Charles O. Beckman was a native of Indiana, born at Newport, April 22, 1873.  He was educated in the Indiana Public Schools and at Indiana and De Paul Universities.  He was later granted the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.  In the fall of 1896 he was admitted into the membership of the Northern Minnesota Annual Conference.  He served three pastorates in that Conference.  While as a pastor at Moorhead, Minnesota, he met and was married to Miss Lillian Wade, a native of Pennsylvania and at the time of their marriage a teacher in the Moorhead public schools.  They had one daughter, Gayle, now Mrs. Oscar B. Swanson of Delta, Colorado.

Seeking a milder climate, Dr. Beckman transferred to the Oregon Conference.  Suffering from incipient tuberculosis, he soon found the Oregon climate too damp for him, and in May, 1906 he was transferred to the New Mexico Conference as pastor of the First Methodist Church of El Paso, Texas.  After six good years, he was appointed pastor of the First Methodist Church of Albuquerque, New Mexico, which church he served for eleven years.  This was undoubtedly the most successful pastorate of his career, the church membership growing from 250 to 1015 in the eleven year period.

In 1921 Dr. Beckman transferred to the Colorado Conference as pastor of the First Methodist Church in Cañon City.  After serving this church for seven years, he was appointed to the First Methodist Church of Boulder, where he remained for ten years.  Persistent throat trouble caused Dr. Beckman to ask for an appointment in a drier and warmer climate.  He was returned to the New Mexico Conference and appointed to his former church in El Paso, Texas. His health continued to decline, so he sought and was granted the retired relation in June, 1939.

After retirement, Dr. and Mrs. Beckman spent their summers in Boulder and their winters in Phoenix, Arizona.  While enroute to Phoenix in October, 1942, Mrs. Beckman died suddenly of a heart attack.  In 1944, Dr. Beckman was married to Mrs. George T. Wilson at Wichita Falls, Texas, with whom he had happy comradeship until his death, August 20, 1962.  Mrs. Wilson Beckman survives him and resides in Boulder, Colorado.

Dr. Beckman was a man of real ability as a pastor and preacher.  He had deep convictions and the courage also of his convictions.  His was a record of long and successful pastorates.  For many years he served as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Iliff School of Theology, and was for seventeen years a member of the Board of Conference Relations of the Conference.  He was chairman of that Board at the time of his retirement from the active ministry.  In all the churches he served, in him community relations, by his brother ministers and hosts of people general Dr. Beckman was held in high esteem and deep affection.  His memory abides as an inspiration to all who knew him.

copied from Rocky Mountain Methodist Annual Conference, June, 1963