Cover photo for Rebecca Yancey Adams Feder's Obituary
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Rebecca Yancey Adams Feder

d. October 28, 2015

Rebecca Yancey Adams Feder

Rebecca Yancey Adams Feder, Becky to her legion of friends and followers, departed this life October 28, 2015, after a short, sharp fight with cancer. Born in Biloxi in 1954, and raised in Ocean Springs by her parents, Andrew J. Adams, DDS and Celeste Elizabeth "Betty" Adams, she later attended Ole Miss where she met her future husband and life partner, Ron Feder, of Vicksburg, Mississippi. They married May 31, 1975, and began a most remarkable journey. She mastered the challenging role of Air Force wife, establishing homes in California, then Washington D.C. and then the Republic of the Philippines. In 1986, she established their permanent home in Ocean Springs. During the Washington years, Becky worked in the Executive Secretariat of Secretary Joseph Califano, a member of President Jimmy Carter's cabinet. She personally handled the Secretary's White House correspondence and never failed to meet the exacting standards expected of her. At Edwards Air Force Base she celebrated the spectacular first missions of the American Space Shuttle program and mingled with the Hollywood celebrities who frequented the infamous Edwards Officers Club. She partied with "The Right Stuff's" Chuck Yeager and the Doolittle family, including the Tokyo Raider himself. During the Philippine Revolution of 1986, Becky prominently showcased her mettle and physical courage. With an infant Sam and toddler Elizabeth in tow, and Ron deployed to remote Diego Garcia, she experienced first-hand the Philippine Revolution that toppled the Marcos regime. In the ensuing chaos, after aircrew food services halted at Clark Air Base, Becky and a few officer wives took over the Clark O Club kitchen and insured America's Far East Air Force got hot, delicious food. The Cold War was still on in 1986, and Becky's message to the Russians at their new bases in Vietnam was "Hell no...not while I'm here!" In 1986, Becky and Ron left active duty service and returned to Ocean Springs to build a life. Becky and her intimate circle of childhood friends, especially Belinda Gryder Guice and Laura Ederer Bolton, raised a host of children together, from elementary school through high school. Becky was everywhere: Friday night football, homecoming parties, prom and a multitude of other social and charitable events. She fully engaged the Mardi Gras season with many krewes, but reserved her best for Les Masquees. She labored at every important role in that organization and served as Queen in 1998. When Elizabeth first, and later Sam, chose Ole Miss, Becky bought a house two blocks from the Oxford Square and made it a real Second Home. In fact, she and Ron spent a week in Oxford two weeks before her passing. She forged strong relationships with the Square Books folks and her old "Hoka" crew from Ron's law school years and became a stalwart supporter of Thacker Mountain Radio, and was primarily responsible for TMR's annual show at Ocean Spring's Mary C. theatre. After the kids graduated she insisted on keeping the house and claiming dual residency in both Oxford and Ocean Springs. In 2005 she refused to evacuate to the safety of the Oxford house so she could protect the Ocean Springs home and help her many friends who lost everything. In 2006 she endured the peculiar agony of seeing her reservist husband go to war in Iraq, and then in 2011, her son's deployment to Afghanistan. In a day and age where so few serve, Becky Feder supported her men and their mission, but fretted every day until they safely returned. She was a proud American, willing to make the sacrifices that others would not. At the same time, she was an unabashed progressive and feminist who championed civil rights and equality. Becky is survived by Ron, her husband of forty years, and her brother Andrew J. Adams, both of Ocean Springs. She leaves behind son Sam, daughter Elizabeth, and son-in-law Matthew Hosey, and her crown jewel grandchildren, Evelyn Rose and Cohen Luke. She is further survived by a legion of Millenials who came of age in her household and will sorely miss her wit, charm and guidance. Becky was an artist and a poet in her manner. Coleridge might have said about her: Weave a circle round her thrice, and close your eyes in holy dread, for she on honey dew hath fed, and drunk the milk of Paradise. Visitation will be on Sunday, November 1, from 6pm until 9pm, at the Ocean Springs Chapel of Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home. On Monday, November 2, there will be a 2pm chapel service in the funeral home. A private burial for family only will follow.
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Past Services

Visitation

Sunday, November 1, 2015

6:00 - 9:00 pm

Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home - Ocean Springs

911 Porter Avenue, Ocean Springs, MS 39564

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Service

Monday, November 2, 2015

Starts at 2:00 pm

Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home - Ocean Springs

911 Porter Avenue, Ocean Springs, MS 39564

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Cemetery

Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home - Gulfport

59 Wayside Rd, Stuart, VA 24171

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