Ray Reid Obituary

REID, Ray
Ray Merwyn Reid

August 9, 1930 - April 17, 2010

Retired from civil service after 30 years of dedication, Ray is survived by his wife Lucille, children David, Dan, Verla, Duane, Patty, and their families; sisters Barbara and Marge; 20 grandchildren, and 26 great grandchildren. Friends and family are invited to attend a visitation Wednesday, April 21, 2010 from 4-8pm, with a Funeral Service on Thursday, April 22 at 11am both at Sacramento Memorial Lawn, 6100 Stockton Blvd. Published in The Sacramento Bee from April 20 to April 21, 2010

Read more: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sacbee/obituary.aspx?n=ray-reid&pid=142022788#ixzz0nXeBVknT

Aunt Polly

This is a nice write up about the woman known to our family as "Aunt Polly", however, it dosen't quite jive with the firsthand account we have from Rosemary.

Ruth May Fox (1853-1958), third president of the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association, served from 1929 to 1937.
From the Utah State Historical Society Collection.

Photo courtesy Nelson Wadsworth

Bibliography by Linda Thatcher

Ruth May Fox (1853-1958) devoted many years to the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association (YWMIA; in 1977 young women), serving as president from 1929 to 1937, following her tenure as first counselor to President Martha Horne Tingey from 1905 to 1929. Vibrant and spirited, Ruth May Fox was a woman of great strength and refined features. A poet and songwriter, she wrote the text to "Carry On," a hymn traditionally associated with the Mutual Improvement Association; it was introduced and featured at that association's June conference in 1930. She was an advocate of woman suffrage and education, evidenced in part by her sponsorship of the Traveling Library Program and her focus on self-education.

Ruth May Fox was born November 16, 1853, in Westbury, Wiltshire, England, the daughter of Mary Ann Harding and James May. Five months later, her parents joined the LDS Church. After her mother's death in 1855, her father was called to be a traveling elder for the Church, causing her to live with various LDS families and relatives until she was approximately eight years old, when her father took her to Yorkshire, where he was employed. Around 1865 he emigrated to America, where Ruth joined him a few months later, and soon after, he remarried. The family lived in the Philadelphia area for two years, during which time she worked in factories to earn enough money to help finance their journey to Utah.

In July 1867 the Mays started for Utah, first traveling to North Platte, Nebraska. After securing supplies for their journey, they had only enough money to buy one yoke of cattle, so they shared a wagon with another family and walked most of the way to Utah.

Ruth worked in the Deseret (Salt Lake City) and Ogden Woolen Mills, where her father was a carder, and used her earnings to help purchase the family home. She then attended John Morgan's College in Salt Lake City for four months, which ended her formal education. When her father returned to Salt Lake City and started his own mill, she helped him operate the heavy equipment.

On May 8, 1873, when she was nineteen and he was twenty, she married Jesse Williams Fox, Jr.; they were blessed with twelve children. Ruth and Jesse prospered in the early years of their marriage, but met financial difficulties around 1888. Soon after, Jesse took a second wife, without any forewarning to Ruth. (wrong, she knew of his intention to marry, just not the day of the wedding. ~s) He eventually lost his business, accumulated large debts, and lost the family home. The two families lived separately, and as Jesse lived with the other household, (wrong again, the second wife was a secret, Jesse spent most of his time in the city near Ruth and his weekends on the farm with Rosemary, when possible. ~s) Ruth was largely left to her own resources to survive. (as were both wives and Jesse. ~s) In 1900 she and her children ran the Saint Omer Boarding House to supplement their income; in 1914 she began work as a typist for the YWMIA. She lived with her children from 1914 until her death in 1958, resuming housekeeping only to nurse her husband through illnesses in 1921 and from 1927 until his death in 1928.

Among Ruth May Fox's lifelong beliefs was a strong commitment to suffrage for women. She was active in the Utah Woman Suffrage Association and the Republican party and helped draft the suffrage clause of the Utah Constitution. She served as president of the Utah Woman's Press Club, treasurer of the Utah Woman Suffrage Association, chairman of the Salt Lake County Second Precinct Ladies' Republican Club, and board member of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society and of Traveler's Aid Society. She died on April 12, 1958, in Salt Lake City at the age of 104

...

A wonderful article about her life, by Janet Peterson, appeared in the August 2004 Ensign.

MY STORY by Ruth May Fox

Grandma LeMert's Obituariy

Bernadine E. Lemert, a longtime resident of Elk Grove died Jan. 4, 2010 on her 90th birthday.
She was born Jan. 4, 1920 in North Dakota, and grew up there, moving to southern California when she was 20. The family came to Elk Grove about 1965.

During World War II she worked on the aircraft assembly lines, a job she was quite proud of. She was also a longtime member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mrs. Lemert was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Wilson C. Lemert, and her son, Les Lemert.

She is survived by her daughters Andrea McKinney of Los Angeles and Nonie Bruner of southern California; sons Mark Lemert and Lang Lemert, both of Elk Grove; brother Dean Dreher and sister Elda Ehnes, both of North Dakota; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Jan. 9 in the Elk Grove LDS Church. Interment was in Elk Grove District Cemetery.
Published: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 in the Elk Grove Citizen

Cats in the Cradle

A child arrived just the other day,

He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew,
He'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, dad.
You know I'm gonna be like you."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."

My son turned ten just the other day.
He said, "Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let's play.
Can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today,
I got a lot to do." He said, "That's ok."
And he walked away, but his smile never dimmed,
Said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah.
You know I'm gonna be like him."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."

Well, he came from college just the other day,
So much like a man I just had to say,
"Son, I'm proud of you. Can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head, and he said with a smile,
"What I'd really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys.
See you later. Can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

I've long since retired and my son's moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kid's got the flu,
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad.
It's been sure nice talking to you."
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."
by Sandy Chapin


This song makes me think of how we seem to want the things that are most important but those same things are the ones we let slide... life goes by so fast.
Isaiah, Naomi, Philip, Noah, Rachel- I love you.