Memories of Mom - by Jennifer, Leah and Rustin

Mom loved so very deeply. She gave wonderful long, connected hugs and shared her love with family and friends by giving generously of her time and many talents.

Mom was a very gifted cook. We were completely spoiled with her amazing dishes that were always “from scratch”, and rarely “from a box” as she would say. She was a true gourmet and never needed a recipe to create something delicious with whatever we had on hand. Neighbors would often stop by for an afternoon coffee and they would end up staying for supper to enjoy handcrafted pizza, tacos complete with homemade tortilla shells, or spaghetti with her own sauce and handmade pasta. We ate restaurant quality food at home on a regular basis and didn’t realize what a privilege it was until we reached adulthood and started cooking for ourselves!

Mom always made our birthdays special. She would cook us our favorite meal and amaze us with a homemade cake decorated into something uniquely creative. She also shared this talent with friends and family who requested specially decorated cakes for their loved ones. Mom made stunning wedding cakes as well for family, friends, and sometimes even friends of friends.

Mom’s creativity was her gift, and her love for us poured out through it, from our amazing homemade Halloween costumes, to our outstanding Valentine’s Day boxes that she helped us make in elementary school. She gave so much of her time and talents, like the time she stayed up all night to finish sewing handcrafted backpacks so we would have them for the first day of school. This kind of devotion was a regular occurrence for her. Prom dresses… Wedding dresses… the list goes on and on.

Times were tight so Mom cut our hair herself. She did a pretty fine job because soon she was cutting hair and giving home permanents to countless friends and neighbors!

Mom spent several years working at the Sebeka Public School as an office assistant and as a paraprofessional. It didn’t take long for teachers to recognize her creativity.  Soon she was helping create art boards for the classroom walls and working on set design for pageants and floats. She was so generous with her time and talents.

At some point Mom took a class on oil painting. Those of us who are lucky enough to have a piece or two of her resulting artwork hanging on our walls are grateful for that class that got her started.

After we were grown and flown, we always knew we could call on Mom to help us if something needed fixing. Mom was surprisingly handy. She took after her dad that way. Even over the phone she could talk us through fixing a washing machine, troubleshooting a sewing machine problem, or tweaking a recipe that didn’t taste quite right.

Mom’s joy and creativity seemed to shine the most through music. She loved to sing. Music is what brought our mom and dad together as they shared 52 years of a song filled life. Mom and Dad sang and performed together with wonderful harmonies for church, wedding dances, local venues, bluegrass jams, campfire singalongs, and more. Together Mom and Dad wrote many songs throughout the years. We are so thankful to have recordings of them performing some of their originals to enjoy and pass on to future generations.

Mom's passing may have left a hole in our heart, but we are left with love and music in our souls.

We don’t know when we will celebrate Mom’s life in person. The current climate makes that uncertain, but here is what we do know:

We will eat good food made from scratch that Mom would be proud of.

We will of course have wine to go with that food.

We will have singing, jamming and perhaps dancing.

We will share stories, laughter, and lots and lots of hugs.

We will delight in our kids and grand kids as Mom would have done.

We will remember fondly the love and gifts mom shared with the world before Alzheimer's Disease slowly stole her away.

We will hug some more.

Memories of Elaine - by Dennis

Elaine and I first got acquainted in the spring of 1967 in Minneapolis Minnesota. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I decided to drive over a couple of blocks to Lake of the Isles to relax and read a book. After I picked out my spot and got settled in, I noticed 2 girls sunbathing nearby and realized I had met them recently at a party. I went over to chat with them for a bit and ended up getting my guitar out of my car. Elaine and I spent that afternoon together passing the guitar back and forth and sharing some songs. Some of the songs I remember Elaine singing that day were: “The Cruel War”, “Three Jolly Coachmen” and “Lets Get Together”.  That afternoon marked the beginning of 52 plus years together of love and music.

In the videos tab on this memorial page (mobile users go to posts and then gallery to find videos) there are four old recordings originally done on cassette tape available to listen to if you like. In two of the songs Elaine is singing. One of them is called “Time” and here is the story of how this song came about: In the mid 1990’s, Elaine and I drove down to Dallas Texas to deliver a piano to our daughter, Leah, who had moved there to attend Chiropractic School. On the drive back home, we drove off the main highway to see some different scenery and ended up driving through Branson, Missouri. When driving through Branson, Elaine suggested that we stop for a couple days there and see a few shows. I replied, “No dear, we can’t take the time right now. We need to get home so I can get back to work”. As you can imagine this did not sit well with her! I could see Elaine pouting in the passenger seat of the pickup. After a bit, I noticed she had grabbed a notepad and pencil and had started writing. What she wrote became the lyrics to the song “Time.”

Another song we attached is Elaine singing the song “They Call the Wind Mariah”. This is a song that she used to sing quite often. Many of her friends will remember her singing this around the campfire.

Then there is some audios of me singing a couple of love songs I had written for Elaine years ago. I had somewhat forgotten about them until I recently ran across these old recordings. These were meant for my wife, the love of my life.

Please post your pictures and memories of Elaine if you have them. It gives us great comfort during this time.

To watch a memorial slideshow and to listen to the songs, go to the VIDEOS tab. If you are viewing this on a mobile device, click on POSTS and then GALLERY to find the videos.

In lieu of sending flowers, Dennis suggests that you make a charitable donation directly to the Arizona Old Time Fiddler's Association in honor of Elaine. The AOTFA is a 501c7 non- profit. Donations can be sent to:  Noreen Johnston, 7470 Derryberry Dr., Flagstaff, AZ  86004.

Elaine's Obituary can be found here: https://www.lakeandpine.com/obituaries