Ophelia Cooper Tells Stories about Grandma and Grandpa Cooper

A few years ago, I asked everyone in the family to send me stories about Grandma and Grandpa Cooper.  I had forgotten that I had this from Aunt Ophelia Cooper until I was going through my blog posts.  I had written it as a draft and never posted it.  I thought Jim's family would enjoy reading it.

As told by Than's daughter in law, Ophelia Cooper:

"One time when Grandma Cooper was in the hospital, I was over doing the laundry for Grandma Cooper and cleaning her house, because she was coming home from the hospital that day.  I washed Grandpa Cooper's bib overalls, like 12 pair, and emptied all the pockets out.  He came home and said, "Fella, where are my bibs?  Have you seen them?"  She said, "Yes they are all out on the clothesline.  If you give me a minute, I'll run out and get you a pair and iron them for you."  He said, "Good God!  I've never worn a pair of washed bibs in my life!"  He grabbed his keys and went off swearing and cussing all the way to Uncle Jed's store to buy him some new bibs.  He told Uncle Jed, "Good God, you never want to leave anything laying around with Fella there.  She washes everything."  He also told Jim that he was mad as heck at her.

Grandpa Cooper stood out on their front porch eating one of Ma's dried biscuits, watching Pam, DyAnn, Kathleen and Ophelia playing softball at the grade school.  He said he could tell we were having a fun time.

Grandma Cooper idolized Grandpa. It didn't matter what he did, you could always tell she loved him.

We had Grandma and Grandpa down for Thanksgiving dinner one year.  Dad took Grandpa down to the CBA horse barn to look at the horses.  He really enjoyed that.  Then Dad took him hunting.  They had a real good time that day.  Grandpa Cooper got really tired and said, "I don't want to go hunting anymore.  The Thanksgiving Dinner was good."  He also said my rolls were like a loaf of bread and he really loved them.

We went to the sheep herd a lot to see Grandpa when we were little.  We kids would sleep in the sheep camp.  Kathleen was just a tiny girl, and she cried and cried.  Grandpa Cooper yelled out the sheep camp, "Fella come and get this G.D. kid so I can get some sleep!"

One time Grandma Cooper was staying with Grandpa Cooper at the sheep camp and fell out of it and hurt her leg real bad.  She had a lot of problems with her leg after that.

Mom used to spend a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa Cooper.  She really enjoyed that time.  She had a lot of love for each of them. 

When Mom got pregnant with Jeanie, Dad wasn't very happy about it.  Grandpa Cooper took a hold of Dad and shook the heck out of him and told him to straighten up and be happy.  This is the best thing that could happen to you.  Dad went home and said to Mom, "What the heck did you say to Dad?"  She said, "I told him you weren't very happy with me being pregnant."  Dad said, "Well he sure cussed me." Grandpa Cooper also said that when Grandma Cooper had Aunt Fae he was really happy.

My Mom - Faye Ann Cooper Rosenberg

I had the most wonderful mother on earth.  She wrote a short history of her life in her journal and she made me a book several years before she died that had information about things she enjoyed as a child and what her life was like.  I am so glad she gave it to me, because it gives lots of little details she didn’t include in her history.  Her journal and the things she wrote about her mother give a glimpse of the kind of person she was. I feel like it would be a shame if I didn’t put together the story that she left, with the things that I remember, so that her descendants can know the wonderful person she was.

   

My mother, Fae* Ann Cooper was born on November 25, 1930 in a 2-story red brick house in Panguitch, Utah.  She was the eighth child born to Nathaniel Cooper and Isabell Church.  Her brothers and sisters were Thad (who was stillborn), Grace, Gwen, James Nathaniel, Grant H., Jean, and Mae LaRee.  Her father was a sheepherder and was gone from home a lot of the year, but her family would spend part of the summer with him at the sheep camp.  They all rode horses and enjoyed the mountains.  She said, “I think the thing I remember most is the way my family all loved me.  I was the baby sister of six kids who really spoiled me.  My life was very happy throughout my childhood years and always because I was born of goodly parents and had 4 sisters and 2 brothers.”

The family moved to their Grandmother Church’s 2-story house at the south end of town to take care of her in her elderly age and stayed in her house after she died.  The house had a large lawn and a porch clear across the front.  Her mother and friends used to sit there and visit in the evenings.

The kids loved to play on the large porch and lawn.  They played games of ball, ‘Mother, May I,’ ‘Run, My Sheepy, Run,’ ‘Kick the Can & Call,’ and ‘House.’  There was a nice fence all around the lot with a railing top which they enjoyed walking around, often falling straddle.  They had a large granary out back, which had an upstairs.  “That is where we would put on our shows (where I was always the star),” she said, “Charging a penny or an egg for tickets.”  They raised a cow, 2 pigs, and chickens.  Mom loved gathering the eggs each day.

The house had 2 bedrooms upstairs, one for the boys, and one for the girls. “Because we had 7 kids, I didn’t really have my own room.  We slept 3 in a bed.  Mother fixed up a dresser for us with a pretty yellow skirt around it.  We had a white (like brass beds) full-sized bed.  We loved to jump on it when Mom wasn’t looking.  We had heavy quilts on our bed – nights were cold and our house was heated with a wood and coal stove.”

When she was 2 years old she almost drowned in an irrigation ditch.  She said she never liked water after that.  She never learned to swim. Though they didn’t have much when they were kids, she said that her favorite toy was her tricycle, and later her two-wheeled bike and roller skates.  She always had a cat.  All of them were white except Fredrick, who was black and white.  Some of the names of her cats were Fredrick, Andrea, Mitzy, Missy, and Mindy.

She had many fond memories of her mother when she was young.  “I remember how you used to rock me when I was 5 or 6 years old and how we’d sing.  You, Mae and I used to lay in bed in the morning and sing or you’d tell us stories of your childhood.  I can still almost see the old Indians you told us about.  You taught us many songs and poems at that time.”

“On our birthdays, Mom would make ‘stretch candy,’ peanut butter fudge, and punch & cookies.  Kids would usually give a nickel for their present or 10 cents if they were special friends.  Our favorite games were ‘Post Office’ and ‘Spin the Bottle.’  I always loved birthday parties.”

