Ellen June Pitchford Becker, 98, of Independence, Missouri, went to be with her Savior Nov. 18, 2021 surrounded by her family at Country Club Care Center in Warrensburg.

Ellen was born May 17, 1923 in Medford, Missouri to Ava L. and Myrtle Bell Randall Pitchford. Her father was a Methodist preacher and she grew up in a variety of parsonages around south-central Missouri before graduating from high school in Willard, Missouri in 1940. She spent several summers in the 1940s traveling on staff with Methodist Youth Caravans.

After two years at Southwest Missouri State Teachers College, she began teaching in a one-room country schoolhouse to earn money for tuition. In 1946, she completed her bachelor's degree in Business Education at SMSTC and taught typing, bookkeeping and shorthand at Buffalo and Windsor high schools. In the summer of 1951, she became the very first bookkeeper at Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, where she met Harry S. Truman's daughter, Margaret.

In Windsor, she met her husband David F. Becker, an industrial arts teacher from Alma, Missouri. They were married by her father in Sweet Springs, Missouri on June 14, 1952. Ellen and David spent their early marriage in Jefferson City, where they had two children, before moving to Independence. They volunteered for many years at their church and served meals to the community. They also worked together at the Senior Citizen's Craft Shop in the Independence courthouse.

Ellen was a devoted Christian, wife, mother and grandmother who lived her life to serve others. She was an avid reader and enjoyed the Kansas City Star's crossword puzzle – which she always completed in ink.

She is survived by her son James Becker (Debbie) of Warrensburg, her daughter Nancy Littlejohn (Jeff) of Norman, Oklahoma, grandchildren David Littlejohn (Liz), Timothy Becker (Stephanie), Lee Littlejohn (Kitty), and Ellen Becker Blaize (Josh). She also leaves one great grandson, Henry Littlejohn. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Wendell Pitchford and husband, David Becker.

A memorial service will be held Sunday, Nov. 28 at Life Church of the Nazarene in Warrensburg, with visitation at 1:30 p.m., service at 2:00 pm, and family graveside service following at the Calvary Cemetery in Corder, Missouri. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for any memorial contributions to be made to Mother's Refuge of Independence.