Mabel Lou Becker

Mabel Becker, age 89, was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, next to the railroad tracks where her father, a railroad man and great storyteller, inspired in her a life of adventures where she could follow her dreams.

Through hard work and determination, Mabel received her nursing degree from the Jewish Hospital School of Nursing. While training to be a nurse, she met the love of her life, Louis Becker, M.D. Mabel and Lou were married in 1957 in Cincinnati, Ohio. They were married 55 years. They had 4 children, Wendy, Marc, David and Julie, who gave Mabel seven amazing grandchildren, Miriam, Elyse, Cameron, Griffin, Reagan, Tucker, and Erica.

Immediately after their wedding, Mabel and her husband drove to California where they settled in Glendale, California. In Glendale, Mabel was the assistant head nurse in the nursery at Los Angeles County General Hospital. They moved back to Cincinnati for a year. From there they moved to Bosier City, Louisiana. and eventually settled in Dayton, Ohio. Mabel and Lou raised their children in Trotwood, Ohio. The couple retired in New Albany, Ohio where she was able to be a part of her grandchildren’s lives.

Throughout her life, Mabel loved traveling with her husband, and they were able to travel to most of the places on their bucket list, including Israel, Russia, Europe, Turkey, Peru, and Hawaii. Mabel had the honor of travelling with other women lawyers to China where she learned the meaning of the “Prince Charles Rule” and came back with great stories to share with friends and family.

Mabel began her volunteer career with B’nai Brith Women, in Dayton, Ohio, organizing many philanthropic activities and holding several leadership roles. She was also a Girl Scout leader. During the turbulent civil rights movement of the 1960’s, Mabel’s intelligence and drive to help others led her to become a civil rights advocate where she participated in neighborhood canvassing for voter registration and led grade school lessons to combat racism. When her volunteer activities spread to fighting redlining and advocating for fair housing, she founded THROB, Inc. She also founded the Jewish-Christian Dialog Group. During this time, she became interested in a law career.

She attended University of Dayton Law School from 1977-1980, when only a few women were practicing law in Dayton, and her class had less than 10% women. Based on the lack of female role models in the area, at the end of her first year of law school, Mabel organized a road trip to Atlanta to attend the First Annual Conference on Women in the Law with several classmates. She felt honored to meet one of the presenters, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, long before she became a Supreme Court Judge. Following RBG in Atlanta, Mabel attended the March for the ERA in Washington DC in July,1978, along with 100,000 other women. Mabel was determined to live long enough to see the passage of the ERA but was comforted by convincing her granddaughters to take up the cause.

After graduating from law school and passing the bar exam Mabel co-founded the first all-women’s law firm in the area, Henley, Vaughn, Becker & Wald, focusing on juvenile & family law. While working with families in turmoil, Mabel found her calling helping juveniles which led to a position as a Magistrate Judge in Montgomery County Juvenile Court, where she presided until she retired.

During her law career, in addition to founding the Miami Valley Association of Women Attorneys, she volunteered at numerous organizations including the Battered Women’s Shelter, the Montgomery County Citizens Review Board, the Dayton Women’s Network, the Child Advocacy of Ohio, and Day Break. She also developed and presented ‘Nursing and the Law’ seminars. Her lifetime of dedicated advocacy to make the world a better place for minorities, women and children was recognized when she was honored by the Dayton Daily News in 1986 as one of the Top Ten Women of the Year.

Mabel died in her home surrounded by loved ones on April 3rd. She is preceded in death by her husband, Louis Becker, and her son, David Becker.

A Funeral Service will take place at 12PM on Friday, April 11th at Schoedinger Northeast Funeral Home (1051 E Johnstown Rd. Gahanna OH 43230). A graveside service will follow, beginning at 2PM at Greenlawn Cemetery (1000 Greenlawn Ave Columbus OH 43223)

In Mabel’s memory, please vote for Democrats. In lieu of flowers, please honor Mabel’s legacy with a donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center or the ACLU.