Rebecca Balcom

"Hot Damn!" Mumsie (aka Becky) would say as she popped a champagne bottle and donned a blinged-out party hat. A Texas wildcatter's daughter, a proud Choctaw Nation descendant and a Kerrville Hill Country beauty who never looked (or acted) her age, 85-year-old Mumsie slipped out the back on Saturday night, January 30th, to join a VIP party of loved ones who couldn't wait for her to bring on the fun. \r\n\r\nBecky Balcom loved people. Everyone who met her felt that love instantly and never forgot it. She gathered everyone in with her dazzling smile as big as Texas and her eye-popping, outrageous wit. Legendary for her storytelling, she captivated crowds with jaw dropping one liners and gut busting laughter. Nicknamed Mumsie by her kids, she did all kinds of things in her life, but her greatest achievement was living life on her own terms. Her beloved husband Barrie Balcom died too young in 1990. But she rediscovered living by checking off the bucket list items she'd always dreamed of and took her daughters, granddaughters, and friends in tow. A devoted dog lover, she chose a long succession of badly behaved Doberman Pinchers to raucously welcome her home. Always planning the next adventure, she travelled a dozen countries, cruised several oceans, and explored a multitude of cities across America the Beautiful, making lifelong friends along the way. Everyone wanted in on the fun she was having. With Mumsie suddenly gone, we're all left standing around wondering, who dimmed the lights?\r\n\r\nBecky was preceded in death by her husband, Barrie Thomas Balcom; her brother, John Jay Thomas, Jr.; and her daughter, Holly Balcom Fawcett. \r\n\r\nShe is survived by her sister Ellen Thomas Shambaugh of Dallas; son Stuart Alan Balcom (Sue) of Fredericksburg, TX; daughter Sally Balcom Reavis of Seattle, WA; and daughter Linda Rebecca Balcom (Mark Stritzel) of Colorado Springs, CO. She leaves behind amazing grandchildren Allison Frick of Port Angeles, WA; Nicholas Fawcett, Whitney Fawcett, Blair Fawcett of Fort Worth, TX; Michael Balcom of Dallas, TX; Thomas Balcom of Longmont, CO; Hank Reavis of Seattle, WA; Helen Stritzel of Memphis, TN; William Stritzel, Isabelle Stritzel of Boulder, CO; and great-grandchildren Hollis Frick, Monroe Frick, Gwendolyn Frick of Port Angeles, WA; and Xzander Fawcett of Fort Worth, TX. \r\n\r\nA private graveside service will be held on Friday, February 26th in Kerrville, Texas. Becky's Celebration of Life will be held at a future date in Fort Worth, TX. \r\n\r\nHer family encourages donations in her memory to Tarrant County Homeless Coalition (ahomewithhope.org), The YMCA of the Rockies (ymcarockies.org), and Lone Star Doberman Rescue (lonestardobermans.org).\r\n