Faye E. Wickerham

Our loving mother, Faye (Deakin) Wickerham crossed over to the shores of Heaven on 15 August 2021. Mom is now reunited with her parents Henry and Anna Deakin, parents-in-law Roy and Florence Wickerham, siblings Mary Katherine and Harold (“Buzzy”) and our dear brother, Tim. On 25 August 1947, our mom and dad joined hands and hearts in marriage to experience the full spectrum of life. Together, we 5 children (Tim, Terry, Tom, Laura and Melissa) did our best to make sure mom and dad were never at a loss for a new experience. From the celebration of birthdays, baptisms and backyard cookouts to the everyday occurrence of unidentified flying objects, armpit farts and writing book reports for Terry, mom navigated that narrow path between harmony and hellfire. As a child, Tim would read cereal boxes and quiz mom about the ingredients. As a college student at OSU, he studied music and tried his hand at sound engineering by rigging a recording device inside a toilet at his dorm. Given his preference for day-tripping rather than attending high school, Terry hit the road for destinations such as Cedar Point, Ernie’s Bar & Grill and Pennsylvania. Tom was in the fifth grade before mom figured out that he hadn’t changed his socks since kindergarten. Tom also made a beeline for the refrigerator at the grandparents’ house in spite of being told to wait for an invitation. Parent-teacher conferences for Melissa at Hillview Elementary always included the comment “talks too much in class.” The service manager at a local dealership got an earful from Melissa when she blasted the car horn in a service bay because they still hadn’t fixed her car correctly after two attempts. Laura was perfect in every way. Dear mom, we miss you already. Don’t worry about dad as we promise to take excellent care of him just like you always did. We thank you for all the love, patience, guidance and compassion you gave us throughout the years. We are really sorry for the times you swore, screamed, sent us to grandma’s house or ran out of aspirin because of us. You inspired three new generations of our family and for that you should be very proud. Along with the original 5 you welcomed 6 additional children: Rose, Judy, Pat, Mike and Wayne and Linda Brown; 10 grandchildren: Ben, Heather, Sarah, Chad C, Chad D, Andrea, Ashley, Josh, David and Melanie; and 6 great-grandchildren: Tucker, Beau, Brady, Emmie, Sebastian and Josie. But more than this you blessed our dad, Wes Wickerham, with over 76 years of memories, triumphs, healing, companionship and sweet love. One more gospel song for you Mom as you ascend to meet Jesus in heaven. Gonna lay down my burden down down by the riverside, down by the riverside, down by the riverside ain’t gonna study want no more I’m gonna put on my long white robe down down by the riverside, down by the riverside, down by the riverside ain’t gonna study want no more I’m gonna put on my golden slippers down down by the riverside, down by the riverside, down by the riverside ain’t gonna study want no more I’m gonna meet King Jesus, where? down by the riverside, down by the riverside, down by the riverside ain’t gonna study want no more, no more ain’t gonna study want no more

Faye E. Wickerham

September 3, 1925 - August 15, 2021