[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 25, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    REMEMBERING REBECCA WOOD WATKIN

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to honor 
the life of Rebecca ``Becky'' Wood Watkin, a dedicated progressive 
advocate for the environment and affordable housing. Ms. Watkin passed 
away peacefully on December 19, 2010. She was 97 years old.
  Born in 1913 in Portland, OR, to Erskine Wood and Rebecca Biddle 
Wood, Becky earned a bachelor of arts from Bryn Mawr College in 1933. 
Four years later, she earned a bachelor of architecture from the 
University of Pennsylvania's School of Architecture. At the time, Penn 
did not admit women to its Architecture School, so Becky and two other 
women blazed a trail--they took all the courses required for an 
architecture degree, and then insisted that the school confer a 
bachelor of architecture degree. They became the first women to receive 
that degree from the University of Pennsylvania's Architecture School.
  After receiving her degree in architecture, Becky moved to Sausalito, 
CA, where she found work as a draftswoman. In 1944, after the required 
4 years of drafting work, she received her California architectural 
license. At the time, there were very few women licensed to practice 
architecture in California; however, blazing another trail, Becky 
opened her own architecture practice in 1951.
  Becky dedicated herself to helping those less fortunate than she was. 
In 1968, she helped found the Marin Ecumenical Association for Housing, 
which has provided hundreds of low-income housing units in Marin 
County. EAH, as it is now known, has successfully developed, managed 
and promoted quality affordable housing for 42 years. In addition to 
her work with EAH, Becky also served on the Marin County Planning 
Commission in the 1970s, where she was a leading advocate for 
environmentally sensitive development and affordable housing.
  Becky also believed strongly in civic participation, and was very 
active with the Marin County Democratic Party. She cochaired Adlai 
Stevenson's local campaign in 1952 and 1956, and in 1960, she was John 
Kennedy's precinct chairwoman in Marin. In 1968, Becky cochaired Marin 
County's Eugene McCarthy for President Committee, and in 1972 she 
headed George McGovern's local Presidential campaign. Breaking a losing 
streak, Becky ran Jimmy Carter's primary campaign in 1976, also serving 
as a delegate to the National Convention.
  In fact, Becky was one of the first people to give me a start in 
local politics: when I went to volunteer at the local Marin County 
Democratic campaign office in 1968, Becky put me to work typing address 
labels!
  Becky left a deep impression on all who knew her. Whether in 
Portland, Marin, or San Diego, where she moved in 2003, her life was 
full of activity. She loved the outdoors, and was an avid hiker and 
skier. Always a lover of music, she sang with the Marin Chorus until 
she was in her eighties, and regularly attended and supported the 
symphony and opera both in San Francisco and in San Diego.
  Throughout her life, Becky's commitment to her community was evident 
in the work she did every day. She was a true trailblazer and 
progressive advocate, working tirelessly to better her community. Her 
lifetime of contributions will not soon be forgotten.
  Becky is survived by her daughter Lisa; sons Joseph and Peter, and 
their spouses Ye Wa and Trylla; grandchildren Joseph Scott, 
Christopher, Milena, Katrina, and Lisl; and five great-grandchildren. I 
extend my deepest sympathies to her family and I feel blessed that 
Becky was a mentor, and most important, a dear friend.

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