ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, October 7, 1996 TAG: 9610070094
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
Roanoke communications manager Alfred Beckley, who volunteered thousands of hours in the emergency services communications field, died Saturday of heart failure. He was 69.
Beckley spent 20 years as a volunteer communications consultant for the Western Virginia Emergency Medical Services Council.
In 1975, he helped design the radio system that rescue squad personnel in the Roanoke and New River valleys and Martinsville use to communicate with hospitals. He also served on a committee which developed similar systems in other parts of the state.
As communications manager for the city, Beckley oversaw the implementation of the city's enhanced 911 system, believed to be one of the first in the country. The enhanced system puts callers' addresses on the dispatchers' computer screens. Years before, Beckley designed the city's dispatching system.
Bill Mullins, former manager of the city's signals and alarms department, worked with Beckley for most of his friend's 41 years with the city. They retired together in 1991.
"He was a very thorough thinker, a very thorough planner," Mullins said. "He looked after the minute details."
Beckley was considered an expert in his field. He served on the Governor's Committee for Emergency Medical Systems and was a past president of Associated Public Safety Communications Officials. He was also national executive committeeman for the group's Virginia chapter.
Beckley is survived by his wife, Keturah; two daughters, Marie Beckley of Roanoke, and Patricia B. Thompson of Fishersville, Va.
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