Paul R. Becker, a pastor who served several churches in the Columbia and Camden areas, died Oct. 21, 2012, at his home in Louisville, Ky.
BeckerBorn in 1924, the Syracuse, N.Y., native came to South Carolina to attend Columbia Bible College. He also was an alumnus of Southwestern Seminary.
In the late 1940s, Becker was chaplain of South Carolina Industrial School, and in the early 1950s served as pastor of Malvern Hill Baptist Church, Camden; Springvale Baptist Church, and First Baptist Church, Lugoff.
In 1957, while pastoring Broadway Baptist Church in Columbia, he responded to a call to home missions. With the help of several Southern Baptist churches in South Carolina, Becker began his work – first in New York state, laying the groundwork for the New York Baptist Convention, and later in Wisconsin.
Returning to South Carolina 21 years later, he pastored Northgate Colonial Baptist and Cornerstone Baptist churches in Camden. He retired in 1985, having been a part of two dozen churches. A year ago, he and his wife, Ruth Rozier Becker, moved to Louisville to be near family.
Survivors include his wife of 61 years, two sons, five grandchildren and three great-granddaughters. He was preceded in death by a son.