BENTON, Mo. -- Bobby Gene Beck, 67, of Benton died Monday, Oct. 13, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

He was born Dec. 13, 1935, at Hayti, Mo., son of Raymond and Nellie Beck Darnell. He first married Mary Franks Jan. 2, 1954, at Hayti. She preceded him in death. He and Martha Clessen were married Jan. 16, 1982, in Jackson.

Beck was a truck driver with ABF 32 years, retiring in 1998. He was a member of Excelsior Lodge 441 AF&AM in Jackson, and life member of VFW Post 3838 in Cape Girardeau.

He served in the U.S. Air Force.

Survivors include his wife; a son, Jim Haines of Sikeston, Mo.; five daughters, Donna Ellis of Paris Landing, Tenn., Karen Shackles of Cape Girardeau, Judy Lair of Madisonville, Ky., Martha Burns of Bakersfield, Calif., Rhonda Cox of Levelland, Texas; a brother, Rick Darnell of Braggadocio, Mo.; a sister, Mary Phillips of Hayti; 15 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother.

Friends may call at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Benton from 4 to 8 p.m. today. A Masonic service will be held at 7.

The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the chapel, with the Rev. David Thompson officiating. Graveside service will be at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Woodlawn Cemetery in Hayti, with full military rites by Missouri Honors Program.