When Mom was little she took dance lessons and her mother taught her to sing.  Her family had beautiful singing voices and her mother sang in many programs and funerals in town, so it was natural that Mom would also sing. When she was 5 years old, she and her mother and sister went to Tooele to see her sister, Gwen who lived there.  They were having a talent show at the park on Main and Vine Street.  Gwen insisted that she sing in it.  She always played the piano for her.  Mom sang a Shirley Temple song, “When I Grow Up,” and won 2^nd Place, a $5 prize, with which she bought a beautiful red silk pair of

pajamas.  On this same trip, they went to Saltair swimming and went on the fun rides there.  It was really exciting to her.

Mom attended Kindergarten in the Presbyterian Church that was located on Main Street about Third North.  Miss Paul and Miss Grow opened the doors of the church to the children who were kindergarten age.   She went to Panguitch Elementary School from grades 1-6.  She always loved school.  She made a very good friend starting in Kindergarten who remained her best friend through graduation.  Her name was Doris Walker. 

The following description of the Panguitch School comes from the history of Mom’s cousin, Lena Ipson.  “The Panguitch School on Center Street and 2^nd East had a basement with 4 classrooms and a boy’s restroom.  The ground floor had about 6 classrooms and a girl’s restroom, then there was a flight of stairs that went halfway up, where a principal’s office was located, and then made a turn and on to the top floor with 4 classrooms for the 5^th and 6^th grades.  One day at school (in 3^rd grade), during a thundershower, we heard a loud noise and a crack, but since we were experiencing a thundershower we just continued on with what we were doing.  A knock sounded on our classroom door and we were instructed we were going to have a fire drill.  We all moaned a bit because we didn’t want to go out in the rain, but we lined up and speedily marched out without our coats as instructed.  When we got outside we were surprised to see the town fire truck coming.  We looked up and discovered our schoolhouse was on fire from a lightning strike.  We could see flames coming from a hole in the roof.  It was very frightening.  School was out for the day and we were instructed to go home but it was more fun to stay and watch the fire fighters.  We attended school in the South Ward (LDS church building) until repairs were made on the school.”

The kids usually walked to school when it was good weather.  Mom’s sister Gwen or her husband Lynn would take her in bad weather.  (My grandmother never learned to drive and didn’t have a car.)  “In the winter we had to wear long-legged underwear, with what we called ‘barn doors’ to enable us to go to the bathroom,” she said.  “We also, most of the winters, wore long cotton, black stockings.  We couldn’t wait ‘til we got to school so we could roll them down around our ankles.  We couldn’t wear pants (trousers) to school then.  It was very cold in Panguitch, but I don’t remember noticing it much then.”

When I was in the 5^th grade, I was a typical fun loving little girl.  I took tap dancing, piano lessons, loved to sing, and just loved life.  My teacher was John S. Crosby, and I remember he wrote on my report card, “Fae Ann is doing very well in school, she could talk a little less and not hurt our class any.”  So I guess I loved to talk, as most little girls do.

As the year progressed, I developed a slight limp, Mother was concerned about it because my older brother, Jim had “Perthese Disease,” a hip disorder.  She took me to the local Dr. Haymond, and he said he thought I needed my tonsils out, so after school was out, I think this was the spring of 1942, they took them out, also at this time the doctor took an X-ray of my hips and he confirmed that I had Perthese like my brother.  He told Mother to keep me off my feet for 6 months.  This disturbed us very much because it meant I would have to discontinue dancing and curtailing all other activities as well as not being able to start to the 6^th grade that fall.  I had so looked forward to being a big 6^th grader, but this would not be.

Mother was so very patient and kind to me.  She got all the necessary materials from the school and was to be my tutor.  Mom had taught school in Hatch Town, before she was married, so this experience would help her very much in teaching me.

As I look back on those days, I can remember a very tender, and loving and concerned mother who gave her very all to me, both in love and in teaching.  Not only did Mom teach me my school lessons, she also taught me how to sew, how to read music, how to chord on the piano, how to sing alto, she was my teacher and also my very best friend.  Is it any wonder why I love and cherish her memory so very much?

After spending 6 months off my feet, (I couldn’t even hop on one leg, because they said my hip needed constant rest) the doctor took an X-ray of my hip again and found it wasn’t any better.  So they decided to put my leg in traction for 6 weeks.  They raised the foot of my bed 12 inches higher than my head and put 10 pounds of weight on my leg thus pulling the hip socket out, so it would give the bone a chance to heal.  This was very hard on me, and I know now how it must have been heart breaking to my mother.

I had a sister, Mae who was 5 years older than me, and she was so very sweet and kind to me.  We were the very best of friends, then and always since.  I got so I wouldn’t eat anything but macaroni and tomato juice, and if anyone would ask what they could bring to me, I would always say, “Nibbs.”  I just loved those licorice candies.

After the 6 weeks were up and there was no progress in my condition, they decided to let me get up on crutches.  So they had Mother get my one shoe with a-inch lift on it, so my bad leg would not touch the floor, thus enabling me to hold it up easier.  I was able to go back to school now that I was on crutches.

It was wintertime and my brothers were working in California in the ship yards, because the war was on.  They thought it would help me if Mom, Mae and I went down there.  I attended school there in Harbor City and we stayed there about 3 months.  I believe Grant was drafted in the Army.  The warmer climate had not helped my condition any, it seemed.

Mother had heard of a Crippled Children’s Clinic in Salt Lake City, so after pondering it in her heart and discussing it with Dad, they decided I should go to see specialists in the city.  The doctor I went to was Dr. Tyree.  He was very kind and nice to me.  I just loved him.  He carefully examined me and came to the conclusion I should be put in a cast.  So, the next morning Mom took me to the LDS Hospital and they put a cast on from underneath my arms to the tip of my one toe, on the one leg.  It had to dry overnight, so I had to stay in the hospital.  I didn’t sleep a wink I was so scared, and also worried about poor Mom alone in the Wilson Hotel.

I remember the two doctors that put the cast on said it was a very bad case of Perthese.  I didn’t tell Mom they said that, I didn’t want to worry her.  It was hard getting used to this heavy cast, and I found that I got very tired easily.  I had it on for 6 months, then they took an X-ray again and put a shorter one on from my knee, to my underarms.  I had this on for 3 months.  I will never forget how hot it got and itchy too.  I hated having it on.  I always wore pants to cover it up.

