Obituary of Lucy Adams

ADAMS: Lucy Margaret Adams (nee Flint) passed away peacefully in the Vermilion Health Care Centre, Vermilion, Alberta on Wednesday, September 6, 2006 at the age of 92 years. The funeral service for Lucy was conducted from the Paradise Valley Church of God on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 2:00 P.M. with Pastor Gregg Peterson and Pastor Don Bergquist officiating. A eulogy was given by granddaughters Stacy Klukas, LuAnne Birkholz, and Candice Stockman. Dave Smith led in singing the hymns “In The Garden,” and “It Is Well With My Soul,” accompanied on the organ by Sandra Babcock and on the piano by Shawn Sunderland. A duet, “Serenaded By Angels,” was sung by Carol Adams and Doreen Klatt. A solo, “Homesick,” was sung by Dave Smith. The scripture reading, Proverbs 31:10-31 was read by Chad Brundage. Honorary pallbearers were: Marilyn Bouck, Dorothy Gallagher, Florence Bleakley, Geneva Magee, and Candy Bergquist. Active pallbearers were her grandsons: Dale Sunderland, Delmer Sunderland, Scott Babcock, Chris Adams, Tim Adams and Jerry Adams. Interment followed in the Paradise Valley Cemetery with Pastor Ralph Magee officiating. A special song, “Where The Roses Never Fade,” was sung by Mr. Magee and his wife, Geneva. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster administered the funeral arrangements. Eulogy Lucy Margaret Adams was born in her home on the farm at Macdonaldville, near Paradise Valley, Alberta on May 14, 1914 to Arthur William and Harriet Flint. Here she spent her childhood years, with the exception of a brief stay in England. At th age of five years, Grandma traveled to England with her mother, her older sister, Doris, and an older brother, Eric. While in England, Grandma’s brother Frank (Sandy) was born. Except for her first year which she took while in England, Grandma’s schooling took place in a little one-room schoolhouse at Cheviot Hills. When attendance at the school dropped to that of three students, the schoolhouse was moved from its’ original site to just north of their homestead to a location further to the east. Grandma spoke about riding on horseback to school and making the horse swim across the lake. She would have to put her legs up on the back of the horse to keep from getting wet. In the winter, Grandma’s brother would skate to school on the lake but she would have to run alongside because she didn’t have any skates. One of our family’s favourite and perhaps most often repeated story about Grandma’s school days took place on a winter day when she and her brother Sandy walked back over the hills to the schoolhouse and stole the teacher’s strap. It seems that Grandma felt the teacher had been giving students the strap a bit too freely and she was going to rid the world of this great injustice. The last straw came when she was given the strap. Hence, the strap was buried in the snow covering Seven Lake, where it would sink, undiscovered, to the bottom of the lake in the spring. Later Grandma attended the Marvel School of Beauty in Edmonton, where she received her certificate in hair dressing. She returned to P.V. where she set up her own hair dressing shop above the drugstore. Because of power shortages interrupting her hair settings, she closed her business in town and went back to helping out on the farm. This, however, did not prevent friends and relatives from coming to her for haircuts. As her children can recall, she continued to give this service freely long after she was married. It was during Grandma’s return to farm life that she met Grandpa. He was cutting wood for her father, Arthur Flint, and because his job would take several days, he stayed overnight at their house. He soon learned that if he slept in just a little, he would be able to come down from breakfast when only Lucy was around. These planned encounters provided the opportunity for Grandpa to ask Grandma out and their love quickly blossomed into a surprise elopement on June 3rd, 1942. Hermon and Lucy had six children: David, who passed away at the age of only three days, Donna, Linda, Sandra, Bob, and Doug. All five children continue to live in the Paradise Valley area. Lucy was predeceased by her parents, Arthur and Harriet Flint; her husband, Hermon Adams; three brothers: Arthur, Eric, and Frank Flint; three sisters: Doris Bloxham, Mary Flint, and Thelma Fair; and one son, David Adams. Lucy leaves to mourn her five children: Donna (Myron) Sunderland; Linda (Noel) McDougall; Sandra (David) Babcock; Bob (Carol) Adams; and Doug (Janet) Adams; fifteen grandchildren; twenty-four great grandchildren; one great-great grandchild; one brother, Bill (Pansy) Flint, and