Makki Bigman

Our sister would have turned 68 on March 20, 2015. After fighting a tough battle with COPD, she passed away on the morning of March 16. Sister Barbara (Johnson) was with her as she peacefully took her last breath. Charline (Eppright) and Cathy (Miller) have been either in the hospital or a nursing home with her since the 26th of January.

Maxine Beardsley is the 2nd daughter to Charles Howard & Bernice Maxine Cowsar Beardsley and big sister Charline. Soon after, Barbara, Cathy and Becky completed the family. This family of 5 girls grew up in central Austin in a 3 story house at 1611 West Avenue. Living 5 blocks from the "old" S. F. Austin High School, all 5 girls graduated from that school. Makki graduated in 1965.

She was a very private person who lived a big and adventurous life. She set out for Europe in her mid-twenties and didn't come home for 40 years. She lived on a house boat in Amsterdam, traveled alone to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, and landed in Marrakesh where she met her husband, a Canadian, in the American Bar. Together, Makki and Sydney lived in Morocco, England, France and finally in Guatemala. While in Guatemala Makki designed and supervised construction of their beautiful home on the river bank in Panajachel. She opened her own resale shop and was a leader in her community. She worked to improve life for children with disabilities and volunteered many hours of work at the hospital in Guatemala City. Sidney died in 2005 and Makki returned to Austin to help care for our mother who passed away in 2008. Makki had survived 2 floods and lost almost everything she had in a mudslide in Guatemala.

There are many amazing things about our sister, but one of the accomplishments that stands out is that she took advantage of her return to the states by going back to school. Not so amazing for most people, but this was a woman in her early 60's who thought she could never be a good student. She worked hard and earned an associates degree in biomedical engineering, graduating 2nd in her class, and went to work in a large hospital in Albuquerque. She loved her work but had to move out of the high altitude when she was diagnosed with COPD. Upon returning to Austin yet again, she set about finding a home. She found some trees on a beautiful lot outside of Marble Falls that had a house to go with it. After remodeling her home to fit her needs, she realized she needed to be closer to family because of her health issues. None of us knew how sick she really was. She fought hard and was even doing physical therapy on the Friday before she died.

She was a special person, with a special life and she will be missed by Pete, her sisters, brothers-in-law, step-daughters and their families as well as many nieces and nephews.

The following Gestalt prayer from Frederick Perls was found in Makki's handwriting. It reflects her life.

"I do my thing and you do yours. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, then it is beautiful. If not, it can't be helped."

Makki, you taught me to follow my dreams and that life here on earth is fleeting. We should make the most of the time we have and you surely did just that. God speed, little sister. Char

Makki, I will cherish and remember all the days of our childhood to adult, we had together. When I tell others about your travels, they are (as I am) in awe of the accomplishments you made. Love you and bless you big sis. Barbie

Makki, you taught me to honor my independent nature and that a female CAN be mechanically inclined. Love you, Cathy

The family will celebrate Makki's life at our next family reunion. Her ashes will be scattered in the ocean so she can continue to travel the world. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the charity of your choice. Makki was always focused on children with disabilities wherever she lived. She also wanted to make sure that everyone knew that her special life was cut short because of the use of tobacco.