Rebecca Madden

Rebecca "Becky" Madden was brought into this world Aug. 15, 1950, to Phil and Joan Ingram of Nezperce.

Becky was the youngest of the three children, and she grew up on the family ranch just outside Nezperce. After graduating high school in 1968, she went on to graduate from Kinman College in Spokane. She moved to Lewiston with her best friend, Nancy Piles, and worked at MSB (now Regence Blue Shield of Idaho). She met her husband, Jim Madden, at a Cottonwood dance, and so started their adventure. While dating, Jim got deployed to Vietnam. Becky faithfully wrote to him until his return. Becky and Jim got married Nov. 29, 1969, in Nezperce. They first lived in Lewiston and had their first son, Tom. They later moved back to Cottonwood, where their other two children, Jim and Misi, were born.

Becky loved anything outdoors, from jet boating on the Salmon River to rockhounding on the Selway. She was an avid fisherman who loved catching steelhead. She also found great joy in hunting, whether it be cougar hunting on Joseph or chasing a giant buck on her parents' ground in Lawyers Canyon.

Becky worked at several jobs throughout her life in Cottonwood, from the Cottonwood Chronicle to Olin Oil in Grangeville. She owned her own secondhand store with her daughter and sold on eBay. Her longest career was bus driving for the Cottonwood School District for more than 20 years.

One of her greatest joys was spending time with her nine grandchildren. She helped two of them get their first deer and turkey. After retirement, Becky concentrated on the things she really enjoyed, like spending time at their cabin in Orogrande, Idaho, going to the river with her daughter, Misi, to enjoy the sun, and cruising the secondhand stores for a treasure.

Becky was prematurely taken from us Monday, March 12, 2018, by a rare cancer. She was preceded in death by her brother, Dick Ingram, and her parents, Phil and Joan Ingram. She is survived by her husband, Jim; son Tom (Heather) Madden and their children, Michael, Taylor and Alex; son Jim (Charlene) Madden and their children, Philip, Shandra and Alyssa; daughter Misi Madden and her children, Shawn, Daniel and Matthew; one great-grandchild on the way; and her sister, Phyllis Armitage. Her intense love of life, family, practical jokes, as well as her immense hatred of spiders, will be forever missed.

In honor of Becky's wishes there will not be a funeral service. A private celebration of her life will be held in Orogrande at a later date.