LITCHFIELD – Jacka Louise (Manelick) Beckwith died at the age of 83, on Feb. 11, 2024, at the Androscoggin Hospice House Facility in Auburn.

She was born Dec. 14, 1940, in Gardiner, the daughter of James and LaVaughn (Blair) Manelick.

Jacka lived in Dresden, until 1952 when her family moved to Tullahoma, Tenn., where they resided until 1957. They then returned to Dresden where Jacka graduated as class valedictorian from Bridge Academy High School. She married Walter Moody Beckwith in Richmond, in 1959. Jacka spent the first few years of her married life as a mother and housewife but eventually went on to work at Health-Tex in Gardiner, Key Bank in Augusta, and eventually for the State of Maine until her retirement in 2016.

Jacka was predeceased by her parents, James and LaVaughn Manelick; her in-laws, Ernest and Jenny Beckwith; her husband, Walter Beckwith; and her brother, Richard Manelick.

She leaves behind her children, Edward Beckwith and his wife Amanda, Robert and Barry Beckwith, and Melody Beckwith and her husband, Jerry Babb. Also surviving are her grandson, James Beckwith; her sister Cheryl Ellis and her husband Darryl; her sister-in-law, Gail Manelick; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A brief committal ceremony will be held at the Maine Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery on Mount Vernon Road in Augusta, Thursday, May 2, 2024, promptly at noon. Jacka will be reunited with her husband of 62 years Walter Moody Beckwith on this day marking the two-year anniversary of his passing.

Immediately following the service the family will be gathering for lunch at The Red Barn Restaurant on Riverside Drive in Augusta. All are welcome to join in celebrating Jacka and Walter. We’ve got dessert!

Much love, praise and gratitude to all of the amazing caregivers and medical staff at Androscoggin and The Lamp Memory Care/Hospice Facility in Auburn.

Arrangements and guidance are entrusted with Staples Funeral Home and Cremation Care, 53 Brunswick Avenue, Gardiner, Maine. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Staples Funeral Home website, http://www.staplesfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers we ask that a donation be made to:

Androscoggin Home Health and Hospice Services at:

15 Strawberry Avenue Lewiston, Maine 04240

Or online at

http://www.Androscoggin.org/donate

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