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--> --> Memorial set for Siskiyou plane crash victims By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings Friends of an Ashland couple killed in a plane crash near Pilot Rock last week have planned a memorial service for this weekend. The service for Dean Beckett, Jr. and Kara Jeffries-Beckett begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Wesley Hall on the First United Methodist Church of Ashland grounds, 175 N. Main St. The couple, along with Dean Beckett, Sr. of Macdoel, Calif., were killed last Wednesday when the twin-engine plane Beckett, Sr. was flying crashed near Pilot Rock shortly after take-off from the Ashland Municipal Airport. The cause of the crash still is under investigation, although low clouds shrouding the Siskiyou Mountains may have been a factor. Family members held a service for the three accident victims on Tuesday in California, but Ashland friends said they wanted to hold a local service as well. Jeff Schlecht, principal of Briscoe Elementary School, said the service will be a time for healing for friends of the couple. "Even though the family is not going to be there, it will be a time for all of us to bring as much closure as we can by telling stories and describing Kara and Dean," Schlecht said. Jeffries-Beckett was active at Briscoe Elementary School, where three of the couple's four children were students, and friends said she was like a second mom to many neighborhood children. Beckett, Jr. was known for his support of school fundraisers, involvement in his children's activities and sense of humor, friends said. Beckett, Jr. and his father were partners in Beckett and Beckett Tree Farms in California, where they grew Christmas trees. Usually a full-time mother, Jeffries-Beckett helped with the business during the busy season. The couple's children, who have been staying temporarily with their grandmother at the tree farm, will go to live with Jeffries-Beckett's best friend from high school, who lives with her husband in the Willamette Valley, Schlecht said. In their will, Jeffries-Beckett and Beckett, Jr. designated the Willamette Valley couple as guardians of their children in case they were killed, he said. Friends are invited to bring finger foods and desserts to the memorial service, and organizers ask some to remain on hand after the service to help put away chairs and tables, Schlecht said. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to an educational trust fund for the children set up at the Ashland branch of Umpqua Bank, P.O. Box 36, Ashland, Ore. 97520. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing