Alumni Profile
Doris (Lew) Beck '50
By Bill Valladares.

When Doris (Lew) Beck and her husband Felix attended a gala awards dinner in 1978, she was introduced to entertainer Ben Vereen as Mayor Beck of Livingston. He instinctively extended his hand toward Mr. Beck, who shook his head and pointed to his wife. Vereen smiled, put his arm around Beck and said, "We've both come a long way, baby."

Beck had come a long way. Defying the odds, she and her entire Democratic ticket won in a Republican town, and as the biggest vote getter in Livingston's council-manager form of government, Beck became the first woman elected mayor in Essex County. "A Woman? A Democrat? Mayor? In Livingston?" read the front-page headline in the Jan. 2, 1975 edition of The Daily Record.

"We campaign door to door in Livingston, so I wore out three pairs of shoes," said Beck. But it was her role as mother that really carried her to town hall. "As PTA president and being involved in Little League and other sports, I unwittingly did all the groundwork by getting involved for my children."

Beck taught fourth grade in Irvington for three years after graduating from Montclair State, then stayed home to raise her sons. During the '60s she got involved with the League of Women Voters, becoming president of the local chapter and later vice president of the state organization.

"These were women interested in helping the country," she said. "Joining and starting all kinds of women's programs and organizations changed my life."

So much so that it ultimately inspired Beck to launch a career in politics at age 45.

Beck, who served as mayor in '75 and again in '78, sought public office to improve the image of citizens in public service when the image of politicians was tarnished. "Local officials can invigorate public trust, and that trust becomes contagious," she said. "They were exciting times. Politics gets your name out there, but as the first woman mayor in the county I got even more publicity, which led to a lot of other things."

However, Beck didn't mind sharing the headlines with Millicent Fenwick, a popular and outspoken Republican from New Jersey, who was 64 years old when she was elected to Congress in 1974. (Montclair State recently named a building after Fenwick.)

Beck used her position and the spotlight, not to propel her own political career, but to better serve her constituency, and after eight years on the council, she retired to devote more time to her family and other interests.

Beck has given her time and service as a trustee of the Saint Barnabas Medical Center and the Livingston Library, has served on the Board of Managers of the Orange Savings Bank, was appointed chair of the State Library Council of New Jersey, was vice chair of the Essex County Conference of Mayors, director of the United Way of North Essex, co-chair of the Mental Health Association of Essex County, chair of the steering committee of the Newark Chamber of Commerce Task Force on Regional Planning and a guest lecturer on government in the Livingston schools. She also is involved with the Jewish community, supporting the synagogue where her sons had their bah mitzvahs.

Doris Beck (right) poses in the amphitheater during her college days.

"We still support that synagogue because we want other children to have the same opportunities," said Beck, who appreciates the importance of being given an opportunity. If it were not for help from a friend, Beck never could have fled Poland with her parents and sisters, Adele and Ann, to escape the Holocaust, which claimed the lives of her other relatives. That friend was former N.J. Gov. Thomas H. Kean's father.

"He was a congressman who helped get my family here," Beck explained. "We moved to Newark where my father was a tailor, so my sisters and I would go home from school during lunch to pull out bastings. Tom Kean and I are great friends." Then she grinned and whispered, "He and Millicent Fenwick, another great friend, are the only two Republicans I've ever voted for."

Though a life dedicated to service and philanthropy has provided a cache of intriguing stories from a fabulous storyteller, Beck has an uncanny knack for deflecting the focus away from herself to her family and the people who helped get her where she is today.

The grandmother of four enjoys directing guests through her Livingston home--which she and Felix designed and built--to what she calls her "living wall," where visitors can view recent awards, news clippings and up-to-date pictures. Glossing over her own contributions to the constantly changing cork wall, Beck takes more pride in telling about her husband Felix, chair emeritus at Chase Home Finance and an icon of the Mortgage Bankers Association, and three sons:
Jeffrey, who gave up practicing law after 20 years to become a social worker because he wanted to help others; Bruce, a sportscaster on NBC-TV; and Steven, a Wall Street executive.

After retiring from the town council Beck put the business skills she gained at Montclair State to good use as a member of the New York Stock Exchange arbitration board. But she'll tell you that it was her experience in dance and as a majorette in college that gave her courage in the business world.

"Modern dance was such an important part of my life at Montclair State," she said. "It gives you a confidence about yourself. When you're on, nothing can get in your way."

Beck began her studies at Montclair State when it was a teachers college. "I had no interest in teaching so I transferred to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York after freshman year," she explained. "I returned to campus on a glorious sunny day in 1947 to watch my older sister Adele [Press] graduate in the amphitheater. I was thrilled and wanted to graduate in the amphitheater, too, so I begged the dean to take me back."

Beck returned to Montclair State and earned a degree in business education. But it rained, so the ceremony was moved indoors.
Although she never got her day in the sun, Beck is convinced she made the right choice by going back to Montclair State. (MSU became a family affair when her sister Ann [Kirschner], who graduated from Newark State, now Kean, earned a master's degree in fine arts-studio from Montclair State in 1970.)

More than half a century after Beck left Montclair State, the amphitheater lured her back to campus when she spotted herself in a photo in Alumni Life. The photo, taken in the 1940s, accompanied a story about the amphitheater restoration project that is still underway. A mutual friend of Beck and Montclair State President Susan A. Cole arranged for the two to meet.

"I'm a real feminist--internally--so I wanted to meet Dr. Cole," said Beck. "During my visit I discovered that I still get a beautiful feeling in the amphitheater. I got a great education at Montclair State.

"The University provided me with a financial background that has been invaluable and indispensable. And the diversity on campus provided an early experience in interaction with people. For this and more, I shall always be grateful."

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