 On March 1, 2016, Beck died at the age of 69 from renal cancer.As Chief Counsel for the Palau Political Status Commission (1977-1981), H.E.Beck negotiated the decolonization of Palau from the last United Nations trusteeship to a sovereign nation, organized a constitutional convention, negotiated a Compact of Free Association with the United States, and recruited John Kenneth Galbraith to serve as Palau's economic advisor.