Sheila Foley Beck

Sheila Foley Beck was born on September 11, 1931 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and died peacefully at age 93 on June 28, 2025 at Silverado memory care in Austin, Texas. Her husband, Richard Raymond “Dick” Beck predeceased her in 2014. She is survived by her siblings, Herbert Foley and Sally Foley. Her older sister, Marie Foley Lewis died on March 18, 2026 at age 96. Sheila is also survived by her children, Richard Kabat Beck and his partner, Pegi, Debbie Beck Alsup and her husband Jim, Ginger Beck Voss, and John Beck and his wife Christi. Sheila “Beala” is also survived by her 7 grandchildren, Caroline Alsup (Justin Brown), Sally DeGiovanni (Sam), Annie Hoogland (Ben), Joseph Voss, Hunter Voss, Matthew Beck, Alison Beck, plus her 6 great-grandchildren, James and Nell DeGiovanni, Sebastian and Penelope Brown, and Ella and Allston Hoogland – all of whom delighted her. Sheila was a first generation American. Her parents immigrated from Scotland and England, establishing themselves in New Jersey. She excelled at school academically and in her artistic abilities. She regretted not attending college but couldn’t afford it, and instead worked as a secretary for Employers Mutual of Wausau Insurance Company, where she met Dick at a company picnic. They married in 1951, and soon thereafter moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where Dick served in the Army as a transportation specialist during the Korean War. Afterwards, Sheila and Dick crossed the country as he was promoted up the corporate ladder in the insurance industry, living in Des Moines, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Vienna, Virginia and finally in Fort Worth, Texas where they moved with their growing family in 1972. Sheila was an accomplished artist, mostly self-taught. She painted portraits, landscapes and still lifes in oil, acrylic, pastels and watercolors. Painting gave her great joy and occupied a large part of her life. She exhibited works in various art shows, galleries and even showed her art on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Itching for a new adventure, Sheila decided she wanted to learn to fly. She and Dick took a ground school class, and still excelling academically, Sheila passed the FAA test and Dick failed. She earned her private pilot’s license, and later her instrument and commercial ratings. They moved to Georgetown, Texas to be closer to their daughters and so she would have a nearby place to hangar her plane. Sheila’s greatest pride was owning her own plane. She embraced being a Texan and had her Mooney painted with the Texas flag. You could definitely see her coming! She had many, many adventures flying. From flying over Cuba to the Cayman Islands, participating in a Mooney Caravan to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the Civil Air Patrol, races with the women’s 99’s flying group, or just flying to San Marcos for pancakes, flying was her passion. She made many friends at the Georgetown airport and her picture is on display in the FBO. Our mom loved her family, flying her Mooney, painting, bagpipes, concrete, chainsaws, and burn piles - not necessarily in that order. Her laugh was boisterous, to the embarrassment of her children. But in her last few years at Silverado, that laugh was welcomed. In every recent picture she had a wide smile, which always crossed her face when one of her children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren entered the room. A private service was held by her family on May 2, 2026.

Sheila Foley Beck

September 11, 1931 - June 28, 2025