Peter Beck, MD Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Dr. Peter Beck of Portsmouth, NH, 92, loving husband and brilliant physician, passed away on May 11, 2016. Peter was born on December 22, 1923 in Lucerne, Switzerland, the second son of Fritz & Julia Maria Walker Beck. The family immigrated to the U.S. and settled on a 100-acre farm on the shore of Lake Champlain, VT. Peter started in a one-room schoolhouse and then went to Hanover High School, where his academic achievements were celebrated and he gave the student address at commencement. Dr. Beck was a graduate of Dartmouth College, class of ’45, Dartmouth Medical School, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the University of Bern in Switzerland. He served in the Army for three years and took specialized training at Duke Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He was a Diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology. A renaissance man, Peter pursued a wide range of intellectual interests and was often quoted as a walking encyclopedia. An adventurous traveler, he visited all corners of the world and was well known to be caring and curious about people and distant cultures. An exceptional student of history, Dr. Beck constantly referred to it as a lens to understand current events. Dr. Beck was a captivating storyteller, regaling everyone with tales of seafaring adventures, turning patients and strangers into friends, and of a lifetime in medicine. Like his grandfather, Peter enjoyed it when people disagreed with him, since it made the opportunity for real discussion. This inclination- part of the Beck family genes - stayed with him throughout his life. Peter kept the memory of his brother Adrian (Dartmouth College ’41), killed in Guam during WWII, in his heart throughout his life. He has donated the family farm in Vermont to a group of Buddhists who will build a permanent memorial on the site. Dr. Beck was a man of deep compassion, bringing medical aid to remote areas and developing countries, and taking people from all walks of life into his home. In the great New England tradition, he was highly skilled in both eye surgery and fixing large construction equipment. He married Nancy Reynolds Beck in 1959 and settled in Portsmouth, NH, where they lived together for 57 years. SERVICES: Funeral services are private. Dr. Beck’s ashes will be placed in the family plot at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH.

Peter Beck, MD

December 22, 1923 - May 11, 2016