Dale Eugene Beck, 82, died April 28, 2025, at Mennonite Friendship Communities, South Hutchinson, Kansas. He was born Sept. 10, 1942, to Edward J. and Elner (Zimmerman) Beck, and grew up in rural Reno County on property homesteaded by the Beck family in 1896.
A 1960 graduate of Fairfield North High School in Plevna, KS, Dale majored in Forestry at Oklahoma State University. He and Diane K. Crow married March 20, 1965; residents of California and southeast Kansas, while Dale worked for the U.S. Forest Service and Crawford County Conservation District, they moved back to the Plevna area in 1970 to begin farming. In 1972, Dale was named Outstanding Young Farmer by the Hutchinson Jaycees.
Incorporating as Prairie Farms (1981), Dale and Diane raised livestock and three children while expanding their farming operation. They were recognized by Greater Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce as 1985 Farm Focus Couple; and Dale received the Reno County Conservation District Lifetime Stewardship Award (2011). His community support included service to Plevna Community Bible Church, Fairfield USD 310 Board of Education, Reno County Soil Conservation District, area co-op boards—and donating 122 pints of blood to the American Red Cross (1990-2020).
Despite lacking depth perception in one eye, Dale earned his IFR pilot license via Roberts Flying Service in Sylvia, KS (1981) and co-owned Cessna N23323. Prairie Farms was featured in an Audubon Society special produced by Judith Dwan Hallet (1992) that aired nationally on TBS and PBS; aside from his on-camera role in “Battle for The Great Plains”, Dale problem-solved plane-mounting equipment for some of the documentary’s flyover shots.
Dale and Diane purchased property in Estes Park, CO (1993) and enjoyed relaxing there. In 2015, Dale moved Diane to Dillon Living Center, and later Mennonite Friendship Communities (MFC). In January 2022, Dale left their farm and moved to MFC himself.
Dale is survived by: sister, Kay Bachus (Terry), Green Mountain Falls, CO; children, Renae J Burt (Kevin), Austin, TX, Carma Morin (Joe), Estes Park, CO, and Seth Beck (Jacki), Plevna; grandchildren, Tristan Burt (Haley), Evan Burt, Jake and Ethan Beck, Dakota (Cassie) Parkhurst, and Jenaka Parkhurst; and great-granddaughter, Margaret Louise Burt.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and wife of 58 years, Diane (August 2023).
Celebration of life will be 10:30 a.m., Friday, May 16, 2025, at Elliott Chapel, followed by burial at Memorial Park Cemetery, Hutchinson. Friends may sign his memorial book from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until the service. Visitation with family will be 4 to 6 p.m., Thursday, May 15, at the mortuary.
The funeral service will be livestreamed and the link will be active beginning at 10:20 a.m. the day of the service.