WALK WITH THE DEAD

 

EARL RICHARD LUBBERS

Earl Richard Lubbers

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Earl Lubbers was born on June 16, 1937, in Faribault, Minnesota, to Earl Eike Lubbers and Anna Boyum Lubbers. His early childhood carried him from Minnesota through Cherokee, Iowa, before his family settled in Tucson, Arizona, the city that would shape so much of his life.

At Tucson High School, Class of 1955, Earl became a standout athlete. Playing on Coach “Bud” Doolen’s final team, he helped carry the squad to the championship game of the Arizona State Tournament and earned All-City, All-State, and All-Tournament honors. His talent took him to the University of Arizona on an athletic scholarship, where he lettered in basketball and became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

Commissioned a Second Lieutenant through R.O.T.C., Earl served on active duty at Fort Knox, Kentucky; Fort Hood, Texas; and Fort Lewis, Washington. Following his military service, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he worked as a sales representative for Texaco Inc. and as an administrative assistant for Utah Construction and Mining Company.

In 1966, Earl returned to the University of Arizona, where a federal stipend allowed him to earn a graduate degree in Special Education — the beginning of his life’s true work. He would go on to teach in the Tucson area for thirty years, in the Vail School District #20 and at the Arizona State School for the Deaf and the Blind, where he not only taught but also coached basketball, sharing the game he loved with students who inspired him. A devoted Boy Scout leader for many years, he served as Scoutmaster and Troop Committee Chairman and was honored with the Silver Beaver Award. A big presence and personality, but also gentle, humble, and endlessly patient, Earl had a rare gift for putting others before himself, and generations of young people were better for having known him.

In 1973, in Tucson, Earl married DeeAnn Peterson, and in doing so became the “father he didn’t have to be” to her sons, Brent and Bert. Together Earl and DeeAnn welcomed their son, Ryan in 1977. Earl loved DeeAnn with all his heart, mind, and energy, and he loved their children completely and equally, never once distinguishing by how they came into his family. He was present at every game, every school event, every moment that mattered, a steady and dependable figure his children could always count on.

Earl brought a rambunctious sense of fun to family life creating endless memories of road trips, hiking, and made-up stories told around the fire or in the tent. He loved the movies and sporting events, and delighted in taking his children, and later his grandchildren, to any event at all, always with a giant popcorn and a giant soda in hand. He loved to fish, and while his older children can attest that the skill did not come to him easily, his grandchildren reaped the rewards of his patience and practice, pulling in fish on nearly every outing. He adored his grandchildren, every one of them, and cared for them with the same boundless, even-handed love that defined him.

Earl and DeeAnn shared a deep love of learning and of the wider world. Upon retiring from teaching, the two served in Brigham Young University’s China Teacher Program, living and teaching in Xi’an in 2001–2002 and in Qingdao in 2004–2005. Earl cherished his years in China and held a deep affection for the Chinese people, maintaining close friendships with his former students for many years afterward.

Above all, Earl was a lifelong learner who was rarely without a book in hand. Endlessly curious, he read voraciously and enrolled in courses at community colleges wherever he lived, never tiring of the chance to study something new. He subscribed to a service, first on DVD and later by streaming, that brought recorded lectures from some of the world’s finest professors into his home, and he listened to and absorbed their teachings for hours on end. Remarkably well read and largely self-educated, he held a special fascination for the vastness of the universe and for humanity’s ever-expanding understanding of how it all works.

In 2020, Earl and DeeAnn made their home at the Sagewood retirement community in South Jordan, Utah, where Earl built a warm and welcoming life and was dearly loved by many. He often spoke of how grateful he was for that decision and for the friendships they found there. Through a variety of health challenges, he drew strength and comfort from the residents, employees, and caregivers who became part of his world. It was a fitting place for him to spend his final years — surrounded, as he always had been, by community and by love.

Earl was preceded in death by his parents, Earl Eike Lubbers and Anna Boyum Lubbers; his sister, Ruth Ann Lubbers Patzman; and his beloved wife, DeeAnn Peterson Lubbers. He is survived by his three children, Brent Dover (Catherine), Bert Dover (Gena), and Ryan Lubbers (Raquel); and his eleven grandchildren, Blake Dover, Justin Dover, Katie Dover, Tai Dover, Riley Dover, Cosette Dover, Travis Dover, Desiderio Lubbers, Caetano Lubbers, Tiago Lubbers, and Anna Isabella Lubbers.

