Vicki Lyne Beal Beckham was born on March 31st, 1954, in Logan, Utah and passed away peacefully in Merced, California on June 23, 2010, after a two-year illness. She moved to California as a young girl and graduated from Merced High School in 1972 where she performed as one of the legendary “Seven Darlings” majorettes. She met and married her husband, Rick, while attending Brigham Young University. After graduating from college with a degree in Physical Education and a minor in Dance, she moved with her family back to Merced.
Vicki followed the tradition of her parents in becoming a devoted teacher. She taught P.E. and Language Arts for 25 years in the Atwater School District. As a dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, she also loved serving in many volunteer positions. Spending time with family was very important to Vicki. She gathered her large family around her often in family reunions, trips and an annual “Cousin Camp.” She found meaning in serving others and enjoyed many life-long friendships. Vicki had a gift for finding and nurturing dreams and aspirations in others. She always had an infectious laugh and a loving hug ready for everyone she met.
From her earliest years, Vicki’s greatest passion was dance. She found joy and fulfillment in it and in sharing this love with others. Vicki had many other interests, including reading and writing, traveling the world, scrapbooking, sewing, enjoying fine arts, and water skiing. Near the end of her life she added surfing, rock climbing, white-water rafting and skydiving to the list.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Steven Olen Beal and Clara Val Larie (Preece) Beal. Vicki is survived by her husband of 36 years, Eric "Rick" Marvin Beckham, and her four children, Justin (Sarah) Beckham, Lance (Alisha) Beckham, Cameron (Stephanie) Beckham, and Andria (Matthew) Lewis; siblings, Vaun (Ann) Beal, Robin (Ronald) McCombs, and Evan (Kris) Beal. Vicki will also be greatly missed by her grandchildren, Aidan, Rylee, Juma, Tristan, Irelyn, Amelia, and Abigail and her many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Steven and Val Larie Beal and Vicki Beal Beckham Scholarship Fund through Merced School Employees Federal Credit Union, account number 56048013.
The funeral services will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, June 26, 2010, with a visitation preceding it from 11:00 am-12:30 pm at the LDS Church on 1080 E. Yosemite Avenue, Merced, California. A graveside memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Thursday, July 1, 2010, 26 West 600 North, American Fork, Utah.
Arrangements are under the direction of Stratford Evans Merced Funeral Home. Arrangements in Utah are under the direction of Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary, Orem, UT.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
our stay in California
We've been in California for 3 weeks now, staying with Vicki. Justin's siblings have been in and out, too. Vicki was doing pretty poorly when we arrived, then had a week of good days. Since she was doing well (coming to the pool and grandsons' baseball games in a wheelchair, sitting in the backyard around a bonfire and exchanging stories with her surprise-visit siblings), we made a quick trip to Utah to visit my family and some of Justin's relatives. We had a great time there, and I even had all my six siblings and my parents in the same room at the same time for a picture. It'd been a long time since that happened. (We never did get all the grandkids rounded up for a picture, though they were all there.)
In those four days we were gone, Vicki went downhill again and surprised us unpleasantly when we got back from Utah. She has made imminent progress toward death since then, and has been mostly unresponsive for a couple days now. We expect she'll last a couple more days.
Unfortunately, our plane tickets back to Africa are for Wednesday, and though we tried, we cannot change them (all flights are overbooked through August).
This time here with her has been really nice, though, and we are glad we came when we did so we had a good solid week with the Vicki we know and love. We will always remember and love you, Vicki. Here are some pictures of just some of the great moments we had with her. (And proof that I failed to follow her advice and always take tons of pictures!)
June 2009, on the Hogle zoo train in Salt Lake City, with granddaughter, Irelyn.
July 2008, a snapshot Juma took on a car trip to the airport for a family reunion outside Seattle.
March 2008, stubbornly not giving up and hiking to the top of very high sand dunes in Death Valley just weeks before she found out she had cancer.
May 2008, Juma welcoming Grandma home after her surgery when the cancer was discovered.
August 2007, on a ride at Santa Cruz boardwalk with grandson, Rylee
Summer 2003 (?), the picture Vicki has chosen to be remembered by.
