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Inez Linnea Spjut Ricks
Eulogy given on August 14, 2006
Thank you for being here. When the mortuary came for my mother, my sister, Becky, said “That’s a queen in there and you had better treat her like one!” Today we gather to honor one of the great and noble ones, and now a true member of our Heavenly Father’s royal courts on high.
Elder Russell M. Nelson has said:
“Mourning is one of the deepest expressions of pure love. It is a natural response in complete accord with divine commandment: ‘Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die.’ (D&C 42:45) Moreover, we can’t fully appreciate joyful reunions later without tearful separations now. The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life.”
Today I share with you a life filled with love from beginning to end as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend.
Inez Linnea Spjut Ricks was born on October 26, 1923 in
Inez is survived by her husband, Norman Howell Ricks, her brothers, Harlan and Phil Spjut, her sisters, Doris Shurtliff and Nancy Slawson, her children Jim Ricks, Janis Harrison, Becky Wismer, Jody Plowman, and Kathy Bates, 26 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren. One grandson, Evan Ricks, preceded her in death.
EARLY YEARS:
Inez grew up in a warm and loving family. She was the 2nd oldest and oldest
daughter. She loved her brothers and
sisters. She had a happy childhood. They had no TV so they played lots of games
like Sorry, Old Maid, Go Fish and Monopoly and she listened to the radio a lot.
She enjoyed roller skating, jump rope,
hop scotch, and playing Kick the Can with the neighbors in the summer and Run
Sheep Run, Hide and Seek and No Bears Out Tonight. They rode bikes, made stilts and pushed an
old tire around, they went to the swamp and caught pollywogs and
salamanders. She went to
Inez and her siblings spent a lot of time with relatives. She talked often of getting together with all of her cousins and all the fun they had at the different aunt’s and uncle’s houses. She loved everything about her Swedish heritage especially the food and customs of holiday celebrations.
All of her schooling through High School was in
She lived on 17th
FAMILY MEMORIES:
Inez loved and admired her two brothers.
And she was especially close to her sisters.
INEZ WAS MY SISTER AND BEST FRIEND. THAT ABOUT SUMS IT UP.
SHE WAS ALMOST THREE YEARS OLDER, SO SHE WAS MY ROLE MODEL. SO BLAME HER IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT I DO AND SAY.
DURING OUR TEEN YEARS WE OFTEN DRESSED ALIKE OR SIMILAR AND PEOPLE OFTEN ASKED IF WE WERE TWINS. I LOVED THAT, BECAUSE INEZ WAS THE PRETTY SISTER.
I’LL MISS MY MORNING E-MAILS FROM HER. HOW WILL I KNOW THE WEATHER IN TUALATIN NOW?
I’LL MISS HER MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY. I LOVED HER VERY MUCH. SHE WAS A GREAT SISTER, WONDERFUL DAUGHTER AND A TREMENDOUS MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER.
My thoughts go back
to when she was my big sister and idol. She took me in to have my
ringlets cut. I was 12 years old and was the only one still in ringlets
and I hated them. When I came home with my short hair cut, my Mother
cried and was upset with Inez for having my hair cut but she soon liked my
short hair because it made me so happy and she didn't have do the ringlets any
more.
During the wars years, all of Inez's beaus were overseas. She took me to
movies, I would go with her when she tended kids and we would play lots of
battleship. She also bought all my clothes when I was in Junior
High. Mom and Dad said this was her way of paying for her board and
room.
She always helped me write my talks for Church and was my Beehive
teacher.
She was also my love life advisor which was important to me in my high school
days.
I have always wished I could live up to the great example she gave me of being
a Mother and Grandmother.
TEENAGE and COLLEGE YEARS
Inez was taught household skills and was expected to complete her chores. She wrote: “By the time I was 14, I was cleaning a neighbor’s house once a week for $1.00. I did this for 2 years. I also did a lot of babysitting for 10 cents an hour.”
Inez was a popular teenager both with the girls and the boys. She was very pretty and attracted a lot of young men who came by the house.
Inez wrote “I especially enjoyed High School. It seemed to be challenging and very interesting socially as well as scholastically.”
She was nominated as Miss Granite High of 1940. She was one of 8 finalists of 21 girls nominated.
She was in a statewide Speech and Debate Tournament held at
Inez also wrote: “I wanted to go to college more than anything.” She was able to attend
three semesters at the
She worked at Ure, Pett and Morris as a teletypist and book
keeper and then at a
Even though she didn’t graduate from college, my Mom valued education and loved to learn. She encouraged her children and grandchildren to learn new things, study hard and progress in their knowledge.
CHURCH and SERVICE
Inez was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on May 28, 1932 by her grandfather, August Jacobson. She has been an active member all of her life and a faithful visiting teacher.
She has given much service in the church including teaching Sunday School and Primary. She served all the years that I was a teenager in the MIA as a Beehive teacher and a counselor. She taught lessons, organized activities and got along well with all the teenagers under her supervision. She taught Relief Society and was a counselor in Relief Society presidencies for 7 years under 3 presidents. She served in the stake Relief Society for 5 years. She shunned the spotlight and was happiest when she was fulfilling her assignments. She was an excellent teacher and put much effort into every lesson she prepared.
