He was one of six children (four girls, two boys) and was educated at Waihopai Primary School and then Southland Technical College.
He developed an interest in geology when aged 10 or 11 when digging a long-drop toilet at the family's crib in Te Anau, and took up astronomy and built a six-inch reflecting telescope which formed the basis of a home observatory, followed in 1959 by a 12-inch Cassegrain telescope which he later donated to the Southland Museum and Art Gallery and installed in the observatory constructed in 1972.
[3][5] Beck also supported Ngāi Tahu leaders in a variety of aspects, including managing the physical environment and reburying kōiwi (human bodies).
[1][2][4][7] He was also an artist himself, creating the controversial giant chain connecting Bluff to Stewart Island / Rakiura at Stirling Point with his three sons and his wife, Ann.
[11] In the 2000 New Year Honours, Beck was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to art and local history.