In those four days we were gone, Vicki went downhill again and surprised us unpleasantly when we got back from Utah. She has made imminent progress toward death since then, and has been mostly unresponsive for a couple days now. We expect she'll last a couple more days.
Unfortunately, our plane tickets back to Africa are for Wednesday, and though we tried, we cannot change them (all flights are overbooked through August).
This time here with her has been really nice, though, and we are glad we came when we did so we had a good solid week with the Vicki we know and love. We will always remember and love you, Vicki. Here are some pictures of just some of the great moments we had with her. (And proof that I failed to follow her advice and always take tons of pictures!)
June 2009, on the Hogle zoo train in Salt Lake City, with granddaughter, Irelyn.
July 2008, a snapshot Juma took on a car trip to the airport for a family reunion outside Seattle.
March 2008, stubbornly not giving up and hiking to the top of very high sand dunes in Death Valley just weeks before she found out she had cancer.
May 2008, Juma welcoming Grandma home after her surgery when the cancer was discovered.
August 2007, on a ride at Santa Cruz boardwalk with grandson, Rylee
Summer 2003 (?), the picture Vicki has chosen to be remembered by.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Juma's school in Zanzibar
These are the scenes I see on my way to get Juma from school in Zanzibar.
Stone Town streets
the lane I walk after I get off the bus
a lovely shady lane just before I arrive at his school
just inside the gates at the school (the ice cream guy makes a killing after school everyday)
the football pitch (soccer field)
Juma's classroom
Juma and his partner, Mohammed, presenting their science fair project on seashells of Zanzibar and Pemba
Stone Town streets
the lane I walk after I get off the bus
a lovely shady lane just before I arrive at his school
just inside the gates at the school (the ice cream guy makes a killing after school everyday)
the football pitch (soccer field)
Juma's classroom
Juma and his partner, Mohammed, presenting their science fair project on seashells of Zanzibar and Pemba
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
travels
We are in California, at Justin's mom's house (his dad is now in an assisted living home in Utah). She has cancer and is not doing well, so we are spending some time here with her. We hopped on the first flight out of Zanzibar we could get, and 40 hours later, made it to Merced. We hadn't been here in two years, and Justin hadn't seen his mom during that whole two years. Glad to be here.
These pictures are in chronological order, I think. So you can see as we get more tired and more worn out.
We flew through Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Rome, Washington, DC, and finally to San Francisco.
These pictures are in chronological order, I think. So you can see as we get more tired and more worn out.
We flew through Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Rome, Washington, DC, and finally to San Francisco.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Juma's BFF
Juma's BFF (best friend forever) here in Zanzibar is Franklin, a 6-year old son of good friends of ours. We've known his parents since before he was born, and that somehow instantly bonded the two boys when they met here. They had met in Connecticut and Zanzibar before, but they were both quite little then and don't remember it. Now, the intensity of their relationship is amazing.
Here, they were pretending that they would be cursed if they looked directly into anyone's eyes. They had just had a sleepover at our place, and we were on the street waiting for everyone to arrive so we could take a boat to a sandbank.
These ones are from another sleepover, when I was finding ways to entertain the two before the public waterfront playground opened up. (The playground is only open in the evening and charges about 30 cents to get in. We also discovered by experience that they station a guard within the playground to shew away any unsuspecting kids who think the playground looks inviting.) These were taken at the Old Fort on the waterfront; we had just climbed a steel staircase that once had wooden boards for steps, but was now just thin, rusted bars. Something I would completely avoid in the US, but in Zanzibar the sense of risk is somehow completely different...
Here, they were pretending that they would be cursed if they looked directly into anyone's eyes. They had just had a sleepover at our place, and we were on the street waiting for everyone to arrive so we could take a boat to a sandbank.
These ones are from another sleepover, when I was finding ways to entertain the two before the public waterfront playground opened up. (The playground is only open in the evening and charges about 30 cents to get in. We also discovered by experience that they station a guard within the playground to shew away any unsuspecting kids who think the playground looks inviting.) These were taken at the Old Fort on the waterfront; we had just climbed a steel staircase that once had wooden boards for steps, but was now just thin, rusted bars. Something I would completely avoid in the US, but in Zanzibar the sense of risk is somehow completely different...
