Gay son disowned by religious father writes blunt obituary after his dad’s passing
loving tribute on the website Legacy.com. Besides his work as a firefighter, Becker “enjoyed camping, road trips to Florida, playing card games, a hot game of Yahtzee, sipping a glass of wine or Southern Comfort on the deck with friends, watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy almost every night, or just relaxing with family.”Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.“However,” the tribute continued, “The part of Jim’s life that he valued most began on April 22, 1972, when he was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
He spent the next 52 years in worship to his God, Jehovah, and spent countless hours helping to teach others the beautiful truths that he learned from the Bible.”Another part of the tribute said, “The quality many will most remember him fondly for though, was his love for people.
He would often be the first person to show up when a friend or family member was in need and would do anything for anyone.”The obituary did not go down well with one surviving member of Becker’s family: His 42-year-old son, Timothy.
Timothy, who is gay and married to a man, posted his own tribute to Legacy last week. He said, “The previous obituary written by the family was highly misleading. “It was accurate in saying that the part of James’ life that he valued most was his religion as a Jehovah’s Witness, but it failed to mention to what extent…this included disowning and shunning his adult son, Timothy, when he chose to leave the religion in October 2013.”He goes on to say, “The previous obituary also failed to mention my cherished husband of eight years, Joseph McLaughlin whom they have chosen to never meet and refuse to acknowledge.
