John Earl Becton, Sr.

Funeral services for John Earl Becton, Sr, 83, of West Monroe, LA, will be held at 11 A.M., Saturday, October 28, 2023, at Community Baptist Church in West Monroe, LA with Rev. Danny McIlveene

officiating.   Interment will follow in Kilpatrick Serenity Gardens Cemetery in West Monroe. A visitation will be held at Mulhearn Funeral Home in West Monroe on Friday, October 27, 2023, from 5 P.M. until 7 P.M. 

John was born on November 19, 1939, to his parents Marjorie Doris Robertson Becton and Earl Becton Jr.  in Monroe, LA. and went home to be with his Lord and Savior on October 19. 2023, after a brief illness.  

Mr. Becton was a graduate of the 1957 class of West Monroe High School. John dated his future wife, Angie, while in High School.  A few years later they reconnected and were married on July 16, 1965.   John and Angie began their family with Julie Martin, their daughter from Angie’s previous marriage, and later adopted a baby girl named Cindy. They then welcomed their son, John, into this world 22 months later.   

John Earl Becton was a humble man.  He was a Dixie Youth Baseball and Softball Umpire and coach. At one time, he was the Louisiana Director of Umpires, and he umpired in the Dixie Youth World Series many times.  He was a Louisiana High School Football Referee for over 30 years. He refereed in the LHSAA State Championships in the New Orleans Super Dome many times.  John worked for Illinois Central Gulf Railroad for over 25 years. He was a Deputy Sheriff in the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Department for many years and was recognized for his work there.  He knew so many people and touched many lives.  In fact, it is difficult to go almost anywhere in the United States where he did not know someone.

But of all this recognition and the awards he received, he never talked about them.  When you listened to John Earl talk, it was always about his family, his wife, kids, and grandchildren.  He was immensely proud of all of them.  His joy when watching his daughter play softball, or his son winning a National Karate Championship or his grandchildren performing on stage or graduating college was easy to see. He would talk about his church and his friends and family there.  He would talk about his friends and hunting and fishing with them. He had a rich life and it showed in how he treated others.

John loved and served the Lord with all his heart. He enjoyed helping with security at church, being a Deacon, helping keep up with the “kitty” funds in his Sunday school class and he looked forward to the fall festival each year and mingling with the children and families which visited during that time. The love, prayers, and visits from so many during his brief illness meant the world to him, as well as to his family.

 John is preceded in death by his parents, Earl and Marjorie Becton; his wife and soulmate, Angelia Marie Becton; his daughter, Julie Ann Martin Jones; his grandson, George Robert “Robbie” Milford; his brother, Alfred Dee Becton, Sr., and his sister, Marjorie Janice Becton Hough.  

John is survived by his daughter, Cindy Kay Becton Jolly; his son, John Earl Becton, Jr; his grandsons, Shawn Robert Becton and Jarod Cole Becton; his granddaughter, Hunter Denise Becton; his nephew, Alfred Dee Becton Jr.; his nieces, Robin Becton Tisdale and Sharon Becton; and his great nephew, Kenneth Earl Becton. 

Pallbearers will be Tim Taylor, Jared Peters, Alfred Dee Becton Jr., Kenneth Earl Becton, Richard D. Perot, and Gary Smith.

The family would like to thank everyone for their prayers, support, and love during this time. A special thanks goes out to Ashley Dauzet, Ann Luellen, Mary Brown, Phyllis Cagle, and Debo Becton for being there for our daddy and helping Cindy and Susie 2, to see her daddy as much as possible.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Community Baptist Church Children’s Project.