Rebecca continued living at the homeplace in York County; various grandchildren would spend nights with her. Later on, several grandchildren lived in the house with her. Rebecca was very healthy and active well into her eighties. She did occasional sewing and a lot of crocheting, even having an afghan in the state fair. She taught a Sunday school class at Bethel Baptist Church until she was 85; later the class was named the Rebecca Emerson Class.

 Rebecca and children, 1976

Rebecca and in-laws, 1976

 Five Generations, 1978
Vicky West, Brenda West, Lynwood, Edward West, Rebecca

 As the years passed, Rebecca’s memory began to slip. One day when she was 87, she was making applesauce in a pressure cooker and removed the top before releasing the pressure. The boiling apples spewed over her neck, chest, and arms causing severe burns. From that time on, her mind began to deteriorate until eventually she went to live with her son, Jack, and his wife, Susie. No elderly person ever received more tender love and care than Rebecca did in the home of Jack and Susie.

Rebecca, 1981

 The doctors never gave a definitive name to her condition; maybe it was Alzheimer’s, maybe it was a series of mini strokes. Eventually, her condition deteriorated to the point that she rarely knew where she was or whether it was the 1980s or the 1920s.  Her children collectively decided that a nursing home was the best place for her. The best home seemed to be the Walter Reed Convalescent Center in Gloucester. After being there a little more than a year, she suffered a severe stroke and was taken to Walter Reed Hospital where she lay in a coma for a month. Rebecca Oliver Emerson passed from this life in August of 1984.

Bethel Baptist Church was filled to capacity for Rebecca’s funeral. Afterward, she was taken to the community of her childhood to be buried at Beech Grove Cemetery in Coke. On a sunny August day, Rebecca was laid to rest beside her beloved George.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before Rebecca’s mind had deteriorated, she bequeathed various pieces of furniture to each of her children. The table, that for many years was the focal point of our family life, was designated to her son, Brandon. George Franklin Emerson, Brandon’s son, refinished the table, made a few replacements, and transported the table to Brandon’s home in Oklahoma. Like the Emerson family, the table has moved far from the original home at Crow Point; yet, as the table is still utilized by Emersons, even so, our heritage lives on.

 The Children,1984

The In-laws, 1984