A Tribute to my Mom

Faith Gere Beckwith 6/27/1942 - 10/24/2000

My Tribute

After losing Mom a lot of people all over the world, some I had never met, sent condolences and their best wishes.  It seems that a lot of people knew different sides of my Mother.  To us she was a Mother, Grandmother, Aunt, Niece, Sister, Cousin and Friend.  Some knew her as a Hero, an Idol, an Inspiration, an Expert, a Public Speaker, a Volunteer, a Teacher, a Mentor and so on.  It seems she was more to everyone than I ever thought.  My Mom is gone, and we have lost others in our lives, and this is my Tribute to them.

The Stockton Record was very gracious to run the following letter I sent to them about Ma: Originally Published Thursday, November 9, 2000:

Stockton loses remarkable citizen

Late on the evening of October 24th, in Yolo County, my Mother, Faith Beckwith, was killed in a motorcycle accident. My Mother taught me many of the "motherly" things that you would expect me to write about: love, honor, respect, responsibility, etc., but she also taught me how to love where I live. Mom was proud of Stockton and took her civic responsibility very seriously.

Once she made Stockton her final home 23 years ago, she went right to work helping and honoring our city. As a certified employment specialist -- and owner and operator of At Your Service for the past 14 years -- she had helped thousands and thousands of people find work all over the county, state, nation and world.

She had been invited as a public speaker and consultant to countless job fairs and seminars through the years and had been contracted by some of the largest employers in San Joaquin County to help prepare laid-off workers find new jobs. She also did motivational speaking at the California Youth Authority and was a Notary Public

. In 1986, the professional dance troupe that she co-founded, The Classy Country Dancers, was invited to represent California by performing at the World's Fair in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Years later, she co-founded the Stockton-based performing dance troupe Rhythm and Boots.

As a 10-year breast cancer survivor, she championed such causes as the American Cancer Society, Women's Shelter, Big Brother & Big Sisters, and every year adopted a needy family for Christmas. She was very proud of her recent appointment to the Board of the Women's Success Group.

My mother has contributed so much for so many people in this community it would be difficult to list them all. I have lost a mother, something that never seemed possible, and Stockton has lost a remarkable citizen.