I was now in the 7^th grade at school and Ellis Crosby was my teacher.  He did all he could to help me catch up with the class.  I remember that there was a couple of women who went to the School Board and thought I shouldn’t be allowed to be promoted, since I hadn’t attended school that much.  So, Mr. Crosby gave our class a big math examination consisting of all phases of math, fractions, decimals included, and I passed one of the highest in the class.  I had had a very good tutor, my mom.  I didn’t know they were testing all the class to find out where I stood, I would have probably really been scared if I had known.  Anyway, they didn’t have any more to say about whether I should be promoted or not.

My sister and brother-in-law, Gwen and Lynn Davis, moved out of town, and they suggested to Mother that she, Mae and I move into their home on Main Street so I could ride the school bus to school each day.  This worked out just great because, otherwise, I may not have been able to attend school because we lived quite a distance from the school, and we didn’t have a car.  By the time I got my cast off, they moved back to Panguitch, so we went back home to live, but every morning either Gwen or Lynn would pick me up and take me to and from school.  They also saw to it that I went to movies and other types of entertainment.  I shall be forever grateful to both of them.

We went back to Salt Lake to the clinic to get the cast off after having it on for 9 months, and they took an X-ray again and called Mother in by herself for a progress report.  They told Mother that I would never walk again.  Can you imagine how very terrible she must have felt?  They had assured her all along that I would be as good as new someday.  Now this bad news.  She didn’t tell me this for quite some time.  She knew how it would upset me.  They told her to take me home and have me start putting weight on my leg.  My poor little leg was so shriveled up I just wondered if it would ever return to normal.  I just can’t even imagine how very troubled my mother must have been knowing that I was never to walk again.  Of course, she and I were alone in Salt Lake.  Dad was at the sheep herd most of the time.

I’m sure Mom felt desperate with knowing I would never walk again and live a normal life, but she never gave up.  She had me have a Patriarchal Blessing and sent my name to all of the temples, and of course she fasted and prayed on my behalf.  I remember that it was October 10^th when they told me to start putting weight on my leg.  This was harder than I thought it would be.

I was in the 8^th grade now and friends were beginning to go to dances and parties.  I really felt cheated, now more than before, because I had looked forward to being a teenage and doing these things.  I finally decided I would walk on one crutch, and eventually I went to the dance.  This was really hard on me to watch the kids all having fun and me sitting there with my crutch under the bench yearning to join in on the fun.  Everyone else having fun, and me crippled.  I cried many times about my misfortune.

Oh how I hated it when people would stare at me and wonder what was wrong with me.  I got so upset a couple of times that I even hit a little kid with my crutch because they were staring.  I didn’t like being different and being stared at.  I just wanted to be like the rest of my friends.  Why did this have to happen to me?

I began singing duets with a good friend of mine, Doris Walker.  She was the best friend a girl could ever have.  She was always so sweet and gentle to me.  It was hard on me to get up in front of an audience on crutches, but Mom encouraged me to do it, and I am glad now that I did because it helped me to have a little self- confidence, though not much at this time.

I’ll never forget one night I was at a dance and I just knew I could dance if I had my arm on my partner’s waist to balance me.  One of my friends who had always been very kind to me, came up and asked me if I would like to dance.  It was Glen Owens.  I put my crutch under the bench, and got up and he helped me on the dance floor.  I was scared but never had been more excited.  I found I could dance once more.  I’ll never forget Glen for helping me find the courage to try again.  From then on, boys would ask me to dance, and after the dance I would get on my old crutch and go home.

It seems that I just gradually got so I could walk without my crutch.  I seemed to get around better all the time.  Before too long, I was actually walking like everyone else.  My mother’s faith and prayers had worked.

A few months after that we had an appointment in Salt Lake again at the clinic.  They saw that I didn’t have a crutch and asked me to walk across the floor.  They were totally amazed.  This was the little girl who would never walk again!  They told Mother they didn’t know what had happened, but it was out of their hands.  She knew what had happened.  A miracle had been performed.

When I was recovering (those years), I had many nice gifts given to me.  The two I remember most were a Charley McArthy doll.  I was the envy of the neighborhood.  I was also given a small accordion, which I really enjoyed.  My sister Grace, who lived in California, sent me an adorable doll.  It was the first ‘magic skin’ doll I had ever seen.  It was just like a real baby.  I also had a Betsy Wetsy doll that I loved.”

Mom had many honors and opportunities while growing up.  I think she really loved to sing and perform.   “When I was about 8 years old, our primary put on the play ‘Hansel & Gretel.’  I was Gretel.  It was really fun.  When I was 13, I had a lead part in a dance review.  I had a darling Mexican long dress and head dress and lots of jewelry.  I did the Cha Cha.  I also took many honors in typing, shorthand, etc.”  She also sang in just about every program that was held in Panguitch.  The Garfield County News printed her name many times for singing in a program.  “I had many opportunities also in music.  I sang duets with one of my special friends, Doris Walker, also my sister Mae, my brother Jim and also with my mom.  My sister Gwen usually played for us.  I played the trumpet in the high school band.  It was fun.  I guess music was my greatest asset.”  She was also selected to sing in the All State Chorus singing at BYU in Provo and in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake which was an honor, and she sang with another good friend, Jean Moore, in her high school graduation.  The song was “Our Yesterdays.”  Her dad was there and heard her sing for the first time in public.  She was so happy.

After she recovered from her hip ailment, she probably felt like the ‘new girl’ in town.  “I loved being a teenager because I had always looked forward to going to dances.  I just lived for the dances in high school, 49ers dance in April (every year), the 4^th and 24^th of July dances, race meets and dances, of course the dances at Christmas time.”  Her brother-in-law, Lynn Davis always drove them to the out of town dances.  She often talked about how fun the dances were.  “I loved going to dances at Purple Haze and Circleville.  I really liked the boys down there, they were great dancers.” 

Mom really enjoyed high school.  “I was very popular, and had all kinds of boyfriends.  When I was a sophomore, I was voted Queen of the Harvest Ball (I was the youngest contestant).  I was very happy and surprised.  When I was a Junior in school, I was co-editor of the school yearbook, ‘The Argasy.’  I was Vice President of the Student Body in my senior year.  When I was a senior I was voted by both the Blue and the White parties to run for Queen of our graduation – with a different boy for King on each party.  I really felt proud to be liked so much by my many friends.  I would like my children to know I learned that being everyone’s friend was very important for one’s happiness.”