Inez was compassionate and caring to those around her. I
observed her taking meals to people on many occasions and we had the
missionaries to dinner often. But her
caring also extended to friends and neighbors not of our faith. She made daily visits, phone calls and
performed other services for our neighbor, Marie Greenlee, through her long and
unsuccessful battle with cancer. One
phone call I received before traveling to
Inez had a gift for cheering people up who were in difficult circumstances through her humor, and she willingly shared her wisdom with those in need. She had learned a lot through her own experiences and health challenges and was very understanding of other people and their situations. She became close friends with people she served with in the Church and until last week they were in regular communication. These included June Hancock, Edith Meier, and Ruth Calvert.
MARRIAGE
Inez met her future husband, Norm Ricks, while they both worked at the same company. At their 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration we enjoyed hearing them retell the joy of their courtship and marriage.
They had their first date to the Company Christmas Party. They were engaged on February 8, 1947 and married on April 5, 1947. What a beautiful marriage that has been—close to 60 years! In 1952 my mother contracted polio which affected her the rest of her life—most profoundly in her inability to get much use from her right hand and arm and in her later years it seemed to be also affecting the muscles in her legs. It has been my privilege to observe true love as my father and mother carried this burden together.
Inez never considered herself handicapped and participated fully in life. She effortlessly compensated for her disability and most people never knew she had any physical problems.
My mother wrote under a journal page entitled Miracles in My Life: “Meeting Norm was a miracle. He turned out to be such a neat husband, father and sweetheart!”
One example of how they cared for each other is that for many years when my father was the owner of Ricks Drug Store, he could not be home during the dinner hour. My mother prepared and took to him a full, hot meal each evening—this was before the days of microwave ovens and fancy storage containers. She used a box, a towel and a pan lid to cover the plate and for years she prepared this and drove it to him at the store. This was after serving all of us dinner first.
Their first home was on
RAISING A FAMILY
Inez gave birth to her two oldest children, Jim and Janis, in 1948 and 1950. When she contracted polio, she was pregnant with her third child, Becky. The doctor’s told her afterwards that she would never be able to have more children. But a special gift was given to this royal lady when almost six years later in 1958 she found herself pregnant and pregnant again two years later—my two sisters, Jody and Kathy, have been a special blessing to our family.
It says in my mother’s obituary that she was a “homemaker.” What a huge understatement of my mother’s occupation! For all hours of the day and night until the day she passed away she nurtured her family in any and all of their needs. She was truly the creator of an environment and sanctuary of wherever she was at the moment that blessed many lives, an occupation from which there was no retirement or public acclaim.
Inez was an excellent mother to her five children. We each have our own individual memories, but they all include lots of humor, encouragement and praise. Even today one of my first thoughts when I heard of my Mom’s passing was: Who will be my biggest fan now? I counted on her unconditional love.
Ours was a warm and caring home where we loved to bring our friends. She always had great suggestions for fun and creative activities when we would tell her we were “bored.” She let us make messes and spread our projects all over the house. Who can forget Kathy’s paper dolls, our tent houses out of blankets and card tables, our shoe stores, or the clubhouse Jim built in the backyard? Mom made holidays fun with her decorating and activities, and she encouraged us in our various interests and hobbies. In our home I felt nurtured, loved and at peace.
Inez was loved by her in laws as well. My husband wrote: Your Mom broke the mold of a stereotypical mother-in-law. She was never demanding or judgmental. She was always supportive, loving, serving and helpful. She was also fun.”
Perhaps the biggest tribute any of us could give her is the lives of her children and grandchildren. They are all upstanding members of the community, faithful church members, loving devoted parents and talented in many areas. We learned all of this by example in our home. All of her children married in the temple and her son served a mission. Of her 9 married grandchildren, all were sealed in the temple. All of her grandsons who have reached the age of 19 have served missions and several of her granddaughters making 14 who have served missions—all foreign! This was a source of delight for my mother who had not traveled much. So far 10 of her grandchildren have graduated from college.
GRANDMA!
Perhaps her crowning achievement was in her grandmothering. She was amazing!
She wrote: “Having grandchildren is such a special miracle. I felt such great love for each one—I felt my heart would burst.”
