Richard P. Beckendorf, 85; Journeyed to Every Continent

Richard Peter Beckendorf, a man who during his lifetime visited all seven continents and over 150 countries, died on July 10 in Pacific Palisades, where he had resided since 1975. He was 85. Born on September 9, 1919 in Manila, Philippines, Beckendorf traveled to the U.S. with his parents, who were Methodist missionaries, in 1931 but was unable to return to the Philippines because of the worldwide Depression. The family lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Beckendorf graduated from Hamline University at the age of 19. Beckendorf settled in Los Angeles in 1941 and married Helene Leckman the next year. He received a commission as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve on July 6, 1942 and was sent to Harvard Business School for six months. He then served on the USS Dubuque and at the Los Alamitos Naval Air Station before being becoming a supply officer on the USS Broadwater, an attack troop transport in the South Pacific. After being honorably discharged as a Lieutenant SG in 1948, Beckendorf decided to devote his career to insurance. He joined Liberty Mutual but left shortly afterward to become a partner at a Los Angeles firm. He established his own brokerage in Brentwood in 1966, and never retired. Beckendorf was widowed after 41 years of marriage in 1983. Two years later he married Margaret (Peggy) Smith Wilton. He was fond of saying how lucky he had been to have met, married and loved two beautiful and wonderful women. He gained his love of people and places from growing up in a missionary family, and he encouraged his sons in their extensive travels. A memorial service was held on July 19 at the Bel-Air Bay Club in Pacific Palisades, where Beckendorf was a long-time member. Donations in his memory may be made to the L.A. Times Summer Camp Fund or the American Cancer Society. In addition to his wife Peggy, Beckendorf is survived by his sons, John Peter Beckendorf of Cheviot Hills and Richard Lee Beckendorf of Santa Monica, from his first marriage; three stepsons from his second marriage; 15 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.