 

Mom’s class, the class of ‘49 was the first to graduate from “Panguitch High School” as the name had changed from “Garfield High School” that year.  Graduation was held on Wednesday, May 23, 1949 in the South Ward LDS Church building.  The girls wore white caps and gowns and the boys wore blue.  Afterward was the Graduation Ball where she was the queen.  “I went with a real nice kid.  I had a beautiful white formal and he bought me a gorgeous orchid.”

Being everyone’s friend and being kind to others was something she would live by the rest of her life.  She was everyone’s friend.  The people in Panguitch were always so happy to see her when she went to visit.  She talked to everyone she saw.  She made special visits to her mother’s friends.  Whenever we were traveling through towns where relatives lived, she took time to stop and see them.  She often sent letters and cards to others, and rarely missed a birthday.  If someone was sick, she took them a gift or sent them a card to let them know she was thinking of them.  She was very thoughtful.

"I am so thankful for the precious moments I spent with mom.  I always tried to live up to my mother's expectations. I could never have done anything that she did not approve of.  She was so very happy all the time even though she had many troubles to cope with, raising her family.  This was a good example for me to follow because I was taught by example to try and face the day with a song and to be happy no matter what took place.  I have tried to follow this example because there is no one I'd rather pattern my life after than my dear mother.  I like the saying of President Lincoln, "For all that I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my Angel Mother."  She gave her all to me throughout my entire life.  I owe much love and thanks to my dear sisters and brothers, as well as my dear mom and dad.  I always knew they all loved me very much and would do all in their power to make me happy."

“I was all set to go away to college after graduation from high school, but as the time drew near, I couldn’t think of leaving home and my sweet mother, so I stayed in Panguitch.  I worked a little in a café there.  Each quarter I would decide to go to college but just couldn’t make up my mind to leave home.  Finally I did go to BAC in Cedar City for spring quarter.”

“The first day I was there, my room-mates introduced me to a handsome, tall, dark and curly haired young man who they called ‘Rosie.’  I thought Rosie was going to be a girl, but when I got to the car, ‘Rosie’ turned out to be my future husband.  He asked me for a date the first time I met him.  I really quite liked him, but I was waiting for a boyfriend who was in the Navy.”

“We married while in college, January 12, 1951.  We lived on the campus in the college trailers.  We had a lot of fun with the other couples living there also.  He was very nice to me all the time.  Fourteen months later, we had our first baby boy.  We named him Donald Lynn.  He was a beautiful baby.  We had a nice apartment in Cedar City.  Don was on the police force and working for the City part-time.  My sister (Mae) in Tooele asked us why we didn’t move to Tooele where there was lots of work – which we did when our baby was 2 months old.  This was truly a new beginning for us, leaving our dear folks behind in southern Utah.”

Years later, she wrote about that experience.  She said, “I think of the day I went to Cedar City to school, how empty I felt as you drove away.  Although I had a wonderful time, I still almost regret that I left you before I had to.  Then I found my husband, and of course I got married.  Although I knew I wanted him, I felt like I couldn’t leave you.  But that is life.  He has made me a wonderful life and is a wonderful husband.  I’ll never forget when I went home for the rest of my belongings after I was married.  It was quite a sad affair, wasn’t it?  I have missed you very much, and each day I sit and wonder what you are doing, and I think how I’d love to be near you to help you out and to laugh and sing with you.”

Mom and Dad lived in a basement apartment in Tooele while Dad worked at different jobs at the smelter, surveying for the City and finally a job with the Soil Conservation Service. They bought new house in 1954 in Tooele at 317 South 360 West.  I’m sure they were very proud to own a new home.  They made many life-long friendships with some of their neighbors. 

Grandma broke her leg in 1955 while she was at the sheep camp with Grandpa.  She was not able to get to the hospital quickly, as a result she had water on the knee.  She needed to have surgery and she was laid up for quite a while.  Mom took Lynn and went to Panguitch and stayed for 7 weeks to take care of her.  She said, “It seems the saddest part of my life came when you got hurt.  Although I knew something was going to happen to you, I could hardly believe when I got word.  Of course I wanted to go to you as quickly as I could.  What a terrible feeling to see you look so gray and old and hurt.  I could have cried my eyes out, for there laid my dearest mother.  If only it could have been me instead.  I felt that the end had come, but after the operation, you got along pretty well and I was able to go home.  I’m so grateful I was able to go and take care of you.  I don’t want you to think for a minute that you were a burden, because I enjoyed every minute of it and was thankful that I could do it for you and perhaps repay you a little for what you did for me.”  Although Grandma had surgery on her leg, they were not able to totally correct it, she had a stiff leg for the rest of her life. 

“On August 7, 1956, we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl.  We named her Karen.  She was a lovely baby and our two children brought us so very much joy.”  Mom sang to me, danced with me, she taught me little poems and rhymes.  She played the piano and taught me to sing.  She loved to curl my hair in ringlets and sew me frilly dresses.  She was always pleasant. I remember that when I went to 1st Grade just around the corner, I had only been there for a little while when I thought about my mom alone at home and how lonely she must be, and I ran home crying to her.  She had to take me back telling me she wouldn’t be lonely and that I would enjoy school.

On October 15, 1962, our family went to the Logan, Utah temple.  Mom said, “It was so wonderful to have our marriage and our two children sealed to us.  I was expecting our third child at this time.”   After that, they always celebrated that day as their anniversary and not the day in January that they were originally married.  Mom served as a pianist in the Primary and the Relief Society for most of her life.  She also served as a teacher in MIA (Young Women’s, the Beehive age).  The girls loved her and she loved being with the girls. 

Dad built an addition onto the house in 1962: a large family room, master bedroom and laundry room.  He also built a garage and covered patio.  “On January 12, 1963, a very special son was born to us.  We named him Craig C.  We were all so proud of our wonderful little family.” Craig was born on Mom and Dad’s twelfth anniversary.  Mom loved her handsome little boy with big dark eyes.

