Martin G. "Cleve" Becker's education came to an end early in high school due to the loss of his family's fortune in the Panic of 1910 and the onset of World War I. He began working the brickyard in 1916, then enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving in the Medical Corps in Norfolk, Virginia, receiving his discharge in 1919. During his time in the Navy, one of his closest friends was a distinguished college professor, who enabled him to take some exams and enter Ohio State University at Columbus, where he completed a special course in ceramic engineering in 1921. Cleve's intellect and talent for making friends were important factors in his career development. While at Ohio State, Cleve fell in love with Ruth Hoyer and they were married in 1921. She was a graduate of Columbus School for Girls.

The couple returned to Brookhaven, MS to make their home. Cleve began working with other members of the family in the Brookhaven Pressed Brick and Manufacturing Co. His knowledge and expertise in the development of bricks and tiles was invaluable to the growth of the brick business. The two huge tunnel kilns and later the bee hive kilns produced brick that was sold throughout the southeast and in Central and South American. Cleve spent many years as general manager and ultimately rose to vice-president of the company.

Through the years, Cleve took a personal interest in the men working at the brickyard, helping them with advice or loans during the difficult years of the Great Depression. During the Depression destitute men were allowed to sleep near the warm brickyard kilns at night. Armed brickyard employees insured the safety of the company and nearby residents.

Cleve and Ruth had three children, Jane, Barbara and Lydy, who grew up in the shadow of the brickyard in a house on the property. The family moved to a home on West Chippewa Street in 1938, adjacent to the Becker family home previously owned by his parents. A son, Martin Cleveland "Mike" Becker was born into the family that same year.

Cleve died after a lengthy bout with cancer in 1969.

(Source: excerpts from biography, published in "The 1994 Reunion of The Becker Family" and provided to this memorial, courtesy of Bettie Hatcher Cox)