Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Two of the nicest women I have ever known...
Here (left) is Aunt Billie (Rolla Irene Bishop Beedles), and (below)is Aunt Millie (Mildred Lorraine Bobbitt Bishop). These are two of the nicest women I have ever known. Of these two, it could be said: "They never spoke ill of anyone." Aunt Billie did so many nice things for my sister Debra and me. Each summer we'd take turns staying a few days at her house. She lived less than ten miles from us, but it was fun to go stay at her home. When my dad was suffering, and in the last stages of bone cancer, Aunt Billie just moved in, so that she could help my mom take care of Dad. One night, when Dad was fading in and out of consciousness, he told Aunt Billie that he could see his deceased mother in the room with them.

Aunt Millie, was a person without guile. Every year, without fail, I received a birthday card from Aunt Millie. Aunt Millie could play the piano by ear. I thought that was so amazing. The smile on her face in this photo says it all. She was just plain NICE. These two Christlike women, were not members of the Church. On August 30, 2008, at the Bountiful Temple, Sarah did the baptism for Aunt Millie. On September 9, 2008 Debra was able to be baptized for Aunt Billie, in the Los Angeles Temple. So...I hope they now have joined the fold. I do love them.

Side note: In 1957 Aunt Millie's sister, Leda Essick, traveled with her family from Kansas to California, for a vacation. Tragically, when within one mile of Leda's mother-in-law's home, in Riverside, California, their car was hit by a train. Everyone in the car died, except Leda. Leda, who was just 34 years old, lost her husband, her 14-year-old daughter, her 12-year-old daughter, and her 9-year-old son. I did not know Leda. Aunt Millie was married to my dad's brother Howard, so Leda was not my aunt. I only met her once, at Aunt Millie's, when she was recovering from the tragic accident. I vividly remember her shaved head, with what seemed like tons of stitches. When I was preparing Aunt Millie's name for the Temple, this thought occurred to me: "Aunt Millie was such a nice person, don't you think her sister was probably a nice person too?" So, when Sarah was baptized for Aunt Millie, Ann was baptized for Leda, and her daughters, and Tyler was baptized for Leda's husband and their son.

2 comments:

Elizabeth J. said...

It's great to hear these stories. You have so many memories that we don't even know about. Better start writing them down. Oh wait...that's what you're doing!

L.S.Marshall said...

Is the rest of their work done? There are more things to do for them.