Frances Rebecca Atkins Read

Frances Rebecca Atkins Read, born November 1, 1936, in Clark County, Arkansas, left us too soon on January 7, 2012. She died peacefully at her home in Livingston, Montana, and will be remembered at a private family service. Her family wishes to thank all those who touched her life and share in mourning with those who were touched by her life. Becky was preceded in death by her parents, J.B. and Eva Atkins, her husband, Atley Cryswell Read Jr., her sister, Sandra Jean Blackmon, her brother, Walter Jackson Atkins, her sister-in-law, Billie Read Cummings and her brother-in-law, Thomas A. Skeoch. She is survived by her brother, Jim Atkins and his wife Maida of Nokomis, Florida; her sister, Jane A. Skeoch of Livingston, Montana; her brother-in-law, B.J. Blackmon of Ozark, Alabama; her sister-in-law, Patsy Atkins of DeMotte, Indiana; her brother-in-law, R.L. Cummings of Gurdon, Arkansas; sister-in-law, Betty Wells also of Gurdon. Becky leaves three children mourning her loss: Sandra Jane Chambless and her husband Scott of Old River, Texas; Gary Ray Read and his wife Patricia of The Woodlands, Texas; and Carrie Rebecca Read of Livingston, Montana. She also leaves behind her seven adoring grandchildren: Jesse Read Parks of Houston, Texas; Kathleen Frances Mullins and her husband Cameron of Beaumont, Texas; Laine Taylor Cauthen and her husband James of San Antonio, Texas; Gary Ray Read II, Grace Elizabeth Read, and Lisa Victoria Read all of The Woodlands, Texas; and Austin Cryswell Read of Livingston, Montana. She is also survived by 15 loving nieces and nephews and one great-grandchild, Griffin Cauthen. After graduating from Arkadelphia High School at age 16, Becky attended business school in Little Rock, Arkansas, and worked as a secretary. She met A.C. Read at the roller rink in Gurdon, Arkansas, and they were married on his next leave from the U.S. Army in 1955. Becky and A.C. started their family in Fort Worth, Texas, and then moved to Gary, Indiana, where Becky worked as an executive secretary for Standard Oil Company in Chicago. They returned to Texas in 1969, where they welcomed their youngest child, Carrie. After retiring from U.S. Steel Texas Works, she became a legal secretary for Dick Dawson's office in Baytown, Texas. Becky enjoyed her last years with her sister, Jane in beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Livingston, Montana. All of her children and grandchildren learned quickly that Becky had little patience for anything less than your best. Becky always set a high standard for all of us (including herself), but boy, did she know how to have fun! Whether it was fishing at her favorite pond in Old River, waterskiing well into her 60s, dancing all night, rooting for her Arkansas Razorbacks and Barbers Hill Eagles, delighting the family with her photography, creating beautiful works of art from recycled objects she found on her walks, or finding a new bird species in her hometown of Arkadelphia, Becky always found new outlets for her creative personality and really showed us all how to live a full life. Not every hero gets a statue built in the town square. Some have to settle for a more lasting legacy: an overflowing, beautiful tree whose branches are the friends and family of an entire lifetime and whose blooms are memories and lessons and stories and smiles that will never fade.