Rebecca Dean MacLellan

She was born in Kirksville, Missouri on April 10, 1945 to parents Eugene E. and Virginia Nadine Lake. She moved to Jefferson City, Missouri after her dad graduated from medical school and spent the balance of her childhood years in Jeff City. She was a proud graduate of Jefferson City High School and started her college studies at Lindenwood University. After her freshman year at Lindenwood, she transferred to the University of Missouri where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biology and physiology.

She began her teaching career in Raytown, Missouri where she taught for two years before moving to Dallas, Texas to teach in the Richardson School District for three years.

Between her junior and senior years at MU, she traveled to Mexico City, Mexico in the summer of 1966 where she met her future husband, Jeff MacLellan, and they married on June 7th, 1969.

Becky was a consummate and loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend. Becky and Jeff had a partnership where the marital duties were split, and she sacrificed her career as a teacher to be a homemaker and mother. That partnership worked very well as she ran the household seamlessly and did the heavy lifting raising the kids. She also supported Jeff’s career by assuming all the household duties, freeing him up to concentrate on his career as a banker. For all 55 years of their marriage, they made joint decisions on most everything until Alzheimer’s robbed her of her cognitive abilities. She was low drama and low maintenance. She was not materialistic and not a social climber. She loved her family and her close friends and was happy to spend the majority of time with them. She particularly loved spending time with her kids and later in life dedicated an inordinate amount of time to volunteer work.

Becky was a volunteer extraordinaire. Whether it was the schools in Dallas when her kids were growing up there, or the Junior League of Dallas, or Columbia Public Schools, or the Assistance League of Mid-Missouri, Becky served them all in various capacities. Becky got involved in the Assistance League early on and was one of its founding members some 30 years ago. Along with good friend Judy Carter, she researched, organized, planned and launched Upscale Resale. Today, Upscale Resale is the primary fundraising arm for the Assistance League and the millions of dollars it has raised have allowed the League to funnel those funds back into the community through their various programs that benefit needy children and adults in the Columbia community. For many years, the Assistance League was a full-time job particularly during the planning and opening of Upscale Resale.

Becky was a wonderful Mom. She was devoted, present and loving to her children. Becky did that and in the process raised two of the finest contributing members of society in Jay and Carrie. She did the heavy lifting and occasionally discussed kid raising issues with Jeff, sometimes using Jeff as her brawn which as you could all imagine was not all that effective. Clearly you can surmise from the foregoing that Becky was the most valuable player of our family.

Becky was a wonderful grandmother. She was blessed in this life with eight grandkids each with their own unique personality. She started her grandmother’s journey uniquely with triplets, Cole, Carly and Rory. Five grandkids followed and she was blessed by each one. Our only regret is that they will grow up without a grandmother influencing them as one of their greatest cheerleaders and positive influencers. They have all lost one of their greatest fans.

Becky was a wonderful friend. One of the things that made her unique was how many ladies considered her their best friend. She was a loyal friend, never requiring much in return. She listened and offered advice when asked. She was a confidant, didn’t gossip and she was fun. And, if you were a really good friend, she had a repertoire of bawdy jokes that was legendary.

Let us end on a positive note. If Becky crossed your path in life, you should be grateful. She was a giver, not a taker, and you probably benefited from her giving whether it was a hug, a smile or something more tangible than that. While all of you that knew Becky may be grateful, we are the most grateful because Becky was our wife, mother, grandmother and friend and we did life with her.

Becky is survived by her husband Jeff MacLellan; her children Jay MacLellan (Beth) and Carrie Murray (Brian) and eight grandchildren: Cole, Carly, Rory and Blake MacLellan, Jack Stubbs and Nolan, Wilson and Margo Jayne Murray; her sister Cindy Taylor and brother Sonny Lake. They will all miss her dearly.

She was predeceased in death by her parents Gene and Deanie Lake and a brother, Greg Lake.

Family and friends will be received at 10:30 am on June 15th, 2024 at Memorial Funeral Home followed by a Christian Service at noon at the funeral home in Columbia, MO.

Memorials are suggested in lieu of flowers to the Assistance League of Mid-Missouri, 1729 W. Broadway, Columbia, MO, 65203.