Betty Gene Bickle

On August 28th, 2021 my dear sweet Mama (Betty Gene Bickle) took her last breath. She was anxious to be with daddy and had looked forward to the day she could join him often lamenting that he was waiting for her. Living the last year and 1/2 away from her home was challenging for her spirit but she rose to the occasion surviving the loss of her independence and Covid with a beautiful smile and love for life still intact! I was so blessed to be there with her to hold her hand and give her many last hugs. I am sure she was overjoyed that Aunt Sharon was there with us too!

Mama met the love of her life, my dad, in 2nd grade when he became friends with her big brother, Sherman Laine; but it was not until he returned from serving in the Navy during World War II that they began dating. They were together for 5 1/2 years before eloping on September 13th, 1952. A secret that they kept until an engagement party was thrown for them on South Mountain. In January of 1953, they moved into their house on East Oak Street and lived there together for over 63 years until the time of Dad’s passing.

Mama would tell anyone who would listen about their happy long marriage. Once asked by her nurse what was the secret to a happy life… mom quickly answered “the secret was easy “marry Bobby Bickle! She had an uncanny knack for dates and could tell you when, date and year, anyone was born, died or got married… she felt that it was her duty to be there to celebrate all her dear ones’ special days never missing a birthday, wedding, shower or funeral.

My brother, Jay Riley Bickle, and I grew up in that house, a magical place full of happiness and love! Jay was taken from us at the age of 8. Rocked by sadness, my mom and dad rallied for me. The gift they gave me was not something that money could buy... yet something treasured and rare...maybe seeing their sadness at the loss of Jay made me realize the depth of their love for me and each other. It is said that being loved deeply gives you strength and loving deeply gives you courage…no one could have been more loved!

Losing daddy was almost more than she could take. Her innate ability to remember joy and happiness feeds her soul even during the saddest of times. Even with such great loss, it gave her strength. She remained in their house as long as she could, surrounded by loving memories and the life they had built together.

Besides her love for family and friends, she had 2 great passions - her love of pictures and her love of movies which started young in her life and remained a solace until the day that she left us. As a little girl she treasured her days to go to the movies, she would go on Saturdays sometimes on the street car, (Yes Phoenix had a street car). She loved to recount that it was only a dime for the double feature, the news reels and the cartoons. In recent years, it brought her joy to watch all her old friends on Turner Classic Movies. Her obsession with pictures is well known family lore, it began in the early days when she took her first job printing pictures, she knew just how long to leave them in the developer so they would be clear, not too light or to dark. She was a harsh critic of the automatic way they are done now and an even harsher critic of digital pictures always wanting them printed to hold in her hand. Mom was a wonderful artist and learned to the art of tinting pictures. I still have some of the pictures she painstakingly tinted.

Mama was proud to be a 2nd generation Arizona native and never missed the opportunity to ask those she met where they were from, usually ending in a story about how she was born here and that her dad was born in Tombstone, AZ when it was still a territory. When her dad, Richard Hampton Laine passed, she immersed herself in caring for her mother “Garbe” taking care of her for over 13 years.

She created a welcoming home full of love and fun. It became the place to hangout for my friends they all lovingly referred to her as Mama Babes and visited her often whether I was home or not. No one ever left hungry as she plied them with homemade cookies, cheese cake and her legendary “apple gook”.

She is at long last reunited with her adoring husband Bobby, her beloved son Jay Riley and survived by her daughter, Regena Falling and son-in-law, Michael Falling; her grandson, Stephen Falling, and countless nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Hers was indeed a life well lived!