P.E.I. historian and CBC Radio columnist Boyde Beck dies at home

Island historian Boyde Beck died Tuesday of complications from pancreatic cancer.

Beck died at home. He was 56.

Beck was a historical research officer with the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation, but was best known for the stories of Island history he told on CBC Radio over a period of nearly 25 years.

Beck delivered his final column in March of this year.

P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation executive director David Keenlyside said Beck had a passion for heritage and heritage preservation, as well as a gift for sharing that passion with people and communities.

'A loss on so many fronts'

"It's just a loss on so many fronts," said Keenlyside.

"He wore so many hats, but they were all so much directed towards that passion of Island history."

On a personal level, Keenlyside said Beck was "a terrific guy" with a big heart.

Given the number of different roles Beck performed at the foundation, including writer and editor, Keenlyside said it will be impossible to replace him.

"To replace him would be replacing many different people with different skills," he said.

'He had a gift for words'

Ed MacDonald, chair of the UPEI history department, was another of Beck's close friends. He said that Beck was an "ideas person" and someone who recognized that a key part of history is "story."

"Unless there is story, history can't have an impact as well," MacDonald said.

He added that Beck was not only a writer, he was also an editor who worked with others to "make their prose sing."

"He had a gift for words on paper [and] a gift for words over the air."

Beck taught in the history department on a sessional basis, and MacDonald noted that one thing he taught members in the department was how to tell stories with objects.

'He knew that history had to be a living thing'

"Because he worked in a museum [and] because he designed exhibits, he knew how to make an object speak for itself and to speak to the past," said MacDonald.

"He knew that history had to be a living thing or it couldn't do its job of helping us understand who we are and how we got here. And, he had a particular charisma and a particular skill to make that happen."

A funeral service will be held at Belvedere Funeral Home on Monday at 1:30 p.m. Visitation will be held on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Memorial donations can be made to the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation or the Provincial Integrated Palliative Care Program.

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