“Along with much happiness we had our sad times.  At age 12 our oldest son Lynn had to have back surgery.  It was a very difficult thing for such a young boy.  He was brave and good about it alI.”  The surgery was done at the Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City, and Mom and Dad traveled back and forth from Salt Lake to Tooele for several days while he was in the hospital.  It was stressful for Mom to see him go through such a difficult surgery and recovery, plus juggle a 2 year old son, 8 year old daughter, husband, housework, etc.  He had to stay home from school the rest of the year and have a tutor come for his studies.  It was a hard time physically and socially for Lynn.  At first his friends came frequently to visit and then the visits tapered off.  He had to discontinue all of the sports he had been participating in.  I’m sure it was easy for Mom to relate to the isolation and disappointment of his disability.  Mom wrote, “Lynn loved life, he loved music and the out of doors so much.  He had a special interest in rocks so he learned a great deal in collecting them.  He spent much time hiking and going in mines and caves. When he was 20 years old he had to have back surgery again.  This time seemed even worse than the first one.  We loved him so much and it was so sad to see him go through so much at such an early age.”

In the summer of 1970, we had been to Panguitch for our last visit before the school year started.  We had just returned home, when Mom received a phone call that my grandpa was in the hospital from a heart attack.  Mom got back in the car and drove to Panguitch and was able to see him before he died.  He died on August 23, 1970.  Mom wrote, “This was a sad time in my life because I loved Dad very much.”  Though I haven’t written much about my mother’s relationship with her father, she loved him very much, and he loved her too.  She was his baby girl.  He would always say when she got to Panguitch to visit for a week or so, “We can rest good tonight Mama, our baby’s home!”  Grandma was lonely after he died, and it was even harder for Mom to leave Grandma alone in her house each time we returned home to Tooele after our visits there.

Our family had many good times together.  We had family friends that we vacationed with.  We went to many beautiful places and had so much fun.  We had a travel trailer that we enjoyed dragging behind us over many miles during the summer.  We went to Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, Pismo Beach, and San Luis Obispo in California; to Ouray and the Mesa Verde in Colorado; to the Tetons, Jackson Lake, Island Park in Wyoming, to St. George, Panguitch Lake, and Lava Hot Springs, just to name a few.  We enjoyed going to Flaming Gorge fishing and floating down the Green River.  We had motorcycles (trail bikes) that we rode all over.  Mom was such a good sport.  She didn’t really enjoy camping, but she didn’t mind camping in the trailer.  She rode the motorcycles, she floated the “Green” with us (even though she hated water and was scared to death), she fished, and she made it fun for all of us.

Mom was very particular about her appearance.  She had her hair “done” weekly by the same lady, Karen Dobson, for years.  She enjoyed visiting with her and the other weekly ladies.  She tried to preserve her hairdo all week wearing hair nets to bed and when she went out in the weather.  After she died and I cleaned out her drawers I found several hair nets.  She was always buying them.  I saved them to remember that nightly ritual.  She enjoyed dressing nicely and having a new “garb” (outfit).  Before going to the store, she would always change her top, make sure her hair looked ok, and put on some lipstick.

When Craig was in elementary school, Mom applied for the position of a teacher’s aid and got a job at West Elementary School where Craig attended school. It was perfect because she took Craig to school with her, he could go home with her, and she had holidays and summers off.  Her responsibilities were assisting the teacher in whatever the teacher needed:  tutoring, bulletin boards, etc.  The principal of the school had been my 5^th grade teacher, was a friend of my parents and was aware that Mom could play the piano.  Soon she began holding “singing time” for every class.  She loved teaching and singing with the kids.  She knew so many songs and she bought music for some of the popular songs that were on the radio which the kids loved.  Singing Time with Mrs. Rosenberg was a favorite of all West Elementary students.

    

I am not sure if it was Mom’s idea, or the Principal’s, but the school started having a yearly talent show.  The talent show grew into a full scripted production written and directed by Mom.  One year it was a “The Donny and Marie Show” theme, a popular variety show on television at the time.  A boy and a girl were chosen as the leads (Donny and Marie) and the talent numbers performed by the students were the entertainment.  Mom spent many hours on the talent show from beginning to end.  You would have thought that this would have been very stressful on her, and maybe it was at times, but she enjoyed it so much and it turned out so well every year, it was worth it.  So many people I have talked to over the years remember being in the talent shows at West Elementary and say how much they loved Mrs. Rosenberg.  Often when I went to town with Mom after I was married and went to visit, we would run into students and they would smile and say, “Hi, Mrs. Rosenberg!”  It seemed every kid in town knew her.  She worked at the school until 1987. 

In the summer of 1973 my brother Lynn was killed in a car accident in the Uinta Mountains.  Mom wrote, “Lynn was in his third year at the University of Utah and 21 years old, when he was in a car accident and his life was taken.  This was the most terrible thing I have ever been through.  The days, months and years that followed were almost too much to bear.  I had a very hard time accepting this terrible thing – my dear son, gone forever.  Life without Lynn seemed almost impossible to bear.  But I guess we must face all that comes to us.  My dear family helped greatly to pass the long, empty days.  Thank God for those 21 years (we had him with us).”

Within a couple of years, Mom was having some chronic health problems related to stress.  She developed ulcerative colitis and was very sick.  She lost a lot of weight and there was a time when she was hospitalized for a period of about 2 weeks because she was so sick.  She was treated with prednisone and other drugs which caused health problems later in her life, but helped clear up the colitis.  Eventually she got better, but still had bouts of colitis now and then. 

My mother had tried to and wanted to have my grandma live with us as she was aging, but Mom’s health would not permit it.  The last year of her life, Grandma had been confined to the Garfield County Hospital.  Mom wrote, “She was very sad and now I can see that I should have taken her to my home for as long as I could.  They had to amputate her toe and gangrene set in in.  They brought her to Salt Lake to have her leg amputated above the knee, so this was surely a very sad time for us all.  Poor sweet Mother having to go through so much.  She was so very weak when she got to Salt Lake.”  Mom had been in to see her and had gone home to Tooele the night before the amputation.  When Mom got home, she received a call that Grandma had suffered a heart attack and had died.  Mom said, “It was a blessing for her to be free of so much that would have been impossible for her to bear.  God was merciful and took her before the surgery.  As I kissed her just after death, I had a feeling that she was walking away without her stiff leg.  I know she has comforted me because she often commented on how she hated to leave her children.  I only hope and pray she realized how very dearly I loved her and how I admired her courage throughout all her troubles and illnesses.”  Grandma died March 22, 1979.

