Hometown Hero: Navy veteran Becki West goes all in for community

As the nation honors its military veterans on Thursday, Navy veteran Becki West of Morris said she’ll take special time out to remember the sacrifices that military personnel and their families make every day.

There won’t be a Veterans Day parade in Morris, but West said she plans to attend the services scheduled outside the Grundy County courthouse.

“I don’t think of myself, I think of other people, people who have gone above and beyond what I have done, people who have gone to war. I want to honor those heroes,” West said. “I am not a hero. I didn’t do anything special. They did.”

When in the Navy, West served as an aviation boatswain’s mate, second class, and served for five years, she said. She left the Navy in 2000, West said.

Now, she and her husband Paul, who is a former Navy electronics technician second class, have kept their love of duty and community in their family, West said. They teach their daughters, Gillian, an 18-year-old freshman at Illinois State University, and Elise, a 15-year-old student at Morris High School, to respect people who have served in the military and honor the Veterans Day holiday.

“We do something every year Memorial Day, Veterans Day so they know it’s important,” West said. “To be mindful it’s not just some old guy sitting there at the coffee shop, he’s someone special, too.”

Angelique Minett, president of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 294 in Morris where West volunteers, said West is not only a vital member of her team but the community as well.

“Becki has a spirit of selflessness in everything she does,” Minett said. “She gives everything to ensure that the group succeeds and goes all in every time.”

The local post is regularly working on numerous projects, she said. The mostaccioli dinner is coming up on Saturday, Nov. 13, and the Grinch breakfast is set for Saturday, Dec. 11. On top of that, the unit is focusing this year on family members of those who are deployed.

“A lot of people don’t realize we have a lot of active duty families in town whose loved ones were deployed without notice,” West said. “We help support those families, although some are reluctant to ask for help.”

West also spends her time working at Transitions at the Grundy County Special Education Cooperative, which assists students and their families in identifying an employment goal, secondary education plans and independent living skills where appropriate. Educational instruction, experiences, programs and assessments are provided that determine and relate to these future goals.

West, who has been with Transitions for about nine years, recently became full time. She said she has loved the experience teaching people ages 18 to 22 to grow into their own identity and experience a new life skill.

“I love the kids, watching them learn something they didn’t know they could do, watching the aha moment – I can do this – it’s just the best moment,” West said.