Obituary of Colette B. Wickham

Colette Butler Wickham, 96, passed away peacefully on Thursday October 24th in Binghamton, New York. Colette was born March 10, 1923 in Bellaire, Ohio, to Elizabeth and Michael Butler of Bellaire, the youngest of their eight children. Colette was predeceased by her parents and her 7 siblings. She is survived by her beloved husband of 59 years, her 3 children, 8 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren; Elizabeth Wickham DeAngelo and husband Phillip DeAngelo of Binghamton, their children Michael, Scott, Cara, Gina and grandchildren Brady and Jake; son Joseph Wickham of Atlanta, GA, and his daughters Anna and Iris; Phillip Wickham of Los Gatos, CA and his daughters Elissa and Emily. Colette and her seven siblings were raised by a single mother during the Great Depression in the steel communities of eastern Ohio. This forged in her a unique creativity and independence that she shared with her siblings and eventually passed on to her own extended family. At the age of 23, Colette and her mother moved to Springfield, Massachusetts to be closer to her older brother Walter and his family. Colette worked as a bookkeeper for the Moore Drop Forging Company. Her starting pay was 95 cents an hour. When she got her first raise of 6 cents per hour, she saved or invested 3 cents of it, learning early in Springfield to be a saver before a spender; learning that you needn't buy joy, but rather true joy came from within. In August of 1960 Colette married the love of her life, Gerald (Jerry) C. Wickham. The couple and their three children eventually settled at 9 Laurel Ave on Binghamton's West Side in 1970, where they spent 42 joyful years surrounded by trusted neighbors and close friends. After the twin devastating Susquehanna floods of 2006 and 2011, they moved and headquartered their extended family out of 5 Riverside Towers, even closer to, but now safe from, the river that had been so much a part of their life. Colette had many wonderful qualities. She was an active, good mother, involved in PTA, as a grade mother at Alexander Hamilton Elementary School, in Cub Scouts, and teaching religious education at St. Patrick's. She possessed a quiet, wry sense of humor and a unique, deep empathy for others. Colette was a private person, choosing to pour her energy into her family; she was wonderful story teller and had an outsized influence on her grandchildren, whom she adored. She kept her Jerry's undivided attention as she told him of her activities of the day. Colette will be greatly missed by additional extended family, nieces, nephews, close friends, and the lives she impacted with her generous spirit, quick wit and zest for enjoying life. Funeral Services will be held at the J.A. McCormack Funeral Home, 141 Main Street Binghamton, Tuesday, October 29th at 1 p.m., Reverend Ken Kirkman will officiate. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the J.A. McCormack Sons Funeral Home on Tuesday from 12 p.m. to1 p.m. Expressions of sympathy in memory of Colette may be made to Lend-a-Hand, 86-88 Walnut Street, Binghamton, New York 13905 or any charitable organization.