Rebecca Sue Shott, 67, of La Porte, Indiana, passed away Tuesday, January 9th, 2024, at home, with her family by her side.
She was born October 5th, 1956, in La Porte, Indiana, the daughter of Carl Bilderback and Penny (Kolar) Bilderback.
A lifelong resident of the area, Rebecca graduated from LaPorte High School class of 1975. She also received a bachelor’s in marketing from Purdue University. During Rebecca’s years of academic studies, she found a love for photography. She was a born natural and her hobby grew into a passion, that in turn, turned into a profession. Rebecca went on to become a professional photographer for the South Bend Tribune, covering a multitude of interesting stories over the years. Motorsports photography was her favorite and as a member of the Associated Press, she never missed an Indy 500. She shot from all four turns, often retaining the role of “turn captain”. In 2001 Rebecca took the winning shot of Helio Castroneves crossing the finish line to win his first of four Indy titles. The photo was published across the world, landing on the cover of Brazil’s national racing magazine.
On October 21st, 2006, in New Carlisle, IN, Rebecca wed in Christian matrimony Ted Shott, who survives. They met each other at The Prairie Tavern in Rolling Prairie where Becky worked on the weekends, more for the fun of it than anything but it sure did work out great because she met the most important person of her life! Rebecca enjoyed that life to the fullest, becoming an excellent cook with a huge collection of cookbooks. Rebecca also enjoyed going off to auctions with her bestie, Shelia, and they never missed their annual trip to the haunted house in Niles, Michigan! Ted & Becky, both having a love for adventure, spent time together traveling from the East Coast to the West, from the Bahamas to Canada but their favorite place to go was into the upper UP of Michigan as they loved to ride their snowmobiles together. Their last trip together was to Las Vegas with their dear friends Barry & Tracy Fitzpatrick. Becky was also always ready to jump on the back of Ted’s motorcycle for a day of adventure through the country. In the last several years Becky could no longer do all the things they did in the past, so Ted bought a Street Rod and Becky loved to go for a ride whether it was driving in the parade or better yet, going to Dairy Queen for an ice cream. Becky was born with a gifted voice and a natural love for music. She was always the first in line on Saturday morning at The Roxie Music Store whenever a new vinyl was released, and she cherished her collection. She had already become an avid concertgoer by the time she was in high school, often maneuvering herself backstage for autographs. She loved a vast array of genres, but Becky & Ted enjoyed seeing multiple country stars together.
Rebecca loved God, her life, her family, and her friends. She was devoted and loyal to all. May her bright light & big smile continue to live in the hearts of everyone who knew her.
Huntington’s Disease may have cut her life short, but it did not win. She lived to the fullest to the bittersweet end.
