I am Sally Wilkinson the oldest granddaughter of Barbara Malcom, or as we called her, BeBe and I wanted to share what she meant to us as our grandmother.
We always lived in a different state than Bebe and Pop which
made our weeks with them so special and memorable. She made our time count and holds great
importance and influence in my life.
My earliest memories with her involve riding on the boat
with an ice cream cone of lime sherbet and a grocery sack tied around my head
to prevent wind damage to my ears. The way she would walk out in the yard with
a rolled up newspaper to shoe away the geese that Pop had befriended. Tap
dancing together to Run Run Rudolph in our kitchen in Philadelphia and watching
hours upon hours of Anne of Green Gables.
She was incredibly beautiful and carried herself with
elegance in all circumstances. I remember she had the most chic outfit to pick
up pinecones on the lawn – a white button down, petal pushers, and a red
bandana tied in her hair. She loved to cook and share a meal as a family. It
didn’t matter if she was preparing the largest of Christmas suppers or a sliced
tomato from the garden with some salt and pepper, she wanted your dining
experience to be as perfect as possible. Unfortunately, for our dad and my
husband, she taught us all the art of shopping. Not many things made her happier
than a good outlet mall and if you happened to pass a garage sale with her, you
were most definitely going to stop.
She loved to cheer
for an underdog and had an unexplainable love for reality TV. As little girls,
we spent many nights in her bed with the QVC channel as our background noise.
She was savvy and not easily defeated. When I was in college, we accidentally
locked ourselves out of her house and she managed to get us back in with
nothing but a credit card.
She did NOT like to be the subject of a joke but was
extremely quick witted and funny when she wanted to be. You never quite knew
what was going to come out of her mouth which was scary at times but kept us
all on our toes.
Bebe had excellent taste, particularly in men, as she spent
60 years with the most handsome man who I know has been patiently waiting for
her in heaven. Bebe was bold, resourceful, incredibly intelligent and creative
and she encouraged us to be confident young women and men. I am comforted
knowing her spirit lives in all of us and will continue to in generations to
come.
Most of all, she was an extremely hard worker. A trait that is so evidently instilled in her
children as they just finished a week in Florida together (all 5 of them)
cleaning up the community after hurricane Michael. I cannot think of a better way to honor Bebe and
Pop than you all uniting to help one another. I know they are looking down, together again, and so proud of you
all.
