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Sis. Mabel Bickerton
Mrs. Bickerton was a very active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Monongahela, having taught Sunday school for many years, where she also played the piano and organ and was a soprano soloist. She wrote complete programs and composed all the music for the summer Bible Schools for over 30 years. She wrote a monthly column for 21 years entitled "The Children's Corner" for the Gospel News, a national church publication. Mrs. Bickerton was the retired national president of the Ladies Uplift Circle of the church, a position she held for 31 years. Through her leadership, thousands and thousands of dollars were raised for church missionary work. She was a poetess and a composer of religious music. Mrs. Bickerton served on the General Church Hymn Book Committee, traveling with others to Winona Lake, Ind., to meet with the publishers of the book, the Rodeheaver Company. She transposed all of the music from the church's hymnal, using the Sol-Fa notation, for the church's missions in Nigeria, Africa. Mrs. Bickerton also was a deaconess of the church. She loved to travel, having visited the Holy Land and Israel twice, and made numerous trips to Canada and Mexico, as well as to many parts of this country. A verse from Galatians in the New Testament best describes this extraordinary person: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance." Friends will be received Friday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. in the FRYE FUNERAL HOME INC., 427 West Main St., Monongahela. A funeral service will be held Saturday, Sept. 22, at 11 a.m. in The Church of Jesus Christ, Sixth and Lincoln streets, with Elders Paul Palmieri and Tony Ross officiating. Interment will follow in Monongahela Cemetery. The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the General Ladies Circle New Work Fund, or to The Church of Jesus Christ Missionary Foundation at The Church of Jesus Christ World Conference Center, 110 Walton Tea Room Rd., Greensburg, Pa. 15601.
As a church, we don’t do tributes to people as a rule, however, a tribute to Sis. Mabel Bickerton is not a tribute to an individual it is a tribute to the spirit of the Ladies’ Uplift Circle and to The Church of Jesus Christ that it represents. We have discussed service a number of times and Sis. Mabel is the ultimate example of service. As you see, we have posted Sis. Mabel’s obituary on this website, but I think that only tells us what she did. I think it will be more interesting for each of us to see how her service to the Church impacted its members. Here’s what I propose; if you have something you would like everyone to know about how the life of our sister impacted your life, send it via email to the General Circle websister, Sis. Lisa Champine (websister@generalladiescircle.org) and she will post that remembrance on line for a few weeks for all of us to enjoy. I will start with my remembrance, which really has more to do with my childhood than my life in Circle. I remember those annual Vacation Bible Schools that Sis. Mabel created for all of us for so many years. I used to marvel that not only did she write the lesson, but she also wrote the songs that accompanied those lessons. As General Church President, Apostle Paul Palmieri recently said, Sis. Mabel was the original creator of the Church’s Education Committee. What a marvelous work and how numerous the recipients of those lessons. I am also going to share a remembrance told to me by Bro. Lyle Criscuolo a few days ago. He told me that in 1967 he was on patrol in Vietnam one Sunday morning (Saturday here). His helicopter was downed by enemy fire and he was being shot at. His life was spared that day and not until years later did he know that he was spared because the sisters were praying for him in General Circle at the very moment of the attack. Sis. Mabel had noticed that the normally cheerful and outgoing Sis. Mary Criscuolo was very withdrawn and worried looking. When Sis. Mabel heard that Sis. Mary was concerned about Lyle (who, at that time was not a member of the Church) she brought the conference to attention and a special prayer was had for Lyle. As Bro. Lyle tells it, he was miraculously saved from death that day. To me it just shows how important Sis. Mabel’s work in The Church of Jesus Christ was. She was in tuned with the spirit and willing to do whatever the Lord had for her to do. Years of Vacation Bible School lessons (30), 20 years writing The Children’s Corner in The Gospel News and 31 years as President of the Circle sets an example that few will ever be able to match, but all of use should be able to appreciate. I am truly blessed to have known her and know that many of you have wonderful experiences to share as well. Sis. Karen |
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Mabel
Cadman Bickerton, formerly of West Elizabeth, died Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007, in
Lawson Nursing Home, Jefferson Hills, at the age of 105. Mrs. Bickerton was born
in McKeesport on May 4, 1902, the oldest of four daughters of the late William
H. and Sadie B. Mains Cadman. She and her husband, the late John C. Bickerton,
were married for 64 years. She is survived by two daughters and sons-in-law,
Carol and Jack Lovell, of Hagerstown, Md., and Irene and Ken Yonkee, of Beaver
Falls; one son and daughter-in-law, John and Mary Bickerton, of Pinetop, Ariz.;
nine grandchildren and three step-grandchildren; 3 step grandchildren; 14
great-grandchildren; two sisters, Sara Vancik, of Monongahela, and Grace Landrey,
of Chandler, Ariz.; three sisters-in-law, Grace Fekula and Aileen Bickerton, of
Clairton, and Betty Robb, of Elizabeth; and many nieces and nephews. In addition
to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by one sister, Ruth
Mountain. Mrs. Bickerton had been a resident of West Elizabeth since 1929. She
was a retired teacher, having taught in the West Elizabeth and Jefferson Borough
schools for 30 years. Mrs. Bickerton was a graduate of California Normal School.
She was an accomplished musician and gave private piano lessons. Mrs. Bickerton
had been a Girl Scout leader, a member of the Homemaker's Club of Floreffe, and
a member of the Clairton AARP. At the West Elizabeth Sesquicentennial
celebration in August 1998, she was the keynote speaker, being the oldest living
resident. 
