My Tribute to Jeannie:
To Neil, John, Stacy, Jace and all Jeannies pasterity. I hope
that these thoughts and stories bring you peace and comfort.
Jeannie has been a very special part of my life and I know that
she loved you all dearly. She is looking down on you from Heaven
with pride and joy. She will be with you every moment of every
day until you can be together again.
In all of the things in the world what we just witnessed would
make Jeannie the happiest of all. Her grandchildren singing to
her.
It is a wonderful honor and privilege to stand before you all
today that I might be able to pay tribute to somone that I have
loved my entire life; well, almost my entire life, because Jeannie
was born three years after me.
Jeannie was always so sweet and quiet, and for those of you who don't know, she and I grew up next door to each other. She was three years younger than me and until her sister, judy, passed away Jeannie was just the little sister that was always around. I spent lots of time with Judy, and Jeannie was just always there like little sisters are.
In 1968, the day before Thanksgiving, the truck that Judy and Jeannie were riding in was hit by a train. Judy passed away and Jeannie was seriously injured. I stayed at the hospital with Jeannie for a few days, so she wasn't alone while her family was making funeral arangments for Judy Jeannie was almost 12, and Judy was 13.
I began spending a little more time with Jeannie, but we didn't really get close for some time...
By the spring of 1970, I was dating this really good-looking guy by the name of Joe Young who lived in Wallsburg. Our dates mostly consisted of a group of kids from Wallsburg and a group of kids from American Fork. We loved to go up the road and into Main Canyon with watermelons and hot dogs. We had planned a watermelon bust and invited everybody we knew. I thought Jeannie might like to come along so I invited her and rode to the picnic together. Joe had a little brother, who was actually my age and we thought that this little brother and Jeannie might get along, so we introduced them to eachother. I don't remember seeing either of them for the rest of the day.
I didn't really give it much thought after that but unknown to me they kept seeing eachother.
Joe and I got married in the spring of 1971; and in may of 1992, I found out Neil and Jeannie were really serious about eachother... The rest of that story is not mine to tell but they were married in June and July of that year.
From that time on we shared very close family ties. First cousins and sisters-in-law.
Neil and Jeannie moved to Lyman, Wyoming and he went to work in the soda ash mine. They bought a small 2 bedroom mobile home. I think it was about 12x40 foot.
Joe lost his job finishing cement, so we followed them to Wyoming and Joe went to work in the mine too.
We had no place to stay, so Jeannie & Neil welcomed us into their home. They had Jonny and Stacy, and we had Shelley and Danny. The eight of us squeezed into that tiny trailer. We moved in and she welcomed us with open arms. We were there for a couple months until we could move our mobile home up there. We weren't next door but pretty close to it.
None of us knew it then but sharing her home become a typical and natural thing for her...
A few years later; working in the soda ash became too difficult for Neil because of his skin allergies, so they decided to come back to Utah. Joe and I had built a home next door to Mom & Dad Young, and before long Jeannie and Neil built one next to us. Once again Jeannie and I were living next door to eachother.
Our children are close in ages and were always running back and forth between houses; but, Jeannie's house was their favorite place to be. Not just for my kids, but for every kid that our children knew. They always wanted to be at Jeannie's house We were just one big happy family in two houses.
Marcia's Tribute continues after some memories from her children further down the page...
When mom asked me to give her a memory to share about my amazing Aunt Jeannie, my heart burst with an amazing feeling of unconditional love that I always felt when i was around this amazing human. My mind swarms with so many years of sharing my life with her and her selfless, loving, fun family. Living next door for what seemed like my entire childhood meant that our lives were forever intertwined.
What I remember the most about this unforgettable woman is the way she was always smiling. No matter what life threw at her, a feeling of joy always filled the air around her.
She seemed to often be struggling with her body failing her, especially in the last several years, but no matter how bad it was I never once heard her complain. I would see her, walk over to give her a hug, and then braced for the details of her fights against here ailments, but never once did I hear anything but happy words.
I remember how anytime I would walk into her home she would make me feel like I was just another one of her kiddos, always making sure i felt welcome, and caring for me as one of here own. She was always busy, caring for family in one way or another. She was a perfect example of selflessness and love. I will forever treasure the blessing of having her in my life for my entire life! thank you for all you taught me, my amazing aunt.
When I was asked to write about my best memories of Aunt Jeannie, I didn't know what to say. I could not think of any specific memory that was my favorite. When I was growing up, Aunt Jeannie and Uncle Neil were just another set of parents to me. They were always there. After talking to Mom about this I realized that this was my favorite memory of her: That she was always there.
When I had caused trouble and thought that my own parents would
kill me: She was there.
When I needed somewhere to go: She was there.
When I needed someone to be there: She was there.
On the occasions that my mom wasn't availiable: She was there.
When I needed someone to take care of me: She was there.
When I just wanted to hang out and watch here putter around the
kitchen: She was there.
No matter what: She was there.
Aunt Jeannie was always so patient and forgiving with everyone. I like to think of her as everyones mom, because she was. She was a mom to everyone that walked into her home. She always had an open home and open arms to everybody. She was so non-judgmental. Didn't matter who you were or what you've done, she always welcomed you into her home and her life.
Even as I grew up and got busy with my own life and my own family, I always have known Aunt Jeannie and Uncle Neil were there for anything.
