| His parents | Married 7/25/1951 | Her parents |
| Grandfather Rallan John Beck (7/12/1931 – 6/20/2017) |  ND | Grandmother Eileen Marie Korb-Beck (1/05/1933 – 12/13/2023) |
| Ancestor 6 (110) | Their ancestral child | Ancestor 7 (111) |
Rallan and Eileen Beck both spent their entire lives in Cavalier County, ND. They were married in Calio in July 1951, a month after Eileen graduated from high school! Their five children were born between 1952 and 1962.
Rallan took up his father’s profession as a grain farmer, the most common career in that place and time. Farming technology changed immensely in his lifetime. He started out with small open-air vehicles (sometimes cobbled together himself) and gradually progressed to giant half-million-dollar John Deeres with enclosed cabs and CB radios. He was a little frustrated in his old age that he could no longer keep up with the computerization of these luxury vessels.
In 1957, the young couple (with their parents’ help, I believe) bought “The Meyer Farm” in Calio. They built the house where they would live in the ’60s and ’70s, and which is still in the family. For perspective, note that the grain shed above is also seen in the image below.
With an empty nest in 1982, they then built their brick house in Munich, home for the rest of their lives.
Grandpa built the houses, but Grandma was the homemaker extraordinaire. She, with her well-trained regiment of children, kept the house, yard, and gardens in good order. Her kitchen skills were extraordinary; she could have operated a restaurant. She had hundreds of index cards in her recipe boxes. Many of them were barely legible anymore after decades of wear and oil stains, but I suspect she had most of them memorized anyway. Grandma was also meticulous at record-keeping. It’s her notes and pictures that make this family so well documented.
Rallan and Eileen were both dearly beloved by their children and grandchildren. They made it a point to attend as many ball games and events as possible, which were far too many to count. We all have fond memories of their laughs, their folksy memories, the delicious smells, and the colossal scale of their farm.
If you wish to contact one of their children, please email me at [email protected] and I will relay the message.
If you’re related, please join the appropriate Facebook group(s) to stay in touch with Rallan & Eileen’s living descendants:
John Beck and Gertrude Helten-Beck