Rebecca Durham
Jun 29th 1922 - Nov 14th 2009
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Buzz Hersey
December 8th 2009
Growing up aunt Becky bounced in and out of my life and her duties called her. However I gota say once a teacher, always a teacher and in control at all times. Periodically we would go out for Sunday brunch where upon Aunt Becky would warn me not to eat so fast. I'd kid her by telling her I was trying to get down before it got cold. On the way there, drving her car, she would point out every pot hole in the road that I should miss, after all it was her car. Then she would lecture me about stopping to close to the car ahead of me because someone might rearend us and you know what the outcome of that would be.
I was on Aunt Becky's weekly call list, she kept tract of me, the conversation would eventually get around to politice. She had just listened to who I called (RUSH GOOFBALL) and now had new ammunation which would lead us right into a heated debate, kept us both on out tows.
Aunt Becky was frugal, product of the great depression, she would order two pancakes, eat one, take the other one home. When we got there, parking the car on just the right spot, she had just a few jobs for me to do, move the washer, move the hose, trim a bush or two, etc. but when I was done I'd have to wash my hands in cold water. It just cost to much to run that hot water all the way to the kitchen sink and then heat the water that had just filled the water heater. Yet at the same time she was very quiet about it, but very charitable. Aund Becky loved her flowers, one of the last things she said to me was thanks for taking care of the flowers. I hope this does her justice, she was quite a lady, we'll all miss Aunt Becky-
Charlotte Basso
December 8th 2009
Where to begin...
Many go through life without the honor of knowing their Grandparents well, let alone their Grandparent's siblings. I have been honored to have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with my Grandmother's sister Becky. It is true, there are few memories of summers or Christmases in Casnovia that do not also include Aunt Becky. She was very much a part of our lives and my children's lives. Although sibling similarities were present, the differences between Aunt Becky and Grandma further enriched and molded me as a child.
Both being teachers, they were always interested in how we and my children were doing in school. Aunt Becky was always curious about HOW the children were being taught. What new teaching methods were being used and were they working! One thing I will always remember about Aunt Becky was her patience with my children. She would love to have Durham or Viktoria sit in her lap and read to her as they began to learn. She gave them her complete attention when they told her one of their "stories" and Viktoria remembers her walking through fields looking for wildflowers with her. We did always share a love for wildlife and conservation and I was secretly cheering inside when she convinced Grandma that she needed to start recycling! She also was so very patient with Grandpa, I remember Aunt Becky reading him the sports section of the newspaper when Grandma finally had to bring him home to care for.
Patience was one thing that perhaps was not in the picture when she was playing cards. Donna and I remember seeing such a different side of Grandma and Aunt Becky when they were playing cards with Aunt Elanora! We thought we were the only ones who were competitive sisters! We giggled when listening to a heated arguement about whether a discarded wildcard was unfairly played!
One last funny memory was of a phone call that I recieved from Aunt Becky last spring. I had sent her an amaryllis bulb for Christmas and to Becky's dismay, no matter what she did, she could not get that bulb to flower. She finally gave up on it and took it to the basement to "properly" discard when the weather got warmer. Well, she went down one spring morning to put it out with the yard waste and there it was with foot long stalks and buds just waiting for her attention! She was so suprised that she had to let me know that she was enjoying her bloom at Easter instead of Christmas! Thank goodness she didn't just put it in the trash.
Both being Uof M fans, she would watch every football game she could with my husband Mark when we were together in the fall. I was always so surprised at how much she knew about the game! I could go on and on, but you get the point. Aunt Becky was a such blessing to our family, a woman of faith and conviction, a mentor, an activist in her own way, someone of compassion and always there to encourage... but most of all a loving Aunt who will be missed greatly by all lives she touched.
Charlotte Basso (Mark, Durham and Viktoria, too.)
Donna Coller
December 5th 2009
I have so many great stories about Aunt Becky. She was such a prominent figure in our lives. Almost as if she was another grandma to us. It seemed like every time we went to Grandma’s house she was there.
I think I will always remember my first introduction to Paddington Bear and many other stories she read with me. She always had time for us kids. One story I do remember was when my grandpa Hersey was in the hospital for open heart surgery, she would sit in the hospital lobby with me and Charlotte. We were too young to go up and see him (and too young for me to quite to understand just what was happening). But, Aunt Becky would stay with us. We would play a dot game where you would take turns and make squares and then claim that square with your initial. Aunt Becky would put a” “B and I would put a “D”. Then the rest is fuzzy, but somehow she ended up stating that B stood for Boo-Boo and D was Dum-Dum. Strange story, I know, but good for a laugh between us. We were then boo-boo and dum-dum for a while.
Such a strong woman. We all have some story of a point of view that would never be correct or being balled out for harming the environment somehow. But, that was Aunt Becky and I will always love and remember her.