A gentle and humble man who measured his life by the people he lifted up, Earl gave his family a lifetime of devotion, patient love, and unwavering presence. He will be deeply missed.

A short graveside burial service will be held on Saturday, August 1st at 10:00 a.m. at the Mt. Pleasant, Utah Cemetery. A separate Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, August 22nd at 10:00 a.m. at Sagewood Retirement Home, 11289 S. Oakmond Road, South Jordan, Utah 84009, followed by a catered lunch.

To Watch Graveside Services Live, Click Here. The Live Zoom Link

THE MORM0N WITH HIS GRIP ~~~ Birdzell

 THE MORMON WITH HIS GRIP 

Tho the rain and sleet are falling

And with mud, the roads are deep.

Tho the lowlands may be marches

And the hillside may be steep

Tho the rivers may be frozen

And the frost may bite and nip

You can never stop the advent

Of the Mormon with his grip.

Tho the trains are out of question

And the horse poor and lame

The Mormon like the tax man

He will get there just the same. 

He is ever bright and cheerful

With a smile upon his lips

But he's something all men stare at

The Mormon with his grip.

Have a kind word for him always

In his memory it will rest

All you who do him a favor

For their kindness will be blest

He is here to be of service

Seek you his companionship

And he'll leave with you a blessing

The Mormon with the Grip.

Marie Wilhelmina Catherine Kraus Madsen ( From our archives)

 

                                                                   

