Eileen Beccue's kitchen calendar had each day marked with the birthdays and anniversaries of family and friends so she could send a card or make a call.

Mrs. Beccue, 87, the keeper of many small but treasured courtesies, died Feb. 9 at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins after a series of strokes.

"It was her New Year's ritual to transfer the names to the new calendar," said her daughter Linda Granberg, of Fort Collins.

The ritual of cards and calls also marked Mrs. Beccue's ability to turn a casual encounter into a lifelong friendship.

"She never lost track of anyone. She reached out to everyone," said Diana Beccue, her second daughter, who lives in Loveland. "Her doctor even called to express her sympathies."

Born on a dairy farm in Greenville, Ill., as Eileen Warner, Mrs. Beccue's early life included four brothers who squirted milk on her when they milked the cows.

"She slept next to the stove. It meant she had to get up to keep the stove going, but she said she also got the warmest spot to sleep," said Diana Beccue.

"Mom always looked on the better side of things," she said.

Her father, Marshall Warner, died when she was 19, and the family had to leave the farm, Granberg said. She waitressed in town and caught the eye of Charles Beccue.

They married a year later, in June 1941. After Pearl Harbor he entered the Army and was stationed near Baltimore, where she rented a room, worked at Woolworth's and waited for weekends with her husband.

"She didn't drive. She was a small-town girl and was frightened a lot, but she did it," Granberg said.

After the war Beecue stayed in the military in the Chemical Corps, and the couple lived in Utah, Japan and San Francisco before he was transferred to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.

Mrs. Beccue made new friends wherever they lived while keeping up with friends and their families from past years. More and more names appeared on the calendar.

"She always did little things for people and intertwined with their lives," said Diana Beccue.

The couple vowed that they would send their daughters to college, and Beccue worked a second job for the 10 years he served at the arsenal, starting as a ticket taker at the Wolfberg Theaters, where he became a manager.

After Beccue retired from the military, the couple ran the North Valley Texaco, later owned the Penn Motel and retired to Thornton in 1977 after their daughters finished college.

That didn't last.

The Jackson family, which owned Denver Burglar Alarm, hired the couple in 1978 to clean the office.

"Mrs. Jackson loved my parents. They drove her to the hospital when she was ill. They baby- sat the Jacksons' parrot when they traveled," Diana Beccue said.

"They became friends. That's just the way they were," she said.

When her husband died in 1986, Mrs. Beccue moved to Fort Collins and made new friends.

"She dwelled on the positive," said Diana Beccue. "There were down times, but she always said 'I had a good life. No, I had a super life.' "

Mrs. Beccue is survived by her two daughters; sons-in-law Jerry Granberg, of Fort Collins, and Michael Earwood, of Loveland; a brother, Robert Warner; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In Mrs. Beccue's memory, her family asked that "You do something special for yourself or for someone in your life. Give an extra hug to someone dear. Call an old friend. Take flowers to cheer someone who is alone. Read a favorite story to a little one. Rescue a pet. Celebrate living."

Condolences may be sent to Diana Beccue, 27261 Hopi Trail, Loveland, CO 80537.

frazierd@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5308

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