Brenda G. Becker, vice president of marketing for Carroll Lutheran Village, died Monday of ovarian cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. She was 54.
The daughter of Hans Gerstl and Maria Gerstl, owners of a German-Austrian restaurant, the former Brenda Maria Gerstl was born and raised in Charlottesville, Va., where she graduated in 1979 from Charlottesville High School.
She earned a bachelor's degree in 1983 in business administration from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. She later earned a master's degree in business administration from Loyola University Maryland and a second master's degree in 2012 in management of aging services from the Erickson School of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
From 1985 to 1990, Mrs. Becker held marketing positions at Loyola University. After a decade spent raising her two daughters, she returned to work in marketing in 2000 at the Broadmead retirement community in Cockeysville.
For the last three years, she was vice president of marketing at Carroll Lutheran Village in Westminster, where she played an instrumental role in the start-up of a new community, the Lutheran Village at Miller's Grant in Ellicott City.
The longtime Hunt Valley resident enjoyed photography, cooking and travel. An accomplished cook, when she celebrated her 30th wedding anniversary with David Carl Becker, she attended a cooking school in Tuscany.
She also liked spending weekends at the Gerstl family farm in rural Virginia, family members said.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Grace Lutheran Church, 8701 Valleyfield Road, Lutherville.
In addition to her husband of 32 years, who is a supply chain manager for Gemalto, a digital security company, Mrs. Becker is survived by two daughters, Lauren Nicole Becker of Christiansburg, Va., and Kelly Maria Becker of Hunt Valley; and a brother, Hans Gerstl of Culpeper, Va.