...who can find a virtuous woman...

As Mother's Day has come and gone........I'm just getting around to this...........I would wish that every daughter in all the world felt that she had "the perfect mother". And while I'm sure there is no one perfect mother, maybe there is a perfect mother for this daughter, and a different perfect mother for that daughter. I know many excellent women who are excellent mothers..........with that said, I want to declare that I have the perfect mother for me! How grateful I am to be her daughter! I have at least one thing in common with Abraham Lincoln--an "angel mother". I am who I am in large part because of her. She has been the single, most important influence in my life. I pray every day that I may, in some way, add to her joy and bring honor to her name. So, Mother.....with deepest respect and love, I pay tribute to you...............


Maybe she understood better than I knew when I wanted to "run with the boys".......or maybe I was just ornery enough she was glad to have me out from under foot! .........(Mother is on the far right......on the tail!! Notice her cool boots!!)




She set an example for higher education and service when she left her family in northern Utah to go to Salt Lake City to earn her degree as a registered nurse. She then returned to Randolph to serve as the county health nurse while caring for her younger brother and sister after the death of her mother. She has always loved to read and has encouraged me to read from "the best books".





Mother excelled at caring for her home and family. Running in from the bus after school during the cold of winter was always delightful.........especially when there was the smell of fresh, warm bread......there was a sense of peace and safety, love and acceptance. I have always been thankful that she was there. The only times I remember her not there was when she was Relief Society president and occasionally she would still be at the church when we got home from school.








Mother was not afraid of long, hard hours working to provide for us. Most of the time she had us working along side her--especially with the fruit. But from my own experience, I know there were hundreds, if not thousands, of hours spent cleaning, sewing, preparing food, baking, gardening, making soap and doing the laundry......... Every year she would bring home bushels and bushels of fruit to be preserved. I remember only one or two dresses in my closet she did not make. And then! she had the patience to teach me how to make my own and encouraged me to do so. I have not been grateful enough for her selfless and unwearying service.........




I wish we had kept a count of the batches of carmels Mother has made! Wouldn't that be a fun statistic??? Every winter--sometime in November she would begin making carmels. We knew there would be some for us in addition to one batch for each of her brothers and sisters......the carmels were to give away! But what fun to sit on the counter (one of the only times she allowed me to do that!) stirring--watching the mixture change from cream, sugar and Karo syrup into those delectable carmels! I loved the smell of the boiling cream and watching the window fog up. Again, there was a deep feeling of belonging and being valued.......the peace and security.......and the joy of participating in a timeless tradition..........


Mother gave me a sense of the sacred...........she, along with Daddy, laid the foundation on which I could safely build my life. A rock, if you will. With her love, encouragement, and probably most significantly, her example, she helped lay each brick straight and true. There were so many years she served as chorister in the Primary, then, or maybe at the same time, Young Women president...years and years when everyone in the family over twelve years old went to mutual every Tuesday night. During my teenage years she was Relief Society president. And during all that time she sustained Daddy in his callings as bishop and high councilor and bishop again. And concurrent to all of that, she played the organ every Sunday in sacrament meeting! I have never once seen her waiver. Her mission to Ventura, California, has been a unsurpassed blessing to her children and grandchildren..........

Mother.....as I have written these memories I have continually "heard" these words over and over in my head. They describe you perfectly: "....for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her...she will do him good...all the days of her life. She...worketh willingly with her hands.... She riseth also while it is yet night and giveth meat to her household.... She considereth a field...with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms....She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet....Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all."