Chapel of Hope Stories

The next story comes from Honey Burrell

When I look back over the 40+ years my friendship with Becky stands out ! 

She has always been the one I could turn to when I needed uplifting. She adored her family, as you all know. Weddings, births of grandchildren and grand dogs kept her going and ever so happy. When she decided to become a gardener she added a new love to her plate. Flowers always made her smile and as you would expect, Becky became quite knowledgeable in this area.

Becky was always ready to take a road trip or a lunch out. Shortly after her diagnosis on a frigid January morning I picked Becky up and we drove to our mountain house. You see Becky had just read The Home of the Perfect Christmas Tree and she was eager to visit the area where the story took place. With snow on the ground we drove to Spruce Pine, where we spent the night in an old school building that had been turned into a bed and breakfast. We visited Grandfather Mountain and Becky even walked across the swinging bridge. We passed Christmas tree farms and talked with people that new Gloria Houston, author of the story, who Becky would become friends with. On the way home we took the less traveled road and ended up at the restaurant at Lake Lure. The cold had passed and we sat on the dock, enjoying our beer with a view. It was customary for patrons to put dollar bills on the wall. It was said to be good luck and Becky and I were always up for that!

We served on the State Leadership Council and took many trips around the state for meetings and training opportunities.

One of our greatest adventures was the Danish Teacher Exchange. Three weeks in Denmark was such an amazing opportunity and Becky and I made friends that we are still in contact with.

The Chapel of Hope was perhaps the icing on the cake.When Mike discovered this tiny chapel on a motorcycle trip he came home and said,”you have to take Becky there!”
I’ll never forget the first day we visited together. It had been raining and then just at the time we came to the chapel the sun came out as did a beautiful rainbow. This was our sign of hope. Over the next years we would visit annually, the special little chapel in the woods.

Friendship is the sweetest form of love. So when I say I’ll be your friend until the end, it’s as good as saying I’ll keep you in my heart until it’s last beat. Yes, Becky will remain in my heart. I love you, Becky Boo!

Becky “Boo” has shared so much with us and about us in her blog posts that I thought it was time to return the favor. I’ve asked friends and family to send me some of their favorite stories about Becky. I hope these stories are a testament to Boo and a comfort to her children. Perhaps she will feel their energy, love and support as she transitions to the next part of this life 💜 the messages of her angels will help to carry her on her way.

So for now I turn this post over to Brooke and Jackson…Becky’s friends for OVER FIFTY YEARS.

If you have a story or thought you’d like to share about Becky you can email me at [email protected]

❤️ Kaitlyn

From Brooke and Jackson

Brooke and I spoke today, and discovered we had the same story about Boo, we wanted to share. The following is from Brooke and Jackson:

In 1967, at a small college-Erskine- in an even smaller town- Due West, SC, four young girls entered into a friendship that has lasted 57 years. ( Brooke, Becky, Libby and Jackson). We learned early into our friendship that Becky was surrounded by what we call “happy air”. Legend has it that one day, as we were walking to the dining hall with a large group of girls, Becky was not walking but dancing to the music in her head- finger snaps included! Becky was the smallest of the group, and someone said: You remind me of Boo Boo, from the cartoon Yogi Bear. Our Becky became our Boo❤️. Around two years after her cancer diagnosis, Boo was blessed with her first grandchild- Eva Cate. She told us- by then, we called ourselves “The Ya’s”- that she hoped to live to see Eva Cate graduate from kindergarten. She now has five grandchildren who lovingly call her Boo Boo- a full circle moment from that day in 1967. 

Thank y’all for following this journey. It’s not quite over, however, it’s been an incredible run.

Be good to each other, no matter the label. Being polite and thoughtful to those you don’t agree with or understand, takes extremely little effort. Always remember, the people that are vilified aren’t your enemy. It’s generally the people in power that create divisions. Mom never, ever punched down. Even if she didn’t understand, she cared about people. We’re all here for a short time, and we’re all trying to live our lives. Respect each other, love one another. Always question the people that tell you that you should fear another.

(posted by Tommy, the son that is totally not balding.*)

(*that’s actually Walsh if you see any pictures from above.)

A great visit with Ben at the Victory House in Walterboro!

Becky had a full day with lots of wonderful visitors. Boo reminded us that her faith always shows up in the nick of time when she needs it most. Today, it showed up in the form of her minister, Jeff Kackley, from her church home Dorchester Presbyterian.

This wasn’t Boo’s only visitor today! She also got a double dose of the Susans! Susan Cadwell is Boos sister in law and Susan Swicegood is her sister in love (Kaitlyn’s mom). She was delighted to see them both.

You all probably know Susan and Boo Boo have been the flower power team working on bringing Boo’s Garden to the Palms. When Susan was going to visit today she snipped a rose to bring to Becky and was looking for something to place it in. She stumbled upon one of the jars labeled “boos garden” which Becky always loved distributing as gifts full with flowers and love from her garden. This is what Boo would call a God Wink.

We often think of angels as these winged beings beyond what our eyes can see. But perhaps angels are in the people who love us sent by God to remind us how precious we are. Boo has lots of angels.

Thank you all for your continued love and support.

Lots of love and faith,

Kaitlyn (Tommy’s wife)

Spring pictures as life starts anew.

With that, there is a contradiction, Mom appears to be at the end of her life cycle. It is how nature continues. It is neither bad nor good. It just is.

No matter the form, we all are made of stars and will continue to be until the end of time. Boo’s star will always be among the brightest.

We’d appreciate all the positive thoughts and prayers that we can get.

Finally, Mom is extremely tired, weak, and overwhelmed. Her ability to use her phone has greatly diminished. She doesn’t seem to understand texting anymore. So while we appreciate all the people reaching out, it is overwhelming for her. As such, we’d ask that you refrain from calls or texts. It seems to give her more anxiety than comfort.

My email is [email protected] and Mandy’s is [email protected] if you’d like to get in touch with the family. I can’t promise anything other than we will let Mom and the rest of the family know that you reached out.

(*blog written and posted by Tommy)

Our St. Patty’s charm!

We had an amazing day celebrating Lachlan’s birthday with lots of laughter and dancing!!!

Family, like branches on a tree, we all grow in different a direction yet our roots remain as one.

Catherine’s got a little “Boo” in Georgia… The orchids flanking the mantle and the beautiful pothos on the hearth❤️.

The boys are back together again enjoying the beautiful sunshine! It makes me so happy that the family is fully complete!❤️

Speaking of family, Tommy is the most handsome of my two sons, and it’s not even close.*

(*This blog is edited and posted by Tommy)