Man whose house burned had died before fire

Gordon Beck

By Steve Huffman

shuffman@salisburypost.com

An elderly man found dead by firefighters Wednesday in his house on Bringle Ferry Road had likely died several days earlier.

That's the word from a member of Gordon Beck's family. The 86-year-old lived at 506 Bringle Ferry Road. His body was discovered inside the house when firefighters responded to a call Wednesday afternoon.

Chris Kepley, a spokeswoman for the Salisbury Fire Department, confirmed Beck's identity, but little else.

She said the fire department had received no word from the N.C. Medical Examiner's Office concerning the time of Beck's death, or why he died.

Beck's body was sent to the Medical Examiner's Office in Charlotte for an autopsy.

"We feel at this time the fire was accidental," Kepley said. "But we have no clue about the cause of death or the time of death."

She said a report from the Medical Examiner's Office would likely be available today.

Firefighters responded about 4 p.m. Wednesday when passers-by reported seeing smoke coming from the aged structure located beside the former home of Power Curbers. The residence is near Bringle Ferry Road's intersection with Long Street.

Kimberly Kaloski, who identified herself as Beck's great-great-niece, said Beck served in the Army during World War II and returned to Salisbury a changed man.

She said he was hit in the head by shrapnel during the war, an injury that family members believed caused the change in his behavior.

"He'd talk, but he kept mostly to himself," Kaloski said.

She said her great-great-uncle wasn't able to hold a steady job following the war and drew disability checks from the government for the rest of his life.

Kaloski said Beck never married, never fathered children and lived with his mother in the family homeplace on Bringle Ferry Road until she died in the mid-1970s.

After that, Beck stayed on alone in the residence.

Kaloski said that after the death of Beck's mother, Ida Lee Beck, family members would try to get him to let them in so they could do repairs to the house.

He'd refuse, Kaloski said.

"He was adamant that no one was going to do anything to the house," she said. "We hated it, but what are you going to do?"

She said Beck had numerous nieces and nephews and other family members who checked on him fairly regularly. He was one of four children, only one of whom — Ruth Kaloski-Peeler — survives.

Kimberly Kaloski is the daughter of Andrew Kaloski, who is Ruth's son. Ruth's other child, Kathey Fisher, lives in Salisbury. Andrew Kaloski lives in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Kimberly Kaloski said fire department officials have told family members that they believe an electrical problem caused Wednesday's fire.

She said family members have been trying to track down a cat that Beck owned. The cat was mostly black, she said, and Beck loved it dearly.

Kaloski said she didn't know if the cat had a name.

Kaloski said the family homeplace on Bringle Ferry Road is one of Rowan County's oldest houses, more than 200 years old.

She said she wasn't sure what was going to become of the residence.

"We'd love to see it renovated, but if it's not, it'll have to come down," Kaloski said. "It's just not a stable structure."