Mom was invited to sing with a women’s double quartet in town called “The Joy Singers.”  She enjoyed associating and singing with this group of women.  They practiced weekly and performed in Christmas and church programs.  I think Mom sang with the Joy Singers for about 9 years (until about 1994-1995) and it filled her life with friendship, music and joy.

  

Another thing that she enjoyed was the association she and Dad had with the Sons of Utah Pioneers.  Dad was one of the charter members of the Tooele Settlement Canyon Chapter and he was very involved.  Most of Mom and Dad’s friends joined and they met other people they had not known from other parts of Tooele and Grantsville, and they really enjoyed mingling with them.  There was a monthly potluck meeting and program.  Every summer there was a National Encampment sponsored by one of the chapters.  They went on several trips with this group and had a lot of fun traveling to many places.  Dad had been an officer almost every year and Mom had been more involved because of that.  One year they were named the Outstanding Couple by the National Sons of Utah Pioneers for all the work that they had done.  Their involvement with the SUP was a highlight in their life.

In 1983, Mom finally became a grandmother.  She had looked forward to it for so long and she was a wonderful grandmother.  She loved to spend time with them, and she loved to have them stay with her and Dad.  When we went to visit, she usually had something for them or had something special planned to do with them.  She liked to take them to town and let them buy a little trinket or a treat.  She appreciated their individual talents and differences and thought each of them were the best ever.  She was proud of their achievements and activities and always made an effort to attend their programs and activities, and you can bet she did some bragging about them too.

   

Mom’s hip deteriorated over the years to the point that she could barely walk and she had hip replacement surgery in February of 1993.  She was so scared that she would be crippled again.  It was a difficult surgery and recovery for her but her sister Jean came and stayed for 10 days to take care of her.  “What a wonderful gesture for her to come help us out.  I love and appreciate her so much.  She will never know how very much we appreciated her.  She was so kind and loving to me.  Just like having Mother back.  I hope she knows hope much I love her.”  She also said, “Don has been so wonderful to me.  I can never repay him for all he has done.”  After she recovered, she was so happy she had the replacement.  Before, she could not comprehend how wonderful it would be to not have pain, and to be able to do things she had not been able to do for so many years.

Mom was a wonderful homemaker, wife and mother.  I remember her washing and waxing the floors on her hands and knees.  I remember homemade baked bread weekly and dinner on the table every night.  Many of the things she cooked didn’t have recipes.  I wish I had learned how to bake her white bread and make peanut butter fudge. I loved her cooking and always enjoyed having a meal there.   

She liked the house to be decorated nicely and she liked to frequently change it.  We had many different color combinations over the years.  It’s fun to look at the family pictures and see the drapes, couches and changes in décor. The house was always decorated for the coming holiday, Christmas being her favorite.  I don’t know anyone who loved Christmas more than Mom, unless it is me, but every holiday had its own set of decorations and were put out for display at the appropriate time of year.  She also loved to have clothing for the various holidays – hopefully with sparkle.  You could say that Mom really enjoyed all the holidays. 

When I think about Mom, I remember a cheerful, happy person.  She was always singing or humming a song.  She enjoyed playing the piano.  I remember that during her day she would often go to the piano and play a jazzy song like “Roll Out The Barrell,” play a couple of more songs, and then go on with her day.  She knew so many songs by heart and she could play by ear so she was quite talented.  She was an enjoyable person to be around.  She seldom had a bad thing to say about anyone.  She didn’t like to have bad feelings between her and someone else either.  If there had been any kind of words between her and someone, she would be the one to apologize, even if it wasn’t her fault.  She was a peacemaker and our home was peaceful.  Mom tried to make everything right for everyone all the time.     

I think the fact that she was handicapped part of her life shaped her character into being a loving and caring person.  She felt compassion for people who were in similar circumstances.  I remember whenever we were some place and she saw someone who was crippled, she would stop to talk to them and was always kind and had words of encouragement.  She taught me to have compassion for people who were in those situations and to never make fun of someone that was crippled.  She had compassion for anyone who was suffering in some way.  

Mom was very friendly and made many friends over the years, from the neighborhood, from church, from her job, from the stores she frequented, etc.  She had a great sense of humor and liked to make people laugh.  She liked to be the life of the party or make things fun.  I wish I could remember the many stories of things she did.  Since she died, many people have mentioned her sense of humor and the funny things she said and did.  The world was a happier place with her in it.

She had much love for her brothers and sisters.  She kept in contact with all of them and their families, and made an effort to visit them wherever they lived.  She was also close to her nieces and nephews.  She often made trips to see family either for a vacation or to take them a freshly baked item, garden produce, or gift.  Many Saturdays were spent in Salt Lake with her sisters and nieces.  She was always sending cards for birthdays, weddings, or a get well wish. 

Mom had bad health the last few years of her life.  There wasn’t a specific serious problem, like her heart, but she did have COPD although I didn’t notice any problems from that.  She had trouble with her neck and her back, and she had some trouble with her nerves.  She didn’t have good medical care and had been prescribed a lot of different medications.  She had several incidents that she fell and didn’t break any bones but was bruised and shook up.  It seemed that she would just recover from one fall, then would fall again.  Dad had Pulmonary Fibrosis, he hardly had any energy, and could barely keep up with buying the groceries and helping Mom.  He was doing almost everything, even helping her shower.

At the end of November 2009 Mom had bladder repair surgery.  After the surgery she developed blood clots in her leg.  She was also not able to get up and walk because of her back, so she was sent to the care center in Tooele for rehab.  I went there to visit and did what I could do to help her, but she could not go home and she could not go to the assisted living center she wanted to be in until she could get out of bed and walk without help.

On December 23, she had been taken to the University of Utah Hospital to see a specialist about the blood clots in her leg.  I met her and Dad there.  The doctor said that it would take a long time for the blood clots to clear up and that surgery was not an option.  He also said that because she had them for so long, there was less chance that one would travel and go to her heart or lungs.  She was not herself that day, she seemed very discouraged, tired, and distant.  We hadn’t talked with her about Christmas, but Dad and I had planned to talk to the care center about having her come home to be with her family on Christmas Day.

