Elaine (as she was always known, having relegated Harriet to second name status) was born the second of three daughters to Ben Franklin Backus and Marion Sybil Richel. Her mother would marry four times and a younger brother, Edward, eventually completed the family. While she was born in Canton, Pennsylvania, she grew up in Norwich, New York, where the family moved. Showing her independence, she moved to Rochester, New York, on her own to find work as a secretary and lived with an uncle. There she met William Beck, whom she married on October 7, 1939. They remained married for 36 years until his death in 1975. They would raise three children, Helen, Thomas and Robert.

Over the years, she worked as a secretary at Hickock and then in the psychiatric unit at Strong Memorial Hospital, and finally in the cardiac surgery unit, from which she retired in her 70s. She once threatened to quit if the hospital removed her typewriter and forced her to convert to computerized word processing. It was a measure of her skill and value that they never did. She was a vibrant and independent lady who remained active well into her 80s. She lived to welcome a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren and always had numerous friends. One of her favorite sayings was, "It's a great life if you don't weaken," which she finally did as the result of heart failure on April 22, 2006, at the age of 88. Always renowned as a gourmet cook, at her funeral every family member recalled some special dish that she brought to numerous dinners, picnics and barbeques--the recipes for which remain as a family legacy.

Parents:
Ben Franklin Backus
Marion Sybil Richel

Siblings:
Marjorie Backus Snell
Una Jean Backus Fabrise Phillipson
Elizabeth Backus
Edward Evans

Spouse:
William Joseph Beck (1916-1975)

Children:
Helen Jean Beck Ratcliffe (1941- )
Thomas Edward Beck (1944- )
Robert Francis Beck (1946- )