two brothers-in-law, Arthur Fair and Robert (Martha) Adams. As a child, Grandma did not recall having many toys or doing a lot of playing. Life on the homestead consisted largely of work and doing chores, such as dusting, sweeping, peeling potatoes, hauling wood, collecting eggs, fetching water, making beds, and as she grew older, learning to knit and cook, sawing wood, fetching and milking cows, as well as helping in the fields. Grandma did not have a bicycle, Her father said, “Bikes are for city kids!” So, Grandma learned to ride a horse instead. This she loved to do and would even race her horse at a dead gallop towards the open barn door so that she could grab onto and swing from the door rail as the animal swept out from beneath her. Of course her father was unaware of the daring feat she loved to perform. So it happened that on one occasion when she missed her hold on the rail and went crashing to the cement floor, injuring her back quite severely, Grandma had to carry on with her daily tasks, masking the pain she was suffering, so as not to be found out. She knew she had been in the wrong. Grandma was an industrious person. She worked hard from morning till night to meet the needs of her husband and family. She planted a big garden and gave of her surplus freely to friends and neighbors alike. Come winter, her shelves and freezers were full from the fruit of her labour. Grandma’s gardening was not restricted to fruits and vegetables. She enjoyed the beauty of her flowers, which grew profusely for her, spilling over the walls of her flower beds and running down the banks of nearby bushes. I’m sure weeds would have trembled if they had eyes to see her as her hoe was always in her hand when she walked about her yard. She enjoyed entering her produce and flowers in local fairs, taking home many ribbons. Grandma was a generous person. She gave freely of her time to help others - sewing dresses for friends; mending softballs and baseballs that were coming apart at the seams for the school; knitting sweaters for those who couldn’t; sewing quilts and making bandages for missions; caring for her husband’s blind father or aged uncle and looking after the needs of her own parents when they could no longer live on their own. Each task was unselfishly and ungrudgingly performed. Grandma was resourceful. Nothing was wasted. Flour sacks were made into clothes or bedding; feathers from chickens or geese into pillows; discarded winter coats became snowsuits for young children; rags were transformed into colourful rugs and scraps of material pieced into beautiful quilts. When there was no money for presents, our aunts recall coming down the stairs at Christmas to find the tree adorned with little cardboard hangers sporting lovely handcrafted doll clothes-their old dolls transformed by new wardrobes. And then there were the little extras Grandma did - Easter baskets covered with ruffles of pastel crepe paper and loaded with delectable goodies, making them some of the most sought after baskets at the party. Often Grandma would be found late at night sitting at her sewing machine fashioning clothes for her children that would look like “store bought.” Birthdays were celebrated with a special cake an their favourite foods as well as a gift for the birthday child. Grandma’s work was not only limited to house and yard work or not even doing the barnyard chores. As a young wife, Grandma often helped her husband in the fields. One fall while she was assisting Grandpa and a hired man collect bundles for feed, her agility was put to the test. Grandma and the hired man had been pitching bundles onto the rack as Grandpa drove the horses from stook to stook. When the area had been cleared of stooks, Grandma climbed up the back end of the rack. As she was poised on the very top rung of the rack, pitchfork in hand, ready to jump down onto the cushioning load of bundles, Grandpa “clucked” to the horses and took off with a lurch. Grandma was sent flying backwards, doing a complete somersault in the air and landing on her feet with the pitchfork still clasped in her hand. The hired man only gaped in awe and amazement at Grandma’s athletic prowess. Grandma worked alongside Grandpa in church work too - cooking for numerous children’s camps and church meals, mending straw ticks used for mattresses and even cleaning underbrush and setting up a children’s camp right in their own yard. She supported Grandpa in his building projects, sanding, painting, cleaning, and doing whatever was needed to get the job done. Many times special speakers and traveling evangelists were boarded and entertained in her home. She gave of her time willingly and