Community mourns loss of Beck-Whitehead
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

REMEMBERING- Michael Beck-Whitehead has her arms full of grandchildren. The children are, clockwise, baby Riley Golds, Isabella Soule, 1, and Natalie Soule, 3.

Michael Beck-Whitehead of Agoura Hills was known as an irrepressible prankster, a hardworking professional and a dedicated, behindthescenes civic leader, but according to family, friends and colleagues she will be remembered best as a devoted mother, wife and grandmother.

The death of Beck-Whitehead on April 14 at age 61 drew an outpouring of love from the community. Hundreds of people attended her April 21 memorial service at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village.

After she missed work at the family's CPA business and didn't answer phone calls, her husband, Gordon Whitehead, said he went home and discovered his wife had died. "No one knows what happened," Whitehead said. "There was no pain in her face. Whatever happened, happened fast." An autopsy will be performed to determine what caused her death, he said.

"Our lives were intertwined," Whitehead said. "(Her death) was a stunning, stunning blow. I never thought it could happen."

An eighth-generation American and fifth-generation resident of the San Fernando Valley, Michael Amanda Cleaver Beck married Gordon Whitehead, a Las Virgenes Unified School District board member, in 1988. WhiteheadBeck was already raising her daughter, Alexandra Gibson, and son, Paul, a 4-year-old boy she adopted from Mexico.

The couple adopted Sarah and Rachel into their growing brood soon after they married, and within a few years, three more children- Michael Mendoza, Denise Mendoza and Ruben Duran- joined the family as foster children.

"She had so much love in her heart," said Gibson. "She was a good mother. That was the job she was most determined to do her best."

Gibson and others talked about Beck-Whitehead's family traditions and her sillier side. "She was amazing at holidays," Gibson said. "Last year she was obsessed with Elmo (a talking character doll from the PBS show 'Sesame Street')."

"On my 18th birthday . . . aware that I was afraid of planes, she threw me out of one," Gibson said of her mother, who at 50 joined her for the sky-diving thrill ride.

BeckWhitehead's determination was legendary. She gave birth to Gibson after being told she couldn't bear children. Determination also played a key role in her profession. She earned her certified public accountant's (CPA) license through correspondence courses while working two jobs to support her children. She and her brother Brett launched an accounting firm in 1974, working out of a home they shared. The business eventually grew large enough to employ 30 people.

Marie White, a longtime friend, said she felt that their "souls connected."

"She was also the most amazing volunteer anyone would work with," White said at the memorial. "Anyone who worked with Michael valued her amazing ability to problem solve, roll up her sleeves and do what ever needed to be done, anticipating needs and organizing the work force. She was like a security blanket and safety net."

While caring for her large family, Beck-Whitehead still found time to serve the community. She was a founding member of the Calabasas Kiwanis Club, board member of the San Fernando Valley Counseling Center, board member of Triunfo YMCA, board member of the Agoura Hills Chamber of Commerce, a member of Wings Child Help U.S.A., the Calabasas Pumpkin Festival area manager and twice served as campaign treasurer for Agoura Hills City Councilmember Denis Weber.

"I stand here in disbelief that our friend is gone too soon," Weber said. "While she always avoided the limelight, the real light found her."

Michael Mendoza called his mother "awesome." He said that if his mother could be at her own memorial, she'd be laughing. "If family were together that was it for her," Mendoza said. "She was my No. 1 cheerleader."

Mendoza told the crowd about his first conversation with his adoptive mother. "She originally wanted a girl," he said of their meeting at the social worker's office. Instead of coming home with one new family member, she brought home three children. He remembered her saying she couldn't break up a family.

Beck-Whitehead's family focus was recognized by Kiwanis International, which named the Whiteheads "Family of the Year."

Beck-Whitehead's shenanigans and pranks were also celebrated at the memorial. Laura Roberts said she once sang her heart out under her father's window until he agreed to move his car from her usual designated spot. She also was known to pop out a dental implant to get a laugh from children. "That was Michael," Roberts said.

Friend Kim Miles listed words that best described BeckWhitehead- "resilient, inspiring, determined, giving."

"I look at this crowd, and I am not surprised," Whitehead said. "She was an imp, she was playful, she was really serious," Whitehead said of his wife. "We knew we had something special. . . . Michael built traditions in our family. Every holiday was a "big deal," he said. "She completed me, and I completed her."

"To Michael, love meant action; it meant doing things," Whitehead said. "The way she showed love was by doing things for those she loved and her community."