MARIE WILHELMINA CATHERINE KRAUSE 350 Born: 27 April 1847 Svenborg, Fuenert (Fynn), Denmark Age: 9 Hodgett Wagon Company Niels Peter and Wilhelmina MaC.; Wilhelmina's biography is taken mostly from a well researched account written by two of her granddaughters, Pearle M. Olsen and Aleen M. Summers. All accounts speak of Wilhelmina as a very "comely" and beautiful girl. Her parents were both from Germany, her mother, Anna Lucia Simonsen Abel, having been widowed previously. When Anna's first husband died, she inherited a wheelwright nail factory. Anna advertised in the "Danish Star News" for a manager to take care of the business and Johan H. F. A. Krause answered that advertisement, was hired, and proved to be very capable. He and Anna married and became the parents of six children. Wilhelmina went to her father's nail factory one day and picked up a red-hot nail that had dropped on the floor, thinking it very beautiful. It left a terrible scar the rest of her life. Another incident at the nail factory would also influence the course of Wilhelmina's life. A crowd had gathered outside the factory where two "Mormon" missionaries were passing out literature and announcing a meeting they would hold in the woods that night. Wilhelmina's mother and her friend, Marie Frandsen, attended and participated in the singing. A mob of persecutors soon came with ropes and clubs, but the missionaries were able to escape and find shelter in the woods. Anna and Marie -learned where the Elders were hiding, took food to them, and invited them to Anna's home to hold another meeting. At this meeting, the same mob came, broke the door to the Krause home, and told the missionaries to leave the country. Before leaving, the missionaries gave each of those present some literature and a song book. Wilhelmina received one of those books and cherished it throughout her life. She loved to sing and had a beautiful singing voice. Other missionaries soon came and taught the gospel to the Krause family. Johan was not interested, but Anna requested baptism, and did not tell her husband. She secretly attended meetings for about two years and finally revealed her actions to her husband, requesting that he take her to "Zion" to gather with the Saints. Johan did not wish to leave his successful business, but he was also a kind man who didn't like to see his wife unhappy. She would often sing from her little book this hymn: "Oh, Zion, when I think ofthee, I long for pinions like the dove, And mourn to think that I should be so distant from the land I love. A captive exile, far from home, for Zion's sacred walls I sigh, With ransomed kindred there to come and see Messiah eye to eye. While here I walk on hostile ground, the few that I can call my friends, are, like myself, in fetters bound, and weariness our steps attends. But yet we hope to see the day When Zion's children shall return. When all our grief shall flee away, and w~ a~ain no more shall mourn. The thoughts that such a day will come makes e'en the exiles r£f£"i:Mi'~weet; Though now we wander far from home, in Zion soon we all shall meet." Johann finally decided to sell the business and go to the United States to begin a new business in St. Louis, Missouri, making wagons and handcarts for the Saints to use in crossing the plains. This relocation and reestablishment of a business required so much money for this family of eight that it was decided to let one child remain in Denmark with friends and go to America the following year with those friends. The children drew lots to see who would stay and the lot fell to Wilhelmina. The rest of the family left from Copenhagen in 1855 with a company of four hundred Saints aboard the ship Charles Buck. 1855 was a terrible year for cholera outbreaks in St. Louis and two of Wilhelmina's little sisters and her mother died in July of that year. From Wilhelmina's biography we read, "Thus, 351 -'" Wilhelmina Krause - Page 2 Anna's hope and cherished dream of gathering to Zion with the Saints was not to become a reality, but her great faith paved the way for her daughter, Wilhelmina, to be among those whose names were to be carved in Utah's history." Meanwhile, in Denmark,Wilhelmina was unaware of the tragedy in her family and was preparing to sail with the Frandsen's when Marie Frandsen's brother tried to prevent Marie from going to Utah by telling the officials that Marie was stealing a child to take with her. The police officers took Wilhelmina's clothes and precious song book and placed her in an orphanage with little but a gray uniform. The missionaries were finally able to make the truth known and obtained her release, but the Frandsen family had been compelled to leave Denmark in the meantime. The Elders arranged for Wilhelmina to travel with the Lars (62) and Bodil (50) Madsen family in the next emigrant group. Wilhelmina became very close to Brother Madsen. One morning while waiting out the bad weather and unloading of the wagons at Devil's Gate, Wilhelmina went with Brother Madsen a ways from the camp. When he collapsed in the snow, Wilhelmina cried and wanted to stay with him, but he took his cane and pushed her away, telling her she couldn't stay. By the time she returned with help, Lars had died. Wilhelmina stayed with the widow Madsen's family and eventually married her son, Niels Peter. They settled in Mt. Pleasant where they had a home in town and also homesteaded a 160- acre piece of property. Wilhelmina and the children did a great deal of the work and became quite self-sufficient. She developed an infection in one eye, causing her to go blind in that eye, but she continued to read to her children from the Book of Mormon every night and work very hard. Her children said that many times they saw her crying as though her heart would break, then going to her bedroom to pray and coming out smiling, feeling God had given her strength to bear her troubles. Eventually, Wilhelmina placed an ad in a St. Louis, Missouri, newspaper to advertise for her family. Her father was notified and soon he and his daughter, Augusta, arrived in Salt Lake City. They stood on the steps ofthe Deseret News Building each day for a week, inquiring of passers-by for infonnation. They were about to give up when they met a man from Sanpete County and asked him if he knew a George Frandsen. The man knew the Frandsen's and Wilhelmina and after 32 years this family was reunited. Her father stayed for a month. When Johan Krause returned to Missouri, he still maintained that the "Mormons" had stolen his daughter and he was embittered toward them. He and his step-son, Frederick Abel, had become wealthy in St. Louis, having pioneered the plumbing business. They were both reputed to be millionaires and bought one of the first Pierce-Arrow automobiles in that area. Frederick visited Wilhelmina a few years later and offered her anything to renounce her faith and return with her children to St. Louis where she would be given every advantage but she refused. She did keep up communication with her sisters, Augusta and Caroline, in St. Louis. Caroline sent her a gold band ring and told her if she didn't see her in this life she would know her by her ring in the next world. After Wilhelmina's very full, but happy life, she was buried with the ring on her finger. "Sister Mina" served as Relief Society President and I,. .. " was beloved by all. She played her accordian and sang to her neighbors. Her children wrote in a tribute to her: "By her teachings and her good example she instilled into our hearts the good things of life, and taught us to live the Gospel which was so dear to her. She has been a beacon light to us all our lives and made an impression on us that will always be with us. She had a testimony of the gospel. She knew it was true and that there is a God who answers prayers. She paid a full tithing and she kept the Word of Wisdom and we never heard her swear or even use s[ang." Lars & Bodil Neilsen Madsen This information is taken from "Madsen Family History"

MR. AND MRS. LARS MADSEN

Artwork by Ephraim Madsen

 

PYRAMID PHOTOS

When the Mt. Pleasant Pyramid Office was moved
to Springville these photos were given to us to
share at the Relic Home.  Some do not have names or descriptions.  Let us know if you can add any details 

 

NaDene Sorensen 

Kaytlin Thompson
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HARRY POTTER ACTORS

L to R: Keaton Bouck, Anna Ledingham, Glen Ledingham 

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KayLee Taylor

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BRASS BAND AT THE DEPOT

 

The following was recorded by Mrs. Louise Hastler: In the autumn of 1869 the governor sent out a notice to the citizens of Sanpete County that a military drill would be held the first week

in November, did requested all soldiers and men that could bear arms to be ready and on hand for a three-day drill. The gathering place would be between Ephraim and Manti. All captains and officers of the Indian War organizations should be represented and also the Military bands . . . .

