Martha Beck
(October 1, 1929 – March 13, 2002)
Martha E. Beck (née Manos), was a longtime Chicago-area con fan. The warm-hearted and hospitable Martha, a mainstay of All-Night Fandom, would frequently throw her hotel room open at conventions for casual coffee gatherings after most room parties had died down.
She was a member of the committee at Chicon III, where she ran the N3F suite, a job she undertook at many Worldcons. She spearheaded the Hevelin to Holland fan fund, and The Kemp Fund to bring Earl Kemp to Chicon IV. Martha was one of the League of Lecherous Ladies.
She was an associate member of the First Fandom club and active in the N3F. She ran for TAFF in 1985 as write-in candidate, after her candidacy was rejected by TAFF administrators, collateral damage in the TAFF Wars.
Born in Paducah, Kentucky, Martha married Henry Cabot Beck, Sr., in 1949, and didn't discover until after they were married that he also read SF. They settled in Gary and then Crown Point, Indiana, and had two children, Irene and Henry. Hank and Martha became associated with Chicago fandom in 1957.
In 1992, the Becks retired to Payson, Arizona. Martha was an artist and a musician.
- Photo, center right, with Joni Stopa, center left, at Noreascon 1, 1971.
- FindaGrave entry.
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
- 1974 -- ChambanaCon 4
- 1979 -- BYOB-Con 9
- 1984 -- Genuine ConFusion
- 1986 -- InConJunction VI
- 1988 -- Archon 12
- 1990 -- Windycon XVII
- 2002 -- First Fandom Hall of Fame, Archon Hall of Fame Award: Grand Master (posthumous)
| Person | 1929—2002 |
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