While most families were preparing for the holidays, the family of Lydian Beck was preparing for a funeral. Beck, who was a junior at UNCW, passed away on December 22, 2012, as the result of a car accident.

Beck was driving on NC Highway 47 around 4:15 a.m. that Saturday morning when it appears that she swerved, overcorrected, and then ran off the road, crashing into a ditch and a tree. The 21-year-old was transported to the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where she died from her injuries.

At UNCW, Beck is already missed. The sorrow felt by her fellow students can be seen clearly in the memorial book that has been placed in the Fisher Student Center lobby. The book is filled with messages of sadness and sympathy, memories of Beck’s sweetness and quiet ways. Dr. Shanhong Luo, who was Beck’s professor in a Stats class this past fall, shares the shock that she felt when she saw Beck’s picture in the lobby next to the memorial book.

“She was very quiet, but a good student,” said Dr. Luo. “I had called her Lydia almost the whole semester and then I realized it should be Lydian. She never bothered to correct me and just laughed when I made fun of myself for making the mistake. I wish I had talked to her more to know her better.”

Beck’s family held a memorial service for her at Becks Lutheran Church on December 23, 2012. She is survived by both of her parents and a brother and sister.

Online condolences may be made at www.davidsonfuneralhome.net.