Bea's Documents

BEATA  EMMA  CLARA  LORENZ  KECK  (1910-2000)

Monday as I was flying back here to Decatur, I wrote down some qualities that Mom’s life suggested to me.  After I arrived, I went to the funeral home and knelt before her body lying in her coffin.  Immediately two completely different qualities filled my mind.  So I would like to pay tribute to Mom using these two qualities:  faithful and beautiful.

Mom was faithful to Dad for 45 years, a wonderful example to all of us, her children and offspring, in today’s climate of “me first.”  She loved him, admired his many talents and appreciated his contribution to building a wonderful family.  And she was faithful to him after he died, missing him more than she ever let on.  She kept his memory alive in our minds.  How often she said, “If only Pop were here to enjoy this”.

Mom was faithful to all of us, her children, to the very end.  She never shirked her duty no matter how tired she must have been at times.  As children we knew she would always be there to care for our daily needs and to listen to our problems, dreams, and successes.  She encouraged us, admonished us, celebrated with us.  She taught us boundries, how to be responsible, and how to love.  We didn’t have many material things but we were very rich in love and self esteem. 

As we formed our own families she was there to help us out, celebrate a new life with us, and teach us how to care for it.  Mom loved to gather us home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, and summer picnics when the house would fill with relatives, food, love and laughter.  She was in her glory cooking for a large crowd.  And she delighted in photos, performances, and artwork from her many grandchildren.

Mom was faithful to her extended family and friends also.  We admired the many hours and great effort she dedicated to helping the many sick and dying over the years.  She stayed in touch with relatives in many parts of the country by letter and phone and traveled to visit them when she could. 

Mom was true to her principles and lived them.  Her faithfulness came from her deep faith in God.  She felt his great love for her and responded in witnessing that love to us and handing it down to us.  She was devout, she prayed, but that was just the beginning.  Her faith had to act, in many generous words and deeds, to us and to anyone that needed help and encouragement. 

Mom was beautiful.  Pictures of her as a child and young woman show her striking beauty.  Her naturally wavy hair was a source of pride to her and admiration to us.  She was a perfect complement to Dad’s handsome appearance.  And her beauty matured as she bore and raised us all.  She basked in the glow of her children and grandchildren.  She looked best with a newborn in her arms, like a madonna and child.

 Mom’s beauty shown through in her love for flowers and craft work.  Her talented green thumb was evidenced in her garden for many years while we were growing up.  From her I learned the beauty of each flower and how to care for them.  Her quilting, cake decorating, stitching, plastic canvas and other craft work reflected her good taste and love of color and form and gave pleasure to many relatives and friends.

 And there was another expression of the beauty that was within her.  Mom had a very positive attitude, a heart filled with hope and excitement, a delightful and inviting smile.  This was evident in her love of people and her friendliness.  She made friends easily and was genuinely interested in others’ joys and sorrows.  Many of my neighbors and friends in North Carolina, who got to know her on her many visits with us, asked me often how she was doing.  I especially appreciated how tolerant and charitable she was.  She rarely criticized others and tried to point out their virtues.

Even in her last years, suffering from dementia, her beauty came through.  Walking with her in Lincoln Manor I saw the perennial matriarch, dispensing greetings and smiles to everyone she met.  And in case there was any doubt what she was about, our sleeping beauty awoke from her sleep three weeks ago, at her 90^th birthday party, to the amazement of all, and shone for all who paid her court.

This is not a summary of a wonderful life but just a sampling of Mom’s rich character and warm personality.  We thank God for sharing her with us and will try to carry on her heritage to make our world a better place.