ungrudgingly. Grandma faithfully supported Grandpa, generously giving him her respect. She allowed Grandpa to be the leader, the head of the home, but she had her own way of letting him know he had overstepped his boundaries. A fact that can be attested to as in the times when Grandma would do something totally out of character. One such incident occurred when Grandma had heard Grandpa complain one time to many about the cracked cereal bowl she had set on the table before him. Upon Grandpa’s comment that morning, she calmly picked up the bowl, then quickly tossed it over her shoulder, sending it crashing to the floor behind her, where it shattered into a hundred pieces. Grandma remained quietly at her place, eating her breakfast. Not another word was said about the bowl. Grandma’s life expressed wisdom - the wisdom that comes from a life lived skillfully in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. To quote from Eugene H. Peterson’s The Message: “Wisdom had to do with becoming skillful in honouring our parents and raising our children, handling our money ..., going to work and exercising leadership, using words well and treating friends kindly, eating and drinking healthily, cultivating emotions within ourselves and attitudes towards others that make for peace. Threaded through all these items is the insistence that the way we respond to God is the most practical thing we do.” Grandma lived WISDOM! Grandma possessed the inner beauty of a Godly life. She began her day by reading the Bible to her family at the breakfast table. In winter months, she would read to the family during evening devotions. Later, after all the children had left home, Grandma could often be found at night reading the Bible to Grandpa, who couldn’t read well - the last thing they did before going to bed. When her eyesight got poorer, making it difficult to read, Grandma’s daughters and daughters-in-law would read the Bible to her before going home from their visit. Shortly before her death, she had finished having the Bible read through to her for the umpteenth time and upon beginning over again in the book of Genesis commented, “Isn’t it exciting to be starting all over again as you just kind of forget exactly how it was that God created everything!” Strength and honour were her clothing. Her positive outlook brought encouragement to those around her. She accepted and made the best of her circumstances. When she could no longer care for herself, she did not resist having caregivers come into her home. Although things were not always done the way she would do them, Grandma learned to accept and be thankful for the care she received and for those who were giving it. When it became necessary for Grandma to move into a long term care facility, she learned to call Islay home. And there she counted the residents and caregivers alike, as her friends. Grandma loved to travel. Even at 92 years of age, she looked forward to the Thursday outings in the handivan. Whenever her family would take her out somewhere in their vehicles, she never failed to express her thanks and appreciation saying what a good day it had been. Her daughters were reminded many times she didn’t know what she would do without them. Her heartfelt appreciation was very sincere. Grandma’s life exuded love. I Corinthians 13: 4-8 says: Love is patient, Love is kind, It does not envy, It does not boast, It is not proud. It is not rude, It is not self-seeking, It is not easily angered, It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, But rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always perseveres. Love never fails. Grandma lived out that love for her children and grandchildren. Through her life we can feel God’s love. Grandpa did indeed find that good woman spoken of in the book of Proverbs. Her worth was far above that of gold or diamonds. And we are blessed to have had that woman for our mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, great grandmother, and great-great grandmother. Card of Thanks We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to the doctors and nurses of the Vermilion Health Care Centre, and the staff at Islay Care Centre for the attention and loving care given to our mother/grandmother. Thanks to our many relatives and friends for their heartfelt words and generous gifts of cards, flowers, food, and donations during our time of loss. We also appreciate the compassionate and professional services given to us by McCaw Funeral Service. God Bless you all, The Family of Lucy Adams. Donations in memory of Lucy may be made to the Islay Care Centre, the Paradise Valley Church of God or to a Charity of the Donor's Choice.