Julia "Julie" Ann McDaniel Becker

Julia (“Julie”) Ann McDaniel Becker, age 77, of Chantilly, Virginia, departed this life on September 30, 2025, with her family by her side. She was preceded in death by her husband, Milton L. Becker, Jr., of Chantilly, VA, and her parents, Mary Helen Harris and James Howard McDaniel of Forest City, NC. She is survived by her three children, Angela Cross Green and her husband Brian, of Clifton, VA, Marcelle Becker Gentile, of Ballston Spa, NY, and James S. Cross and his wife, Enkhee, of Chantilly, VA; her sister, Jean Harris Scott, of North Myrtle Beach, SC, and her brothers, James H. McDaniel II, of Winchester, VA and Paul Lee McDaniel, of Apopka, FL; and her seven grandchildren: Hope, Hayley and Natalie Green of Clifton, VA, Avery and Tyler Gentile of Ballston Spa, NY, and Helen and Evelyn Cross of Chantilly, VA, as well as numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. Julie was a 1966 graduate of Thomas A. Edison High School in Alexandria, Virginia. She was the first in her family to attend and finish college, obtaining her Bachelor’s degree from Radford University in 1970. She went on to launch a teaching career that would span over four decades, teaching primarily social studies at the high school level. Though she was raised a Southern Baptist, she found her calling teaching in Catholic schools and eventually converted to Catholicism. Most of her career was spent at Paul VI High School in Fairfax, Virginia, where she served as the first social studies teacher when the school opened in 1985, and eventually served as department chair for several years before her retirement in 2012. While she taught many social studies classes, her passion was teaching U.S. Government, instilling in her students an accurate understanding of the U.S. government and the Constitutional freedoms enjoyed by its citizens, with an emphasis on respectful debate and tolerance for dissent. She could often be heard quoting Voltaire: “I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” She coordinated a trip to Washington D.C. to tour the U.S. Capitol for the entire senior class for many years, and was responsible for creating a school wide mock presidential election complete with an electoral college that was so inventive and unique that it was covered by local television news. She was also an artist, and her medium was fabric. She was an award-winning quilter, creating hundreds of quilts in her lifetime for family, friends, colleagues, students, and charity auctions, some of which were appraised for thousands of dollars for a single quilt. Her quilts were featured in local newspapers, and one was even displayed with the Christmas tree in the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Above all, Julie was a giver. She gave selflessly to her family, her students, and her friends, without being asked, and above and beyond what anyone expected. She was a sensitive, kind, and compassionate soul, and the world is truly better for her having lived. May she be welcomed into her eternal, well deserved rest with choirs of angels and praise from the master saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” The family will receive visitors from 9:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. with a memorial service to be held at 10:30 a.m. at Pierce Funeral Home at 9609 Center Street, Manassas, VA. 20110.

Julia "Julie" Ann McDaniel Becker

December 6, 1947 - September 30, 2025