players spent many hours in the Beckers’ basement as a second home. He taught both how to camp, was there when they caught their first fish, taught them about hunting and taking care of the land, how to maintain their vehicles, do house repair projects, love their dogs as a friend, love music and build longlasting friendships.
One of the things Craig cherished was his friendships. He often said how lucky he was to have so many people in his life he called a friend, but also a brother. He was known for his big hugs, huge smile, and was the life of the party. Craig spent time taking care of his friendships by reaching out to them. Many nights were spent scrolling through his phone and making a call to someone who he had not talked to in a while. During his time at the U of M, we created Becker Love and we will carry on with this tradition and hope you do as well.
Hockey was his other love. He was a diehard fan of the Minnesota Wild, Minnesota Gophers and had season tickets to Augustana University with his friend Kyle. Becker was known for carrying his large speaker around, as he had a deep love for music and could only hear it at one level – loud!
Craig is lovingly remembered by his wife Julie, son Thomas and his fiancée Elizabeth (Liz) Neumiller, daughter Sydney and Josh Benda, parents Linley and Lorraine Becker, all of Sioux Falls, sister Paula (Steve Ward) Brandon, South Dakota, brother- and sister-in-law Dan and Diane Pick of Luverne, as well as uncles, aunts, numerous other family members and friends whom he considered part of his family.
He was preceded in death by his sister Kimberly; nephew-in-law Cody Miller; paternal grandparents, Fred and Ginny Becker; maternal grandparents, Joe and Reka Visker; uncle Ronny Visker; and his beloved hunting dog, Cash.
Visitation was from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18, at the Dingmann Funeral Home in Luverne. A celebration of Craig’s life will be Thursday beginning at 3 p.m., with sharing memories of Becker’s Love at 5:30 p.m. at Big Top Tents & Events in Luverne.
A time of fellowship and meal will follow at Big Top Tents & Events. Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne.