Somehow (and I’m still trying to figure it out so I can do it!) she developed a special bond with each and every one of her grandchildren. She always knew the right things to say to them, send to them in packages or do for them when they visited. Each one loved being in her home and knew they were greatly loved by her. In fact each one felt that he or she was her favorite grandchild! Here is what some of them have written:
“I would say that I was her favorite grandchild and I have a feeling she probably made all of her grandkids feel that way. She always made me feel special and would do special things just for me. I always liked to stay overnight at her house because in the morning I got to lay on her couch and she'd bring me hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls. More recently she has always remembered my birthday and my girls' birthdays and other special occasions. She sent Courtney a card, stickers and money when she was getting her crowns. I'm not giving very good examples but she always made me feel important.” (Heidi)
“I remember staying the night and then getting up early and having cinnamon rolls on the couch while we watched cartoons. She would play games with us and was aware when someone was feeling left out and knew out to make them feel better.” (Josh)
“I think when I was young Grandma's House was my
favorite place to go. I remember getting up early with her (we were the
morning people) and she would bring me a cinnamon roll. I felt special
getting up early with her. I also truly thought I was her favorite
grandchild for many years! She just talked to me that way and always made
me feel so special it was only recently I realized she probably treated ALL her
grandchildren that way. It helped my self esteem develop to remember how
special I was to her.” (Amanda)
When I was little I loved Grandma for her presents-
the gifts she gave to me:
Christmas advent calendars, something from McWhorter's every time we went to
visit, a check on my birthday for however old I was turning, Christmas puzzles,
chips and salsa whenever she knew I'd be coming, a freezer full of push-ups,
"grandma's cheese", big wheels around the track, dinner at Chuck-a-Rama
whenever she visited the grandkids at BYU, etc.
When I was older I loved Grandma for her presence- the gift she was to me: An e-mail to brighten my day, big hugs, her teasing of grandpa, and how she made me feel certain that I really was her favorite grandchild!” (MaryAnn)
FINAL YEARS
In 1999 Inez’s first great-grandchild was born and she seemed amazed that she had lived this long to be meeting great grandchildren! They were a delight to her as she was able to be around some of them from time to time. Even at their young ages they sensed something special about this “Grandma” and one of them in order to keep everyone straight called my parents: The Greats! The last picture I took of my Mom was of her holding her newest great grandson.
Inez loved her family! In recent years she did a lot of her communicating with her family who are now spread all over the country through email. After a recent extended family reunion she sent out this email. I’d like to read it to you as it captures my mother’s love for her family, love for her heritage, her sense of humor and her faith in God.
“July 26, 2005
I WAS JUST SITTING THINKGING ABOUT THIS WEEKEND…ALL YOU VIKINGS…DO YOU THINK HEAVEN WILL BE LIKE THIS?...AND DON’T ACT SURPRISED I’M THERE TOO…ALL THIS TALKING…ALL THESE DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES…I HOPE WE ALL GET SENT TO THE FIFTH FLOOR…LISA DID A GREAT JOB NICE HOTEL…ALL THAT FOOD…ALL THAT SINGING HAPPY BIRTHDAY…YA YA YA…THE SLIDE SHOW…FOOD…CEMETERY…NEVER THOUGHT THAT COULD BE FUN AND SAD AT THE SAME TIME…
MEETING RELATIVES…COUSINS…HAVING MY FAMILY THERE…MOST OF THEM…I’VE MADE A TRUE SWEDE OUT OF NORM EXCEPT FOR EATING HERRING…HE GETS THE LAST SEAT ON THE VIKING SHIP…I’LL BE BACK THERE HELPING HIM ROW…FOOD…COUSINS ALL OVER THE PLACE…EATING BREAKFAST…MORE FOOD….DO ANY OF YOU GET THE IDEA SWEDES LIKE FOOD…AND THE CONFERENCE CENTER…EVERYONE WHO WENT SEEMED SPIRITUALLY UPLIFTED…TO EXPLAIN…NANCY DORIS AND I GOT LIFTED UP BY TALKING AN BEING WITH EACH OTHER…MY SISTERS DO THAT TO ME…DORIS YOU ARE THE GREATEST…NANCY TOO…NO MORE ARGUING THAT ISSUE…THOSE ALBUMS ARE FANTASTIC NAN…THANKS AND A BIG HUG…JUST BEING WITH YOU ALL…WE ARE TO HAVE JOY AND EACH ONE OF YOU GAVE NORM AND I THAT…NOW ALL YOU VIKINGS GET SET TO ROW THE BOAT…MORE COUNTRIES TO INVADE…MORE FOOD TO EAT….MORE TALKING…MORE FOOD….
THANKS MOM AND DAD LINNEA AND SWEN FOR MAKING THIS FUN WEEKEND FOR THIS SWEDE…WHO CAN’T EVEN TALK SWEDISH BUT EATS LIKE ONE…I LOVE YOU IS GREAT IN ANY LANGUAGE…THANKS TO EACH OF YOU FOR MAKING THIS A SPECIAL TIME FOR THE ANCIENT ONE…MOM/INEZ
I saw something in one of my Mom’s journals last night that caught my eye as it also expresses the sweet, gentle, kind soul that she was:
“I like to buy cards and mail them for birthdays, illness or just for fun.” “I like to putter in the garden.” “I like feeding birds.”
Those journals are also filled with her love for the Savior Jesus Christ. The beautiful things she wrote will be a treasure for many generations.
How we will miss our wife, sister, mother, grandmother and great grandmother! As I think of my mother’s life, I am reminded of a stanza from a favorite poem:
“Life is thus a moment only—
Only a dissolving of ourselves
In other selves
As a hearty gift.”
What a beautiful gift was my Mother’s life—given with so much love and joy!
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
A Few Memories of My Mom by Kathryn Bates 8/2/20
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