With love, (with the nick name she gave me),
“Donner”
Donna Coller
Buzz Hersey
December 8th 2009
Growing up aunt Becky bounced in and out of my life and her duties called her. However I gota say once a teacher, always a teacher and in control at all times. Periodically we would go out for Sunday brunch where upon Aunt Becky would warn me not to eat so fast. I'd kid her by telling her I was trying to get down before it got cold. On the way there, drving her car, she would point out every pot hole in the road that I should miss, after all it was her car. Then she would lecture me about stopping to close to the car ahead of me because someone might rearend us and you know what the outcome of that would be.
I was on Aunt Becky's weekly call list, she kept tract of me, the conversation would eventually get around to politice. She had just listened to who I called (RUSH GOOFBALL) and now had new ammunation which would lead us right into a heated debate, kept us both on out tows.
Aunt Becky was frugal, product of the great depression, she would order two pancakes, eat one, take the other one home. When we got there, parking the car on just the right spot, she had just a few jobs for me to do, move the washer, move the hose, trim a bush or two, etc. but when I was done I'd have to wash my hands in cold water. It just cost to much to run that hot water all the way to the kitchen sink and then heat the water that had just filled the water heater. Yet at the same time she was very quiet about it, but very charitable. Aund Becky loved her flowers, one of the last things she said to me was thanks for taking care of the flowers. I hope this does her justice, she was quite a lady, we'll all miss Aunt Becky-
Charlotte Basso
December 8th 2009
Where to begin...
Many go through life without the honor of knowing their Grandparents well, let alone their Grandparent's siblings. I have been honored to have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with my Grandmother's sister Becky. It is true, there are few memories of summers or Christmases in Casnovia that do not also include Aunt Becky. She was very much a part of our lives and my children's lives. Although sibling similarities were present, the differences between Aunt Becky and Grandma further enriched and molded me as a child.
Both being teachers, they were always interested in how we and my children were doing in school. Aunt Becky was always curious about HOW the children were being taught. What new teaching methods were being used and were they working! One thing I will always remember about Aunt Becky was her patience with my children. She would love to have Durham or Viktoria sit in her lap and read to her as they began to learn. She gave them her complete attention when they told her one of their "stories" and Viktoria remembers her walking through fields looking for wildflowers with her. We did always share a love for wildlife and conservation and I was secretly cheering inside when she convinced Grandma that she needed to start recycling! She also was so very patient with Grandpa, I remember Aunt Becky reading him the sports section of the newspaper when Grandma finally had to bring him home to care for.
Patience was one thing that perhaps was not in the picture when she was playing cards. Donna and I remember seeing such a different side of Grandma and Aunt Becky when they were playing cards with Aunt Elanora! We thought we were the only ones who were competitive sisters! We giggled when listening to a heated arguement about whether a discarded wildcard was unfairly played!
One last funny memory was of a phone call that I recieved from Aunt Becky last spring. I had sent her an amaryllis bulb for Christmas and to Becky's dismay, no matter what she did, she could not get that bulb to flower. She finally gave up on it and took it to the basement to "properly" discard when the weather got warmer. Well, she went down one spring morning to put it out with the yard waste and there it was with foot long stalks and buds just waiting for her attention! She was so suprised that she had to let me know that she was enjoying her bloom at Easter instead of Christmas! Thank goodness she didn't just put it in the trash.
Both being Uof M fans, she would watch every football game she could with my husband Mark when we were together in the fall. I was always so surprised at how much she knew about the game! I could go on and on, but you get the point. Aunt Becky was a such blessing to our family, a woman of faith and conviction, a mentor, an activist in her own way, someone of compassion and always there to encourage... but most of all a loving Aunt who will be missed greatly by all lives she touched.
Charlotte Basso (Mark, Durham and Viktoria, too.)
Donna Coller
December 5th 2009
I have so many great stories about Aunt Becky. She was such a prominent figure in our lives. Almost as if she was another grandma to us. It seemed like every time we went to Grandma’s house she was there.
I think I will always remember my first introduction to Paddington Bear and many other stories she read with me. She always had time for us kids. One story I do remember was when my grandpa Hersey was in the hospital for open heart surgery, she would sit in the hospital lobby with me and Charlotte. We were too young to go up and see him (and too young for me to quite to understand just what was happening). But, Aunt Becky would stay with us. We would play a dot game where you would take turns and make squares and then claim that square with your initial. Aunt Becky would put a” “B and I would put a “D”. Then the rest is fuzzy, but somehow she ended up stating that B stood for Boo-Boo and D was Dum-Dum. Strange story, I know, but good for a laugh between us. We were then boo-boo and dum-dum for a while.
Such a strong woman. We all have some story of a point of view that would never be correct or being balled out for harming the environment somehow. But, that was Aunt Becky and I will always love and remember her.
With love, (with the nick name she gave me),
“Donner”
Donna Coller