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Happy Birthday to Justin!
Juma and I sure do love you and wish you a very happy birthday. Even if we do have to go to work and school today.
Friday, April 16, 2010
continuing
Well, I've been slacking on the blog! But since all my readers are also on facebook these days...But here's an update anyway.
We are still in Unguja (Zanzibar island) rather than Pemba. Justin went back for a couple days to get some our things, but we've been in something of a holding pattern waiting for my health to improve. For three weeks we stayed with our friends, then moved into our own place in Stone Town, the very place we stayed in 2004.
I'm feeling much better. I've actually started going to work instead of lying in bed reading books all day. I have more energy, more weight, more mental capacity, and more of a nice rosy glow to my cheeks, which were as pale as death before.
Justin has found research work to keep him busy at various departments and ministries. He also bought a Vespa, a moped. We both have licenses to drive it now, but I haven't dared yet. Justin also has started playing basketball at the court he used to play at in our first years here.
Juma started school at an international school here and made friends quickly, but school has been out for spring vacation these past two weeks. During the break, his best friends left town, so we've been having some family time. We went to a couple villages, stopped at a zoo, and have been enjoying the pleasures Zanzibar can bring us: beaches, ocean swims, actual Italian pizza and gelato.
Oh, and Juma lost another of his front teeth.
We are still in Unguja (Zanzibar island) rather than Pemba. Justin went back for a couple days to get some our things, but we've been in something of a holding pattern waiting for my health to improve. For three weeks we stayed with our friends, then moved into our own place in Stone Town, the very place we stayed in 2004.
I'm feeling much better. I've actually started going to work instead of lying in bed reading books all day. I have more energy, more weight, more mental capacity, and more of a nice rosy glow to my cheeks, which were as pale as death before.
Justin has found research work to keep him busy at various departments and ministries. He also bought a Vespa, a moped. We both have licenses to drive it now, but I haven't dared yet. Justin also has started playing basketball at the court he used to play at in our first years here.
Juma started school at an international school here and made friends quickly, but school has been out for spring vacation these past two weeks. During the break, his best friends left town, so we've been having some family time. We went to a couple villages, stopped at a zoo, and have been enjoying the pleasures Zanzibar can bring us: beaches, ocean swims, actual Italian pizza and gelato.
Oh, and Juma lost another of his front teeth.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
check up
Justin and I went back to Dar es Salaam today for a check up on how my health is improving. Blood tests confirm it is improving...slowly. Every day since I've been out of the hospital has been a little bit better than the one before. I'm still quite weak and tired, but better.
Justin has helped me out the whole way, and our friends are helping us take care of Juma. So it's all good.
Justin has helped me out the whole way, and our friends are helping us take care of Juma. So it's all good.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
the Sarah Illness Chronicles: days 4, 5, & 6
The blood transfusion on Friday afternoon had made me feel much better, but by the next morning, I was feeling rather terrible again. Not that I had gotten worse, but the euphoria from the transfusion was worn off, and I was still ill, and I woke up feeling rough. I sipped some tea and barely ate a piece of toast, not because I wanted to but because I needed some food in my stomach before I could take my pills. Justin is all too familiar with the need to force feed me when I'm sick.
Food did make me feel better, though. Enough that in the next picture I snapped of myself, I was actually sitting up.
When the doctor came to see me, though, she did not find me sitting up, chatting and laughing and asking to go home, as she hoped. Instead, I was stretched out on the bed, barely able to keep my eyes open, perfectly content to just have people talk about me and make decisions for me even though I was right there listening. The doctor decided that instead of releasing me, as she hoped, I should stay there at least two more days, possibly three. Partly, that was because it was the weekend, and there was no guarantee of a doctor and lab technician coming in until Monday.