I feel so blessed to have had Aunt Jeannie help to raise me and be there in my life.
And even during a very sad time like this, I am happy knowing that she is there. She is with Dusty, just waiting until she can welcome the rest of us home. But like I said, she is patient, so none of us need to hurry to get there.
When Michael was about 4 years old, I was working and Jeannie was watching him. He was helping her gather food from the garden. They dug up a small bunch of potatoes. She sent them home with him and we cooked them up and he ate every one of them. they were from Aunt Jeannie so there was no sharing.
I can't think of any single memory that would do Aunt Jeannie justice. What I do remember is that she always welcomed each of us kids with open arms. Aunt Jeannie had a very big and loving heart that was open to each and every one of us, and she alwways made sure we knew that she cared. Rain or shine, she was always there for us. She created a home that was as much a hangout spot as it was a sanctuary. It didn't matter the time, day or night, she would have a revolving door of teenagers taking over the house, and no matter how boisterous we got, she would take it all in stride. We were always welcome. I know I haven't had a very close relationship with Aunt Jeannie for quite a few years now, but she will always have a special place in my heart.
Are you seeing the theme of her life here?
Our family were not the only people who were the recipients of Jeannie and Neil's generosity. They have helped more people than I can count.
They have taken them in, given them a roof over their heads, and food for their bellies. Let them stay as long as they needed help. All without complaint or asking anything in return.
One year Joe rebuilt an old buckboard wagon from parts he found on the hill above Grandpa Young's house. Around his birthday that year Jeannie presented him with a quilt that she had made for him with a buckboard waggon appliqued by hand-out fabric on the whole top of the quilt.
Jeannie and I shared some adventures over the years too:
We loved to take rides into the mountains, camp, etc. We would
sleep on the hard ground in sleeping bags and cook over the fire.
We would load all of us into our old 1950 Chevy pick up and drive up Little Valley, and around Twin Peaks and down Main Canyon. The kids had a ball in the back of the truck and the four of us "adults" would squeeze into the cab. (We were alot skinnier in those days.)
One hot summer day we headed out. It was a glorious ride until while going up the hill on a duggway our trusty truck hit a rock and the rear end bounced right off of the road. Luckily the rear tire landed on a big rock. But we had a dilemma. That rock was the only thing keeping the truck from rolling right over and down the dugway.
We got all of the kids out of the truck and put them up on the hill above the truck where they were safe, Jeannie, Neil, and I stood on the running board on the high sideof the truck and Joe was in the drivers seat.
On the count of 3 Joe hit the gas. The truck bounced right back up onto the road and we were off on our adventure once again.
Through it all Jeannie remained calm and collected. The rest of us not so much.
This one doesn't include Jeannie, but I still have to share it. Joe and I took Shelley, Jonny, and Danny camping up little Valley. We were setting up camp by a small stream and marshy area. Jonny disappeared momentarily. When I found him he was standing in the middle of the marsh holding a snake. I asked Jonny what he was doing with the snake and he said "I thought it was a rattle snake and i wanted to take it home".
Neil was out of town a lot in those early days and one cold winter morning I heard a knock at my door. When I answered it, there was Jeannie with a rag wrapped around her hand asking if I could take her to Heber. She had been chopping wood, missed the log and hit her thumb, nearly chopping it right off.
We had some friends in town that owned a mink ranch, whom were Jack and Kathleen Thomson. Jeannie, Shawna, and I worked for them for a couple of winters preparing the skins for sale. The second winter was especially cold. Jeannie and I both got pneumonia. Neil was again out of town on the truck, so Joe wrapped both of us up and hauled us to the hospital. Then he went home and took care of all of our kids. We spent the next two days next door to eachother in the hospital, and when I was released from that place she still had to stay for two more days. But when she finally did get released, she went right back to being the busy mom and wife that she always had been. That was some "Great Adventure".
I remember a moment when Jeannie and her family were visiting us from Wyoming. Jeannie and I had gone to Heber for something. I dont really remember what. We were young and stupid, at the time we were smokers. We were on our way home, one or both of us flipped a butt out the window. A few minutes later we saw a nice and happy little fire that had ignited in the back of her pickup truck that they called Bronzie. Our carelessness had set a bundle of clothes on fire. We stopped the truck, put the fire out and just kept on going. I don't think I have ever told anyone that story until now. Cigarettes soon became a thing of the past.
Jeannie was always a very spiritual person. Her testimony in her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was incredibly strong. She knew that our mortal death here on earth is not the end. She knew that Dusty, Kaijia, Little Joe, her parents, and all the loved ones that have gone before her weere waiting for the time when she would be called home.
For her that time has come, and now I can picture the joyous reunion that she is experiencing with her loved ones, and she will be patiently waiting for the time when those of us who are still here are also called home.
Alma 40:11-12,23
11. Now concerning the soul betweeen death and resurrection - Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yeah, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.
12. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of fpeace, where they shall rest from their troubles and from care, and sorrow.
23. The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul: Yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to it's body: yea even a hair of the head shall not be lost: But all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.
These words are of great comfort to me as I hope they are to you. Jeannie has returned to her perfect form and is now resting in paradise. She is aware of our sadness at her passing, but, I believe she would want us all to celebrate her life and rejoice in knowing that she is experiencing peace and rest.
I love you all so much, Aunt Marcia