When this notice was served the brethren wanted to make a good showing and made necessary preparations. John Hastler had arrived in Mt. Pleasant in October and brought with him a full set of musical instruments from Switzerland. Bishop Seeley and the leading brethren engaged him to organize a Brass Band at once. This was affected about the 15th of October, 1869, with John Hastler, James Hansen, Bent Hansen, John Waldermar, Andrew Beckstrom, Daniel Beckstrom. James C. Meiling, August Wall, Aaron Oman, Peter Syndergaard. Andrew Syndergaard, Soren Hansen, Lars Nielsen (Fiddler), Mortin Rasmussen, Jacob Hafen, Ulrich Winkler, Oscar Barton, Charlie Hampshire, and Paul Coates. John Hastler and Olaf Rosen­lof were chosen as their leaders. John Hastler distributed the instruments at once.

In three weeks, at the appointed time, they were able and ready to play six or more of our national and popular tunes, which made a good showing for Sanpete County. Their efforts were much praised and appreciated by the visiting staff."
At these drills all the Indian War officers and soldiers wore blue coats trimmed with brass buttons. These coats were home­made, but, in the different communities there were a number of tailors as well as women who came to the various homes and made men's clothing. It is remembered that Mrs. Jepsen Stohl, as well as others, were thus employed.
HISTORY OF MT. PLEASANT by HML pp 131-132

ERICKSEN FAMILY

FRONT ROW:
DON NIELSON
Marjorie NIELSEN
Barbara Peel
Naomi Ericksen
Dick Ericksen

Second row:
Grant Nielsen
Grandpa Ericksen
(holding Willa RaE SEELY)
KENT Seely
Grandma Ericksen

BACK ROW:
Howard Nielsen
Alice Peel
Margaret Peel
Lois Peel

 

PHOTOS FROM ALICE HAFEN ALBUM

Front:  Peter Hafen, back left; Ross Childs, Middle: Kay Childs, Far back left: Donald Hafen, 
Far center: Tyler Tuttle, Far right: Michael Boyd Hafen
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Mary Napier Rowe

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Party for Quilters
Given by Dorothy Jensen in her home
Back: Mary Roberts, Berniece Coates, Winona Zabriskie, Dorothy Jensen, Leone Besser, 
Front: Denise Madsen, Alice Hafen

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Relief Society Function (no names given)
My Guess left to right:  Pearl Christensen, Roxie Washburn, Ila Tidwell, Amy Ursenbach, Johanna Hafen, Louise Seely, Morae Wilkey, unknown, Talula Nelson

WHO WAS DR. CASSADAY??

 

Who was Dr. Cassaday?

Marlane Harless brought in this picture from her Aunt Elva Guyman's Collection.  The upstairs window of the far-right building says "Doctor Cassaday".  Does anyone have any knowledge or history of Doctor Cassaday?  Can you identify the era when this picture was taken? Was it before the automobile?  Was it before the famous Main Street Fire?  We have our ideas, but we would like to hear yours.

My brother Pete found this obituary for H.V Cassaday on Family Search. Thanks Pete

EARLY PHOTO OF MAIN STREET ~~~~ ELVA GUYMAN COLLECTION ~(From our archves)

 

Marlane Harless brought in this picture from her Aunt Elva Guyman's Collection.  The upstairs window of the far-right building says "Doctor Cassaday".  Does anyone have any knowledge or history of Doctor Cassaday?  Can you identify the era when this picture was taken? Was it before the automobile?  Was it before the famous Main Street Fire?  We have our ideas, but we would like to hear yours.

DESERET NEWS 1862~~~JOSEPH PAGE and others RETURN WITH MORE IMMIGRANTS~~~SUPPLIES SENT TO OVERLAND STAGE ~~~Social Hall Built,

                                                                                   
 

HOME OF GEORGE FARNWORTH AND WIFE SUSANNAH COATES (from our archves)