The next morning about 4 a.m. I received a call from the care center saying that Mom was “coding” and that they had tried to call my dad but couldn’t reach him.  I told them that she had a DNR, but the nurse said she didn’t have a copy.  I hung up and after a few minutes the nurse called back and said that Mom had passed away.  Mom died on December 24, 2009.  Art and I got ready to drive to Tooele to tell my dad.   Dad was very sad, but he thought it was a blessing that she had passed.  The rehabilitation for the blood clots in her leg would have taken a long time and she had hated being a cripple once and didn’t want to be one again.  We assumed that she had died as a result of one of the blood clots hitting her lungs, but the autopsy results showed she died from a post-operative ulcer.

I knew that it was a blessing for her to be able to pass away without going through much more pain, but it was so hard to lose her.   I didn’t feel like I had a chance to say good-bye to her.  I had so many regrets that I hadn’t spent more time with her while she was in the hospital and in the care center, but I had planned to take time off from work to take care of her when she went home.  She was so sweet and I hated to think of her there alone when she died.  I regret that I didn’t spend more of her last days with her.

In most ways, my mom was just like my grandma.  She was loving, kind, patient, caring, happy, forgiving, loyal, friendly, and thoughtful.  These are just a few of the attributes I could list.  Her family was #1 in her life, it was the thing that brought her the most happiness.  When my grandma was about to turn 65 years old, my mother wrote a letter to her because she knew that she wouldn’t be able to be there with her on her birthday.  The letter began, “It is my mother’s 65^th birthday on July 28, and I am taking the time to write a tribute to her to try and express my deep love and gratitude to the dearest person on earth, “My Mother.”  Mother dear, words cannot convey how very dear you are to me.  You have always made my life so pleasant that I never remember anything but happiness in my youth.  You were always so pleasant and happy and kind and loving with us all.  You were the kind of mother I would like to be, but I don’t believe anyone could be more patient and understanding and forgiving as you.” 

I could have written those very same words about my own mother.  I hope I expressed to her how much I loved her enough that she knew it.  Mom also wrote at the end of her letter, “Now that I have 2 children (the letter was written in 1958) I only hope that as they grow older and I am old that they can look back over their lives and remember how very wonderful it was and that they will love and cherish me as much as I do you.” Oh, but that is exactly the way I feel.  She was the best mother ever!  I had a wonderful life.  I love her so much and I wish I had the chance to tell her these very things. 

Mom did not want to die, she wanted to stay with her family and see her great grandchildren.  I know that when she passed away that night, her dear mother was there to take her in her arms.  I can only imagine how happy she must have been to be with her mother and dad again and to be with Lynn, and other family members she loved.  I know my mom will be waiting for me with open arms on the day that I leave this earthly home.  Until then, I’ll try to follow the example she set for me and be the kind of person she would be proud of and be the kind of mother she showed me to be.

*Fae was the spelling of her name on her birth certificate.  She later changed the spelling to Faye.

Faye Ann Cooper - My Mother - The Doctors Told Her Mother She Might Never Walk Again

This was written by my mother, Faye Ann Cooper Rosenberg about her experience of being crippled when she was a child.  

"When I was in the 5^th grade, I was a typical fun loving little girl.  I took tap dancing, piano lessons, loved to sing, and just loved life.  My teacher was John S. Crosby, and I remember he wrote on my report card, “Fae Ann is doing very well in school, she could talk a little less and not hurt our class any.”  So I guess I loved to talk, as most little girls do.

As the year progressed, I developed a slight limp, Mother was concerned about it because my older brother, Jim had “Perthese Disease,” a hip disorder.  She took me to the local Dr. Haymond, and he said he thought I needed my tonsils out, so after school was out, I think this was the spring of 1942, they took them out, also at this time the doctor X-rayed my hips and he confirmed that I had Perthese like my brother.  He told Mother to keep me off my feet for 6 months.  This disturbed us very much because it meant I would have to discontinue dancing and curtailing all other activities as well as not being able to start to the 6^th grade that fall.  I had so looked forward to being a big 6^th grader, but this would not be.

Mother was so very patient and kind to me.  She got all the necessary materials from the school and was to be my tutor.  Mom had taught school in Hatch Town, before she was married, so this experience would help her very much in teaching me.

As I look back on those days, I can remember a very tender, and loving and concerned mother who gave her very all to me, both in love and in teaching.  Not only did Mom teach me my school lessons, she also taught me how to sew, how to read music, how to chord on the piano, how to sing alto, she was my teacher and also my very best friend.  Is it any wonder why I love and cherish her memory so very much?

After spending 6 months off my feet, (I couldn’t even hop on one leg, because they said my hip needed constant rest) the doctor X-rayed my hip again and found it wasn’t any better.  So they decided to put my leg in traction for 6 weeks.  They raised the foot of my bed 12 inches higher than my head and put 10 pounds of weight on my leg thus pulling the hip socket out, so it would give the bone a chance to heal.  This was very hard on me, and I know now how it must have been heart breaking to my mother.

I had a sister Mae who was 5 years older than me, and she was so very sweet and kind to me.  We were the very best of friends, then and always since.  I got so I wouldn’t eat anything but macaroni and tomato juice, and if anyone would ask what they could bring to me, I would always say, “Nibbs.”  I just loved those licorice candies.

After the 6 weeks were up and there was no progress in my condition, they decided to let me get up on crutches.  So they had Mother get my one shoe with a-inch lift on it, so my bad leg would not touch the floor, thus enabling me to hold it up easier.  I was able to go back to school now that I was on crutches.

It was winter time and my brothers were working in California in the ship yards, because the war was on.  They thought it would help me if Mom, Mae and I went down there.  I attended school there in Harbor City and we stayed there about 3 months.  I believe Grant was drafted in the Army.  The warmer climate had not helped my condition any, it seemed.

Mother had heard of a Crippled Children’s Clinic in Salt Lake City, so after pondering it in her heart and discussing it with Dad, they decided I should go to see specialists in the city.  The doctor I went to was Dr. Tyree.  He was very kind and nice to me.  I just loved him.  He carefully examined me and came to the conclusion I should be put in a cast.  So, the next morning Mom took me to the LDS Hospital and they put a cast on from underneath my arms to the tip of my one toe, on the one leg.  It had to dry overnight, so I had to stay in the hospital.  I didn’t sleep a wink I was so scared, and also worried about poor Mom alone in the Wilson Hotel.

