A man of inventiveness, humor, generosity, energy, and love, as described by UP writer Brian Doyle, who knew him well. A man electrified by the wild creative energy of young people.
It was John who invented the Beckman Humor Project. He really did envision humor as a weapon against arrogance and violence, a binding agent of community, a gentle way to knock down walls between people and between kinds of people. He saw what could be – that, in a nutshell, is John Beckman.
Among so many other things, the Beckman legacy includes a scholarship fund created by John and Patricia, “to foment and encourage and celebrate and spread gentle witty wry humor as a communal energy, as a weapon against arrogance and lies and greed, and as a defiant shout against the dark,” as John so brilliantly described it. Applications for five Brian Doyle Scholarships in Gentle and Sidelong Humor will be posted here in January 2016 for awards for the 2016-2017 academic year.