John R. Beckwith

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Beckwith, John R. Age 91 of Eden Prairie, MN and formerly Minneapolis, MN passed away Wednesday November 21, 2018 at the Waconia Good Samaritan Center in Waconia, MN. Funeral service on Monday, December 10th at 10:30 AM in the Hewett Chapel at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral (519 Oak Grove St.) in Minneapolis with coffee following. Interment of ashes in Resurrection Cemetery in Grand Rapids, Michigan (date to be determined). John Raymond Beckwith was born May 1, 1927 in Grand Rapids, Michigan the son of Raymond J. and Victoria V. (Jackowski) Beckwith. John graduated with honors in Furniture Design and Interior Design majors at the David Walcott Kendall Memorial School in Grand Rapids. He attended St. Jerome's College-University of Waterloo Ontario, St. Mary's Seminary and University Baltimore, Maryland. John received a B.A. from Aquinas College Grand Rapids and completed his graduate degrees at Michigan State University. Most of John's career he was professor of Interior and Furniture Design as well as division head of Interior Design. In 1975 John was named interim head of the Kendall School of Design which later became Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids. He moved to Minnesota later in 1975 and was associated with Dorothy Collins Interiors of Edina before accepting the position of Lecturer in the department of Design, Housing and Apparel, College of Human Ecology, at the University of Minnesota. John enjoyed a separate career as a visual artist. His works are in private and corporate collections throughout the U.S. John was an enthusiastic lover of Classical music & Jazz, live theater, fine food & wine, assisting others and gardening. His gardens in Michigan were widely admired. John is survived by his nieces and nephews: John and Barbara Zimmer of Cologne, MN; James and Christy Zimmer of Waconia, MN; Victoria and Michael Howard of Charleston, SC; Thomas Zimmer of South Haven, MN; great nieces and nephews Sarah, William, Kari, Lucas, Maureen, Mary Kate, Daniel; other relatives and friends. Arrangements with Johnson Funeral Home in Waconia. johnsonfh.com

Published on December 9, 2018