Rebecca Louise Land

Becky is survived by her husband, Glenn Land, with whom she was happily married for nearly 45 years. Children who survive her are her two daughters from a previous marriage, Patricia Lyn Sparkman and husband Joseph Sparkman and Robbi Leann Wallingford, all of Dayton, Ohio, and Glenn’s three children from a previous marriage, Carolyn Joan Bastian and husband Bob Bastian of Decatur, TX, Gregory Glenn Land and wife Kim, Kingwood, TX, and Lisa Marie Land, San Marcos, TX. Her brother, Cal Benedict of Laurel, MD, survives her; her other two brothers, Paul Gene and Arthur, predeceased her as well as her parents, Paul and May Benedict.

Grandchildren who survive Becky include Cooper Sparkman, Aaron and D.J. Wallingford, William and Andrew Bastian, Michael Land, and Lauren Land Kastner, besides her great-grandchildren and a niece.

Becky was born on January 24, 1931 in Denison, a small railroad town in north Texas close to the Oklahoma border. She was the third of four children born to Paul and May Benedict and was their only daughter. Her two older brothers, Paul Gene and Arthur, marched off to war shortly after the youngest baby, Calvert, was born in 1940. Her father worked as a repair man and an upholsterer for Walter Jennings Furniture Company and came from a large family, so Becky grew up surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Her grandfather, William Benedict, was a stonemason and helped build St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in 1898. Her maternal grandfather, Benjamin Franklin (B.F.) Inman, worked on the railroad and lived with the family until he was killed by a train in 1951. Her Benedict ancestors were Quaker abolitionists and can be traced through the valleys of Ohio up into Massachusetts and onto the deck of the Mayflower. Richard Warren, a passenger on the Mayflower in 1620, was her 10 times great-grandfather and, through him, she has common ancestry with Franklin Roosevelt, Ulysses S Grant, Henry David Thoreau and Ernest Hemingway.

While growing up in Denison TX, Becky attended Peabody Elementary and Denison High School, played flute in the band, and sang alto in her church and high school choirs.

Becky married the first time in 1949 and had two daughters, and they lived in Dayton, OH. Becky joined The International Sweet Adelines organization and enjoyed competing over a period some 20 years, winning local, state, and USA competitions, before traveling with her Sweet Adelines to London in 1976. There, they won the world championship competition of Sweet Adelines and proudly performed in the Royal Albert Hall.

It was at the Denison High School’s 30th class reunion where Glenn and Becky, who were both single at the time, met each other and stayed in touch by phone all summer. Then Glenn and son Greg played in the USTA National Father-Son doubles tournaments. The last tournament was played in Cincinnati, OH when Glenn and Becky decided to marry in Denison. On Dec 4, 1978, they married at Trinity United Methodist Church, joined by their old high school friends. They made their home together in Houston, TX where Becky was active in the neighborhood’s Norchester Garden Club and its Activity Center. She also volunteered with the Meals on Wheels program. She continued singing for many years at Foundry Church, as well as with the Houston Chorale, both directed by Betty Devine.

About six years ago, Becky underwent a mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy. Soon after the chemo, she began losing some of her memory and was diagnosed with dementia. Glenn noted how the loss of her memory accelerated over the years after that chemotherapy.

Visitation will be held Tuesday, September 26th from 9:00am to 10:00am at Foundry Methodist Church. A funeral service will follow immediately after the visitation from 10:00am to 11:00am. Burial will follow the funeral service at Houston National Cemetery.