By John Soltes / Editor in Chief

(Nov. 5, 2009) — The man whose name graces the side of the regional high school in East Rutherford has died at the age of 95. Henry Prentiss Becton, former Rutherford councilman and chairman of Becton, Dickinson & Company, died of complications from congestive heart failure Sunday, Oct. 25 in Blue Hill, Maine, according to a news release from BD officials.

Born in Rutherford on Sept. 15, 1914, Becton was a member of Boy Scout Troop 6 and attended Rutherford High School. He later graduated from Yale University in 1937 and went on to meet his wife, Jean Sprague Coggan. They celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary a month before she died in July 2008.

After marrying, Becton served in the Army and was sent overseas to serve. After returning, Henry, or Hank as he was known, followed in his father’s footsteps in the family business. Hank started as a salesman and eventually would become the chairman of the board for Becton, Dickinson & Company. During his tenure at BD, the company went public and grew from 600 employees and sales of $2.5 million to 29,000 associates and $7 billion in annual revenues.

When East Rutherford’s original high school burned down, BD donated land for a new school, which was renamed the Henry P. Becton Regional High School. Becton was a board member of Fairleigh Dickinson University and founding director of the Community Chest of Bergen County, now the United Way.

Services in New Jersey are planned in the coming weeks.