Barbara R. Becker

Barbara Becker of Wallingford Connecticut peacefully passed away at Yale-New Haven after a brief illness. Barbara was the second child born to Theodore and Elizabeth (nee Clark) Johnson in Wolcott, CT. After the birth of her older sister, Elizabeth (Bette), her father was hoping for a boy, so when she was born, he named her Barbara Ruth Johnson after Babe Ruth. Born during the Great Depression, life became harder when her mother passed when she was two. Her father worked numerous jobs to support his two daughters and saved money in the summertime by living at a camp on Bantam Lake with an outdoor privy and sink pump for water. Life became better for the family when her father married Grandma Fran when Barbara was six. Barbara decided to follow in the footstep of her birth mother and became a nurse with a long-distinguished career. Throughout the 1950s to 1980s Barbara worked at Yale-New Haven Hospital, primarily in the Emergency Room and Coronary Care Unit. Barbara was selected by Dr. Glenn to be a nurse on his team during the first open-heart surgery at Yale. In later years she could be found practicing her career in local nursing homes before retiring at the age of 79. Even after retiring she had need to care for the ailing and would often be found helping out her neighbors in the Silver Pond Apartments. Barbara married Stephen Borkowski of New Haven, CT in 1951. Her husband was a Lieutenant in the US Navy and served at Newport Naval station from 1953-55. When the aircraft carrier USS Bennington exploded killing 100 sailors and wounding 125 more, Barbara rushed to the harbor to tend the wounded, many of whom were horrifically burned. Together Steve and Barbara raised four children in Wallingford, CT starting in 1961. Although she worked evening shifts at the hospital, she always found time to support her children in their many activities whether it be dance, marching band, baseball or football. Barbara was renowned in the Ridgeland community as a Cub Scout den mother where many children enjoyed her hospitality of fun and food. Barbara was a dedicated walker; it wasn't unusual to find her walking to downtown Wallingford from Ridgeland. If you lived in Wallingford during last half of the past century you probably saw a white-haired woman power walking along. In the 1980s, Barbara married her second husband, Al Becker. She leaves behind a son Stephen Borkowski and wife Weida of Pittsburg, TX, a son William Borkowski and fiancé Marilyn Dowdy of Fargo, ND, a daughter Susan (nee Borkowski) Wiese and husband Dwight of Wallingford, CT, and a son David Borkowski and wife Leeanne of Madison, CT. She also leaves a brother, Theodore Johnson of Los Angeles, CA and a sister Margaret Johnson. Additionally, she leaves behind nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. There will be a private family memorial this summer. If you wish to honor Barbara's legacy, please make a donation to the ASPCA. All services will be private and at the convenience of the family. The B.C. Bailey Funeral Home of Wallingford, Connecticut has been entrusted with the arrangements. To leave a message of remembrance, please visit www.BaileyCares.com. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Barbara, please visit our floral store.