Eulogy is the Greek word for "Good Words." These good words were spoken at the Service of the Witness to the Resruuection for Martha Elizabeth Beck, age 100, at the Nelson Funeral Home in Berryville, Arkansas on September 3, 2008.
Psalm 121
Psalm 23
Asking about Miss Elizabeth, one comment took me back. One person told me, “She was a lady.” People my age don’t use that word; it’s outside of our vocabulary. But we who know Elizabeth know well what this means. She was a lady in every sense of the word.
She was a gracious woman, surely as a part of her upbringing as the daughter of a Methodist minister. Her manners were impeccable. Her demeanor was always polite. She was always personable, no more so than to people who she met late in life like Pastor French[1] and me.
But being reserved and lady-like never meant she was a pushover. She stood firm with her convictions. She stood by friends and family with a love and peace and grace which is the fruit of the Spirit of God.
She served her Lord and she served the people of God. She was a Pink Lady, active in the Hospital Auxiliary. She volunteered at Loaves and Fishes, and I mean the old semi-dangerous, poorly lit, overfilled site. She didn’t worry about how the place looked; she was worried about the people who came in the door. She was the curator of the museum. And she played the organ, an instrument she taught herself to play, at the First Presbyterian Church, refusing to accept pay.
Her sense of humor was glorious, and she was always welcoming when a visitor would drop in to share a word. Just a few weeks ago, a friend went to visit Miss Elizabeth and she asked how hot it was outside. When told it was 98 degrees she hushed her voice and said, “That’s darn hot.” Then giggled like a young girl sharing “bad words” with a girlfriend.
She was progressive, not the way we use the word today. She said that she was one of the first women ever who learned to drive an automobile. When she was a mere twelve years old, her father bought an early model automobile and taught her to drive it. It’s no wonder the Twenty’s were roaring.
Her independence and resolve remained with her. Until the age of 95 she still drove. Imagine the differences between a 1920 model vehicle and one from around 2000; this is just one benchmark of the life she led; of the world she saw.
She was a graduate of Hendrix College in Conway, and she loved Razorback football. Down to the comforter on her bed she loved them Hogs.
The 121st Psalm is a psalm of trust and confidence in God; assuring pilgrims on the way to and from Zion of God’s constant protection. The question raised in the first verse is answered in the remainder of the psalm.[2]
She knew and lived the words of the Psalmist through her life and her acts. She knew the Lord kept her, keeps all of us from all evil. The Lord keeps our lives from this time on and forevermore. And she responded to the gracious love and protection of the Lord our God in acts of boldness, love, and mercy.
She lived her life in confidence of the words of the 23rd Psalm which declares the Lord prepares a place for us at the table. Through this confidence, she opened herself to the promise of Emmanuel, God with us; God with her. Her response to this promise of life in Christ was a life fully lived with Him and fully lived with us.
By grace through faith in our risen Lord Jesus Christ, she rests with Him today in glory.
Martha Elizabeth Beck of Berryville, Arkansas was born August 9, 1908 to George Granville and Zora Mae (Bryant) Davidson. Mrs. Beck departed this life August 29, 2008 in Berryville, AR at the age of 100.
Mrs. Beck was an English teacher for nine years in Harmony Grove, Arkansas before they moved to Berryville and started the Ben Franklin Store on the north side of the square. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville. She and her husband Ray were very active in the United Methodist Church in Berryville for many years. She was also active in the St. John's Hospital Auxiliary and the Loaves and Fishes Food Bank. Elizabeth and her husband also loved to go floating with family and friends. They especially loved football and attending every Razorback football game they could.
Mrs. Beck is survived by one daughter, Patricia and husband Hugh McKinney of Berryville, Arkansas; four grandchildren, Barbara and husband Mike Newberry of Green Forest, Arkansas, Diane and husband Randy Wells of Gentry, Arkansas, Linda and husband Kevin Davis of Harrison, Arkansas and Jeff McKinney and wife Rayma of Kansas City, Missouri; eight great-grandchildren; six great-great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends.
On May 2, 1931, Elizabeth was united in marriage with Ray Owen Beck who preceded her in death. She was also preceded in death by her parents, one granddaughter, Ann McKinney and one brother, Charles Bryant Davidson.
[1] The Reverend James “Skip” French is Pastor of the Berryville United Methodist Church. At the request of the family, we shared the responsibility of celebrating this service.
[2] Study note for the 121st Psalm, New Interpreter’s Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006.
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