Merle L. Becker

Medfield, Mass.

 

 

 

 

 

Merle and his wife, Norma live in Medfield , Mass. They have two sons and four grandchildren. He worked for many years in the newspaper industry, “I was Vice President, Thompson Newspapers, Inc. operating from the divisional office in the Boston area with responsibilities for operations of some 17 daily newspapers. I spent 30 years total with the newspaper industry which began with the Hanover Evening Sun, and went on from there to various management positions including consultant roles in Chicago and Tampa with a stopover assignment as Publisher of the daily newspaper in Key West Florida before moving to Boston.” He is presently semi retired, working part time in real estate. Norma is retired.

 

His hobbies are, “Golf, hiking (approx. 5-7 miles most days) and an avid reader.” His comments on the education we got at EHS were, “I think the basics of learning were certainly far better than they are today, and we were trained well as a result. But the advances through the past 50 years in computer technology, etc. make for difficult comparisons.” Mary Menges got his vote for most effective teacher.

 

Merle’s comments on being born in the  50’s or the 80’s … “I always look back with warm thoughts of the ‘50’s. It was a great time to be young, to dream. The pace was slower, friends were closer, and worries were less. It was a simpler time and I’d not trade it for anything. Of course, I do like the idea of being 17 again.”

 

Merle is most proud of, “I’m fortunate to have had a great wife and two kids who were always a part of the major decisions which were made early on in my life. Taking that big leap from Hanover to the unknown world of Chicago to a new job and a ‘maybe’ life changing opportunity was not an easy choice, but with their encouragement, a move we did indeed make. That first step led us on a path not always easy but to opportunities which might never have been realized.”

 

His message to his classmates is, “I read somewhere that except for this instant everything of your life is in the past. And this instant too shall be a part of that history before the next breath has been taken. Learn to enjoy what you have … what there is, and what you can do with each of those moments left to you. It is, after all, a wonderful world that can be made just a little bit better by your participation in it.”

 

Merle served in the U.S. Navy for four years.