Rebecca “Becky” Earnest, 74, of Robinson, IL, passed away on February 13, 2026, at the Linda E. White Hospice House in Evansville, IN. She was born on October 30, 1951, in Lawrenceville, IL, and grew up in Flat Rock, where she learned early how to hold her own. She and her brothers even had a homemade boxing ring, and their mom would put boxing gloves on them and let them have at it. It is a funny picture, but it also fits, because Becky carried a little grit everywhere she went. That grit showed up as a stubborn streak that never really softened. Becky could be hard-headed, and she liked things done her way, a Tracy trait through and through. But the longer you knew her, the more you realized her stubbornness was not coldness. It was conviction. And most of the time, it came from a tender place: she cared deeply, and she cared on purpose.
If Becky cared about you, she didn’t just say it. She proved it. She took care of her husband, Jim. She took care of her mom, Evelyn. And then she kept right on going, stepping in to help others in the community who needed someone steady. Becky had a gift for practical love, the kind that cooks, cleans, checks in, stays late, and handles what has to be handled. She made caregiving her calling, and the only “marketing” she ever needed was people talking, because when Becky took care of you, you told somebody.
Feeding people was one of her favorite ways to care for others, and she loved big dinners and family get-togethers because they gave her a reason to cook like an army was coming. She preferred to do it herself, because Becky had her way, and her way leaned sweet: pies, chocolate-layer dessert, and yes, even the chili had sugar in it! And when someone was hurting, she didn’t overthink it. She showed up with food, often her baked spaghetti with chicken, quietly saying with her hands what she might not say out loud: you are not alone. And if you are wondering how she always seemed to know who was hurting in the first place, it is because Becky was plugged in. She knew everybody, and everybody knew her. She kept track of family histories and connections like it was her own personal filing system, and she liked to keep people in the loop. Yes, she was a gossip, but it was the kind that grew out of paying attention, because Becky did not let people become anonymous.
A lot of Becky’s connection to people traveled through the phone. She loved to talk, loved to keep up, and yes, loved to share what she knew. But those calls were also her way of keeping people close. She checked in, circled back, and made sure the important people in her life heard from her, not occasionally, but regularly. Becky’s love had a voice, and more often than not, it sounded like a ringing phone and a conversation that refused to be rushed. She would say, “I need to get off of here,” and then stay on the line anyway, because you mattered. And yet, for all those long phone calls, Becky was not a sitter. She hated sitting still for too long. She stayed busy because people needed things, and Becky noticed. She was the kind of person who found comfort in movement and meaning in usefulness, and her busyness was often just love with work gloves on.
Becky’s life was a long series of small choices to put other people ahead of herself. She stayed busy because someone always needed something, and she didn’t turn away from a need once she saw it. For Becky, that was not just kindness. It was discipleship. It was the fruit of a life with Jesus, lived out in the ordinary. She worshipped at the Robinson Free Methodist Church as time allowed, but she also worshipped in kitchens, in living rooms, and on the other end of a phone call. And in all of it, God’s care became visible through hers.
She is survived by her son, Mike Brashear (Tracy Masterson); by her daughter, Shannon (Chris) Roach; by her grandchildren, Erica (Cody) Zellers, Tiffany (Travis) Ditch, Tori Brashear, Justin (Kailey) Bilohlavek, Brandon Bilohlavek, and Cassy (Daegan) Lindsay; by her great-grandchildren, Hadlee Chiddix, Landry Chiddix, Rowan Bilohlavek, Natalie Bilohlavek, and Anniston Ditch; by her siblings, Rick (Greta) Tracy and Rita Tracy (Ernie Martin); as well as several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband of nearly 40 years, Jim Earnest; by her parents, John H. Tracy & Evelyn (Montgomery) Swaner; and by her brother, Ronnie Tracy.
A time of visitation will be held from 4:00–7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 17th, at the Goodwine Funeral Home in Robinson. A second visitation will be held from 9:00–10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 18th, at the Robinson Free Methodist Church, with the funeral service immediately following at 10:00 a.m. Pastors Aaron Peternel and Burl Shinkle will officiate. For those unable to attend, the service will be available online at www.goodwinefuneralhomes.com/live-stream/live-stream.
Burial will be in the Jones Cemetery. In honor of the wonderful care she received in her last days, memorial contributions may be made to the Linda E. White Hospice House in Evansville, IN.
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