So we hunkered down for a long, quiet weekend. We had forgotten to bring any books and movies with us from Pemba, so we were a little short on entertainment. We talked a lot and rested a lot, but it wasn't enough. Justin had grabbed a book from our friends in Zanzibar:
This kept us entertained for hours. It's a tongue-in-cheek book full of short, blog-style entries about things "white people" like (but they really mean young, liberal, educated whites who live in places like Portland, Seattle, SF, and NYC). There are entries like "multilingual children" and "the idea of soccer" and "reusable shopping bags." My personal favorite is "threatening to move to Canada," which I do all the time. Anyway, it was a gem to have in the hospital.
I continued to take all my pills
and my lab tests continued to show slow improvement. By Sunday morning I was feeling a bit better.
Our other form of entertainment/distraction was the Internet. Since I was so far away from anyone other than Justin, having the connection of email and Facebook was emotionally essential. We even had a video chat with Juma.
Monday, the main doctor came back from vacation, saw me, and wondered if I had considered going back to the US. Not really, no, I told her, plus I don't have insurance in the US ("I'm moving to Canada!"). Mostly, she didn't want me to go back to Pemba. "I've been to Pemba," she said. "And there's nothing there." We had already agreed that going back to Pemba right now is not smart, and explained to her our plan of staying with our American friends in Zanzibar until I'm better. She asked that I come back in about a week to re-run all the lab tests and see how things are going, so before checking out we set up an appointment for next Wednesday.
Justin packed everything up and escorted my sickly self to the airport, on a 20-minute flight over a beautiful ocean full of coral reefs, and back to our friend Alison's house. There, Juma had just gotten home from school and was still in his uniform.
Since we hadn't known if I'd be released until midday, Juma hadn't heard yet that we were coming home that day. He saw us out the screen door, and came rushing over to the entry way. When I got inside, I immediately knelt down to match his height, and he slammed his body into mine and gave me the fiercest hug I've ever had.
Food did make me feel better, though. Enough that in the next picture I snapped of myself, I was actually sitting up.
When the doctor came to see me, though, she did not find me sitting up, chatting and laughing and asking to go home, as she hoped. Instead, I was stretched out on the bed, barely able to keep my eyes open, perfectly content to just have people talk about me and make decisions for me even though I was right there listening. The doctor decided that instead of releasing me, as she hoped, I should stay there at least two more days, possibly three. Partly, that was because it was the weekend, and there was no guarantee of a doctor and lab technician coming in until Monday.
So we hunkered down for a long, quiet weekend. We had forgotten to bring any books and movies with us from Pemba, so we were a little short on entertainment. We talked a lot and rested a lot, but it wasn't enough. Justin had grabbed a book from our friends in Zanzibar:
This kept us entertained for hours. It's a tongue-in-cheek book full of short, blog-style entries about things "white people" like (but they really mean young, liberal, educated whites who live in places like Portland, Seattle, SF, and NYC). There are entries like "multilingual children" and "the idea of soccer" and "reusable shopping bags." My personal favorite is "threatening to move to Canada," which I do all the time. Anyway, it was a gem to have in the hospital.
I continued to take all my pills
and my lab tests continued to show slow improvement. By Sunday morning I was feeling a bit better.
Our other form of entertainment/distraction was the Internet. Since I was so far away from anyone other than Justin, having the connection of email and Facebook was emotionally essential. We even had a video chat with Juma.
Monday, the main doctor came back from vacation, saw me, and wondered if I had considered going back to the US. Not really, no, I told her, plus I don't have insurance in the US ("I'm moving to Canada!"). Mostly, she didn't want me to go back to Pemba. "I've been to Pemba," she said. "And there's nothing there." We had already agreed that going back to Pemba right now is not smart, and explained to her our plan of staying with our American friends in Zanzibar until I'm better. She asked that I come back in about a week to re-run all the lab tests and see how things are going, so before checking out we set up an appointment for next Wednesday.
Justin packed everything up and escorted my sickly self to the airport, on a 20-minute flight over a beautiful ocean full of coral reefs, and back to our friend Alison's house. There, Juma had just gotten home from school and was still in his uniform.
Since we hadn't known if I'd be released until midday, Juma hadn't heard yet that we were coming home that day. He saw us out the screen door, and came rushing over to the entry way. When I got inside, I immediately knelt down to match his height, and he slammed his body into mine and gave me the fiercest hug I've ever had.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)