Thelma Rose Askins Becker, 98, of Henderson, Kentucky, passed way Wednesday, November 20, 2019, at St. Anthony's Hospice Lucy Smith King Care Center.

Thelma was born on a farm near Miamisburg, Ohio, on June 26, 1921.  She grew up as a farmer's daughter who was as comfortable on the back of a plow mule as she was in her mother's kitchen.  She always spoke fondly of her rural memories, days riding on the back of the mule as her father furrowed the land, gathering eggs, feeding the chickens, milking the cow, cutting tobacco beside the men, and helping with the harvest.  From her mother, Nell, she learned to cook and tend the flower gardens.

She was active in sports and drama during her high school years playing tennis, running track, and taking the lead as Lena Rivers in the senior class play.  It was at Miamisburg High School that she met Russ Becker, a football player, weight lifter, and sportsman.  They married in 1941 and in a decade had produced four boys.  During the war years, she worked at National Cash Register while Russ flew fighter planes for the Army Air Corps.  After the war, she became a devoted mother to her four young sons.  In addition to caring for the family, she became an avid bowler; one of her proudest moments came when she missed throwing a perfect game by one spare in the last frame (it is true).

In 1955, the family moved to Henderson, Kentucky, where Thelma had an active social life which included team bowling and countless weekends boating on the river.  One of her favorite events was the Henderson Civic Capers.  The whole family was proud to watch her hot footing across the stage during the town productions.  She also loved to square dance and for years traveled around the area with Russ to pursue that activity.

She was affectionately known as "Bear," a term of endearment which Russ bestowed upon her sometimes in the 1950s.  From then on, the boys called her "Bear" as much as they called her Mom.  She began collecting bear figurines and displaying them around the house.  We all knew who was boss; she was a kind and loving mother but a lady we did not want to cross.

Thelma had a beautiful voice, and she sang in choirs in her hometown as well as at Chapel Hill United Methodist Church in Henderson, Kentucky.   She and her sister, Jo Ann, often sang as a duo. Thelma always boasted that they were in the second best group in the Dayton area.  We would ask her who was better, and she would smile and say the McGuire Sisters who sang in a neighboring church in Miamisburg, Ohio, a few years before becoming famous for "Sugartime" and "Sincerely."

The "Bear" was queen of her kitchen and an excellent cook who set a tasty table each night for her family.  On weekends, she cooked our favorite breakfast--pancakes with hot cinnamon rolls.  For our birthdays, we were always rewarded with her delicious red velvet cake.  Although she never pursued a profession (raising four boys was quite the challenge), she knew the value of hard work.  She was proud to be a cook at Henderson County High School during our school years.  In addition, she was a waitress at several restaurants in Evansville, Indiana.

What a gardener she was!  With her green thumb, she created colorful and decorative flower gardens wherever we lived.  Rainbows of color danced around trees, shrubs, and sheds.  She never stopped.  In her 90s, she was nominated for a gardening award in Henderson, Kentucky.  Even at Colonial Assisted Living she had a patio flower garden.

Thelma Becker was the soul and anchor of the Becker family; her voice could be velvet with love and praise or thunder when someone would stray from the path, be it son or father.  She had a grand time in her 98 years--a life full of trials, challenges, joys, and rewards.  In short, the Bear had a life well lived.  If there are flowers in heaven, our mother is tending them.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Russell Becker, Jr., who died in 1996; her parents, Nell and Layton Askins; and two sisters, Carolyn Askins and Jo Ann Askins Stone.

Survivors include four sons, Jon Becker and his wife, Annette, Dan Becker and his companion, Suzanna Morris, Mike Becker and his wife, Carolyn, and Steve Becker and his wife, Linda; two nieces, Georgia Jestice and Jamie Stone; and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Rudy-Rowland Funeral Home.  The Reverend Mike Snyder will officiate.  Private family burial will be in Hill Grove Cemetery in Miamisburg, Ohio.

Visitation will be from noon until service time Saturday at the funeral home.

Contributions may be made to St. Anthony's Hospice.

Online condolences may be made at www.rudyrowland.com .