Peter E. Beckett 1934–2026

Peter Beckett lived and worked in the greater New York City area for most of his life. He graduated from Manhasset High School in 1953 and Syracuse University in 1957 with a degree in economics. He was awarded varsity letters from both schools where he competed in lacrosse, soccer, and crew. At Syracuse, he participated in ROTC and was president of his fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

After graduation, he married his high school sweetheart, Gail Parsell, and together they moved to Augsberg, Germany, where Peter was stationed with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and where he attained the rank of first lieutenant.

After service in the army, Peter joined the Eastman Kodak Company. This proved to be a good fit for someone with an eye for design and a lifelong hobby of photography. He worked for 25 years in New York City as a technical sales representative; the remaining 5 years of his Kodak career were spent working in Washington, DC, after he relocated to Annapolis, MD.

In addition to photography, Peter maintained a lifelong devotion to athletics, specifically, rowing, running, and canoe racing, competing in the Head of the Charles regatta, 25 marathons, including Boston and NYC, the run up Mt Washington, and the General Clinton Canoe Regatta, a 70-mile canoe race. He also crewed on four Newport Bermuda sailing races.

Peter was also a teacher throughout his life, from classes in photography at SUNY Farmingdale, Parsons School of Design, and The New School for Social Research all the way to classes in boat building in Annapolis.

Peter is well known for his many diverse hobbies and enthusiasms, which included scuba diving, motocross, cross-country skiing, sailing, piloting sailplanes, woodworking, modern music and jazz, working on fast cars, boat building, and WWII spycraft.

Retirement years in Annapolis and later rural New Hampshire, were spent immersed in hobbies and interests and travels and visits with friends from far and wide. Peter and Gail moved to Eastview in Middlebury in 2015, where Peter became involved with the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and with local car enthusiast groups. Peter supported the LCMM’s boat building program, resulting in the construction of four pilot rowing gigs built by local high school students. After Gail passed away in 2023, he continued to share his knowledge of woodworking and boat building locally.

Peter is survived by his three children, David, Susan, and Jim and their families including eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at the Congregational Church of Middlebury on Saturday September 12th at 1:00.