Becker memorial set for Nov. 22

Friends and family of Bernard Becker, MD, will gather for a memorial Friday, Nov. 22. Becker, professor emeritus of ophthalmology and visual sciences, died at his home Aug. 28, 2013, at the age of 93.

The memorial will be held at 1 p.m. in Moore Auditorium in the North Building at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Speakers will include Becker’s family members, friends and colleagues, including Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton; Chancellor Emeritus William H. Danforth, MD; Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor and dean of the School of Medicine; Michael A. Kass, MD, the Bernard Becker Professor and head of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences; and alumnus Russell N. Van Gelder, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Following the ceremony, there will be a reception in the library’s King Center. There also will be tours of the Bernard Becker Medical Library, including the rare-book section, to which Becker donated generously during his lifetime.

Becker joined the faculty at the School of Medicine in 1953 and served as head of ophthalmology and visual sciences until 1988. Under his leadership, the department became internationally known for exceptional research and teaching.