March 22, 1944 — July 31, 2025
Donald Becker, 81, of Aberdeen passed away on July 31, 2025 at Strand-Kjorsvig Community Rest Home in Roslyn after a valiant three-year battle with lung disease.
A Celebration of Life will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. CT, Sunday, Sept. 28, at The Center, aka The Waffle Cone, in downtown Aberdeen.
Memorials may be sent to Aberdeen Area Humane Society in lieu of flowers. Schriver’s Memorial Mortuary and Crematory, Aberdeen, is in charge of arrangements.
Don Becker grew up on the South Dakota prairie and never strayed very far from that prairie home. His ties to the land were deep. That love of nature and the natural world was reflected in his artwork and his photography, his career as a screen printer, his backyard gardening, and the few rustic places he chose to travel to and spend his leisure time.
Don was born March 22, 1944 in Rapid City to Raymond and Margaret (Heil) Becker. The hospital was a three-hour drive from the Becker home in Eagle Butte, a small town deeply rooted in the history of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Early on, Don developed friendships with many Native Americans.
The youngest of eight children, Don spent much of his childhood and adolescence roaming the countryside, often exploring the rugged prairie landscape alone on horseback. The only house rules were to come home for meals and “watch out for rattlesnakes.”
These early outings must have sparked his artistic sense. Throughout his life, images of nature and wildlife and American Indian culture would appear and reappear in his paintings and photography. With pride, he sent his “artworks,” his children, out into the world to be displayed by friends and family.
Don had aunts, uncles, and cousins in Rapid City, so he spent time there as he was growing up, often fishing with an uncle. He graduated from Eagle Butte High School in 1962. After serving in the Army in the Vietnam War era of the late 1960s, he returned to school, graduating in 1972 from Northern State College, now Northern State University, in Aberdeen.
On June 22, 1974, he married Carol Gruba, who had grown up on a farm near Webster with four siblings. Together, they made their home in Aberdeen.
Don’s screen-printing career included stints as co-owner of Trout Bros. Screen Printing and working for Geffdog Design and Apparel, both in Aberdeen. When he and Carol found time to vacation, one of their favorite destinations was Spearfish Canyon, a six-hour drive from home. After trying to camp in a tent and getting rained out, they later began to rent a cabin. They also enjoyed canoeing on the James River.
Don and Carol made a home for numerous pet cats, including, most recently, Chewbacca, or “Chewy.” On and off from 1994 until 2011, Don participated in a men’s-only Saturday morning coffee group that engaged in lively conversation, usually expressing their heartfelt liberal politics.
Don is survived by his wife of 51 years, Carol; sisters Mary Lou Scherer, Marce McGuire, Virginia Storey, and Donna Bowker; sistersin- law Suzanne Gruba and Mary Jane Gruba; brothers-in-law Dave Gruba and Robert Gruba; 38 nieces and nephews; and his dear friend, Paul Thompson.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ray and Margaret Becker; his brother Darold Becker; and sisters Peg Simmers and Charlotte Hartel.