For Becky

My heart is heavy as I write this, a blog I wish I didn't have to write.  A friend and fellow blogger, Becky Shauberger Turner passed away yesterday.  Becky is survived by her husband Mike and her two wonderful daughters Abbey and Tori.

Where do I even begin to talk about this wonderful lady from Huntsville, Alabama whom I had never met?  Yes, the internet can be a place where you can come across some great people who touch your lives even though you are never destined to meet face to face.  I knew Becky through three different avenues.  I first "met" her on a message board where we are both members.  Then when I joined Facebook and added her to my list of friends, I also began reading her blogs.  Then, in the strangest of coincidences, one of my coworkers actually knew her in person and had met her.  What were the chances of someone living in the Pacific Northwest, who met Becky who is from Huntsville, just happening to get hired into our team at work? 

Becky had such a zest for grabbing life by the horns and hanging on for the ride.  She was a fabulous cook, and then some!  And she was always happy to share her talent.  She posted recipes on her blog.  She sent various homemade goodies to her Secret Santa recipient on our message board.  I will always remember her recipe for Salted Caramel Nutella Brownies.  Just those very words make me drool.  Becky began to write her blog 5 years ago.  She shared this milestone with a giveaway to one of her lucky readers.  She wrote very well, whether it was a recipe, a description of a tablescape or even a medical update.  The thing I loved the most about her writing was that she would spell words the English way, the way her grandma taught her.  Words like "honor" were spelled "honour".  Becky also had a great sense of humor.  Here is one of her posts from our message board: "The Mayan calendar ends on 21 December 2012. People who have come after them have taken that to mean that the world will end then. I'm not sure the Mayans ever said so. Maybe they just got tired of making calendars."  It's posts like that which make me smile through the sadness.

Becky also shared the happy moments in her life with us. The highlight of it was when her daughter Abbey was married in June.  It was a charming and elegant fairytale wedding in Disneyland.  Becky enjoyed every minute of it and was so happy being Mother of the Bride.   She was also so happy when her daughter Tori graduated.  She shared her thoughts of her 32nd Wedding Anniversary in a blog titled "Wedding Anniversary ~ The Guy and I" in which she quoted the song "Still the One" by Orleans, which she dedicated to her husband.  I reread part of that blog today, but couldn't go any further through my misted eyes and the lump in my throat.  I can only imagine the grief that her beloved family must be going through.

My friend and former coworker Rebecca Hudgins Donaldson knew Becky because both of them were interested in Fiesta dishes.  I would be honored if Rebecca would elaborate on that facet of Becky's life by leaving a comment here.

The last blog that Becky wrote was a medical update, on July 20th from the hospital at Vanderbilt.  It had been two years since her bone marrow transplant.  The words with which she ended her blog are now hauntingly ominous. "So this is kind of an update without an end."  She ended every blog with her signature and the word "Namaste", which is an Indian greeting that means both hello and goodbye.  Now there aren't going to be any more Random Musings of a Deco Lady.  I am going to miss those musings I so looked forward to.  I am going to miss this friend I never knew in person, but who touched the lives of so many.  If there's one thing I have learned from Becky, it is that every moment of life is to be cherished and lived well.

Rest in Peace, Becky Shauberger Turner.


PS:  Thank you Rebecca for posting a comment as requested.  If people like me can feel so much pain, your pain must be compounded times ten.  Through your comment we know Becky even better, and it is no suprise that she had one more feather in her cap that the rest of us may not have been as aware of.