I remember the two doctors that put the cast on said it was a very bad case of Perthese.  I didn’t tell Mom they said that, I didn’t want to worry her.  It was hard getting used to this heavy cast, and I found that I got very tired easily.  I had it on for 6 months, then they X-rayed it again and put a shorter one on from my knee, to my underarms.  I had this on for 3 months.  I will never forget how hot it got and itchy too.  I hated having it on.  I always wore pants to cover it up.

I was now in the 7^th grade at school and Ellis Crosby was my teacher.  He did all he could to help me catch up with the class.  I remember that there was a couple of women who went to the School Board and thought I shouldn’t be allowed to be promoted, since I hadn’t attended school that much.  So, Mr. Crosby gave our class a big math examination consisting of all phases of math, fractions, decimals included, and I passed one of the highest in the class.  I had had a very good tutor.  My mom.  I didn’t know they were testing all the class to find out where I stood, I would have probably really been scared if I had known.  Anyway, they didn’t have any more to say about whether I should be promoted or not.

My sister and brother-in-law, Gwen and Lynn Davis, moved out of town, and they suggested to Mother that she, Mae and I move into their home on Main Street so I could ride the school bus to school each day.  This worked out just great because, otherwise, I may not have been able to attend school because we lived quite a distance from the school, and we didn’t have a car.  By the time I got my cast off, they moved back to Panguitch, so we went back home to live, but every morning either Gwen or Lynn would pick me up and take me to and from school.  They also saw to it that I went to movies and other types of entertainment.  I shall be forever grateful to both of them.

We went back to Salt Lake to the clinic to get the cast off after having it on for 9 months, and they X-rayed me again and called Mother in by herself for a progress report.  They told Mother that I would never walk again.  Can you imagine how very terrible she must have felt?  They had assured her all along that I would be as good as new someday.  Now this bad news.  She didn’t tell me this for quite some time.  She knew how it would upset me.  They told her to take me home and have me start putting weight on my leg.  My poor little leg was so shriveled up I just wondered if it would ever return to normal.  I just can’t even imagine how very troubled my mother must have been knowing that I was never to walk again.  Of course, she and I were alone in Salt Lake.  Dad was at the sheep herd most of the time.

I’m sure Mom felt desperate with knowing I would never walk again and live a normal life, but she never gave up.  She had me have a Patriarchal Blessing and sent my name to all of the temples, and of course she fasted and prayed on my behalf.  I remember that it was October 10^th when they told me to start putting weight on my leg.  This was harder than I thought it would be.

I was in the 8^th grade now and friends were beginning to go to dances and parties.  I really felt cheated, now more than before, because I had looked forward to being a teenage and doing these things.  I finally decided I would walk on one crutch, and eventually I went to the dance.  This was really hard on me to watch the kids all having fun and me sitting there with my crutch under the bench yearning to join in on the fun.  Everyone else having fun, and me crippled.  I cried many times about my misfortune.

Oh how I hated it when people would stare at me and wonder what was wrong with me.  I got so upset a couple of times that I even hit a little kid with my crutch because they were staring.  I didn’t like being different and being stared at.  I just wanted to be like the rest of my friends.  Why did this have to happen to me?

I began singing duets with a good friend of mine, Doris Walker.  She was the best friend a girl could ever have.  She was always so sweet and gentle to me.  It was hard on me to get up in front of an audience on crutches, but Mom encouraged me to do it, and I am glad now that I did because it helped me to have a little self- confidence, though not much at this time.

I’ll never forget one night I was at a dance and I just knew I could dance if I had my arm on my partner’s waist to balance me.  One of my friends who had always been very kind to me, came up and asked me if I would like to dance.  It was Glen Owens.  I put my crutch under the bench, and got up and he helped me on the dance floor.  I was scared but never had been more excited.  I found I could dance once more.  I’ll never forget Glen for helping me find the courage to try again.  From then on, boys would ask me to dance, and after the dance I would get on my old crutch and go home.

It seems that I just gradually got so I could walk without my crutch.  I seemed to get around better all the time.  Before too long, I was actually walking like everyone else.  My mother’s faith and prayers had worked.

A few months after that we had an appointment in Salt Lake again at the clinic.  They saw that I didn’t have a crutch and asked me to walk across the floor.  They were totally amazed.  This was the little girl who would never walk again!  They told Mother they didn’t know what had happened, but it was out of their hands.  She knew what had happened.  A miracle had been performed.

I went on to finish high school, winning many honors.  I sang in the All State Chorus twice at BYU and once at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake.  I sang in all of the music competitions in our area many times, and played in the band.  I played the trumpet.  When I was in the 9th grade, I was voted Harvest Ball Queen, the youngest contestant running.  I was Co-Editor of the Yearbook, Vice President of the Student Body, and elected to run on both and blue and the white parties as queen of the Graduation Ball.  I felt very honored to be chosen to run on both tickets.  Jed Henrie won as king. What a big thrill and honor this was for me, and the biggest thrill was that I was now living a normal life once more.

I graduated from Panguitch High School in 1949 and sang a duet with Jean Moore, another of my good friends.  We sang, "Our Yesterdays."  Dad was there and heard me sing for the first time in public.  I was so happy.  

Now as I look back over my life as a child and young teenager, I remember how hard these things were for me to bear.  But I was not alone.  Whatever kind of person I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.  She was always at my side, giving me courage to carry on, no matter how hard it got at times.

I feel that if I had to be disabled, probably that was the best time in my life for it to happen.  I was old enough to face it even though I was only 10 1/2 years old.

I am so thankful for the precious moments I spent with Mom.  I know this helped me to be a more caring, thoughtful individual.  I only hope and pray that I am the kind of daughter she would want me to be.  I know I have tried, I never wanted to hurt her in any way, I loved her so very much.

I owe much love and thanks to my dear sisters and brothers, as well as my dear mom and dad.  I always knew they all loved me very much and would do all in their power to make me happy.

I have had a wonderful life, being married and the mother of three wonderful children. Though we lost our oldest son in an automobile accident, this was another heart-breaking chapter in my life.  We also have adorable grand children.  I am indeed thankful to God for allowing me so many pleasures and blessings in life, even though there were many bad times for me in my younger years.  Most of all, I am grateful to God for giving me two wonderful parents, and brothers and sisters, and for everything in my life, especially my dear children and little grandchildren, and son and daughter-in-law, and of course, my wonderful husband.  For all of these blessings, I am most thankful."