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Faye Bemis Brockman
Posted: Friday, August 17, 2012 11:14 pm
PARKER, COLO.
Faye Bemis Brockman, 71, died peacefully Friday, Aug. 10, 2012, at her home in Parker, Colo., after a five month long battle with brain cancer.
Faye was born July 14, 1941, in Plattsburgh, N.Y., the oldest of four children of Frank Edward and Dorothy Claire Henecke Bemis. Her father was a chiropractor in Illinois. Her mother assisted in his chiropractic offices and raised their children.
Faye was a 1959 graduate of Alton Senior High School and a 1963 graduate of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. After college graduation, Faye taught junior high English in Alton, and Garden Grove, Calif. She also spent one year teaching for the Department of Defense schools near Tokyo, Japan. Once stateside, Faye worked as a recreational therapist for the American Red Cross at Brooke Army Medical Center, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. While at Ft. Sam, Faye met Captain Sidney Brockman, who was recovering from a knee injury. They became engaged in April 1968, and married at Ft. Sam on Aug. 10, 1968.
Her family was the center of her life and her daughters always came first. In addition to spending countless hours supporting her girls' interests in Girl Scouts, Odyssey of the Mind, Speech Team and ballet, Faye was an advocate for improving the quality of Douglas County Schools. An avid animal lover, Faye volunteered with MaxFund Animal Shelter, Rocky Mountain Irish Wolfhound Association, and she was a certified wildlife rescue transporter.
A true foodie, Faye was passionate about cooking, eating, and dining out. She religiously listened to the Denver restaurant shows and was a regular caller. Faye's longtime interest in antiques allowed her to furnish her home, as well as the homes of both daughters, and many of their friends with her amazing finds from auctions and estate sales.
Faye is deeply missed by her husband, Sidney Brockman of Parker, Colo., her children and their spouses, Bethany and Col. John Newberry of Springfield, Va., and Mollie and Nathan Wertman of Grand Junction, Colo., and her siblings Dr. Frank Bemis and Dr. Gerald Bemis, both of Alton, and Dr. Kathleen Bemis of McMinnville, Ore. Her love and guidance will be missed by her dearly loved grandchildren, Craig Newberry, Erin Newberry and Sydney Wertman.
A memorial service was held Friday, Aug. 17, at Parker Funeral Home, 10325 Parkglenn Way, Parker, CO 80138.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to support the rescue efforts of Rocky Mountain Irish Wolfhound Association at RMIWA Rescue, Attn: Andrea, 1512 28th Ave., Greeley, CO 80634.
Alton Telegraph online www.telegraph.com August 18, 2012
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Cindy Kodros (Garvey)
Fay will long be remembered for that great big smile, her warm heart, and being so gracious to everyone she met. After talking with her at the last reunion, I know how much her husband and family meant to her. She had one daughter that was going to have a birthday or maybe even a graduation, I can't remember just what, and Fay said she would just stay at home because she wouldn't want to miss it for her daughter but the daugther insisted on her coming to the 50th reunion. What a neat gift for Faye because she got to see everyone that she had hung around with all during her years at Alton Senior High School. Faye Bemis Brockman will always be with us in our memories of her.
Rhonda Lee Marie Quinn
Faye and I were neighbors. We played together after school and on weekends. We would swing on the swingset in my backyard and talk about the future. We both were nailbiters and had a contest to see which could grow their nails back first. (I never bit my nails again!)We often did things together on Halloween. Her obit sounds like we had a lot in common -- I'm sorry I didn't have a change to visit with her. She and I were baton twirlers. She was much better than I was. We had fun together.
Judy Clark (Wick)
Faye and I went all the way through the Alton Illinois schools together, she came to my birthday parties, my Halloween parties, we were in Brownies together. She was such a sweet friend, always kind, not a mean bone in her body.
I only made contact with her again in the past few years thanks to Facebook. She wasn't on it often, but did send me messages when I posted old photographs of school days. She still has the one of us in Brownies in her Facebook photo albums.
When I told Faye that one of my deep regrets all these years was that I hadn't been able to purchase our senior year Tatler, she had a copy made of her Tatler and sent it to me, large copies too so I could see all the photos and writing. That was Faye, such a good generous person.
I'm glad we were able to make that contact again and talk about old times. My thoughts are with her family.
Judy Clark-Wick
Penny Ruhe (Livingstone)
Penny (Ruhe) Livingstone
Faye and I were friends all through high school. We met in band and became friends immediately. She was a sweet girl and fun to be with. We had all kinds of fun together with our group of eight in high school, especially at our slumber parties and participating in school activities together. Our group of girls sort of split after high school as we all went to different colleges and moved about the country. Luckily six of us came together at the 50th class reunion a few years ago. We owe Faye's daughter a debt of gratitude for talking her into coming, We all had the best time that weekend talking over old times and catching up on our lives. I feel lucky to have had that time with Faye now that her life has ended so early and suddenly. My sympathies are with her family. she will be sorely missed by all of us sho knew her.