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Angela Becnel earned a degree in journalism in 1986.
Dickie Becnel earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agriculture. Photo from 1939 Gumbo
Summer Grad Boasts Long LSU Legacy
Chris Cruz, a football Tiger letterman, graduated in 1987.
Patricia Burns Becnel earned a degree in agriculture in 1936 Photo from 1936 Gumbo
Christopher Cruz and Shelby Nicole Deville with their son, Christopher Cooper Cruz, at August 2015 commencement.
76 LSU Alumni Magazine | Winter 2015
Tom Becnel earned a Debbie Duhe Pearce was a member of the 1963 bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1965. Darling Court. Photo from 1965 Gumbo Photo from 1963 Gumbo
Diploma in hand, Christopher Philip Cruz left the Maravich Assembly Center following summer commencement on Aug. 7 as a fourth-generation, double-legacy LSU graduate. His parents are LSU alumni, as are his maternal grandfather, grandmother, greatgrandfather, and great-grandmother.
Christopher (2015 BACH H&SS) attended LSU on both TOPS and Charles McClendon Scholarship Foundation scholarships, the latter which provides funds for children of former LSU football letterman. His father, Christopher Dion “Chris” Cruz (1987 BACH H&SS), was recognized as the first LSU Special Teams Player of the Year in 1986 and was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. A corporate executive in the communications industry, he resides in Cumming, Ga. Christopher’s mother, Angela Jean Becnel (1986 BACH MCOM), of Lafayette, La., was a member of Phi Mu sorority and a junior varsity cheerleader. A journalist with experience in advertising, marketing, and newspaper journalism, she has been a fitness instructor for thirty-one years and in 2009 earned the title Yoga Sirmonai (teacher of yoga). Maternal grandfather Thomas Richard “Tom” Becnel (1965 BACH BUS), of Miramar Beach, Fla., was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity while at LSU. He is president of the Becnel Company and chairman of Sandestin Investments of Sandestin Real Estate of Northwest Florida. Deborah “Debbie” Duhe Pearce, of Lafayette, Christopher’s maternal grandmother, attended LSU in the early sixties. She was chosen for the Darling Court presented at the Gumbo Ball in 1963 and was the sweetheart of the School of Engineering. Christopher’s great-grandfather, the late Joseph Richard “Dickie” Becnel (1939 BACH AGR, 1953 MAST AGR), retired from the U.S. Air Force at the rank of colonel. His wife, the late Patricia Burns Becnel (1936 BACH AGR), graduated from LSU at eighteen years of age and began her teaching career instructing students her own age. Christopher and Shelby Nicole Deville live in Baton Rouge with their two-year-old son, Christopher Cooper Cruz – who is surely born to be a Tiger!