Inez Lucretia Parsons Ashcroft
Funeral Services
Funeral Services for Inez Lucretia Parsons Ashcroft
Cedar City West Stake House
December 16, 1989
Organ Prelude Music by Mary Jane Seamons (Hymns and Primary Songs)
Bishop Rodney A. Brown Conducting:
In the book of Mosiah we are told, “Now because of the covenant which you have made, ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons and his daughters, for behold this day he hath spiritually begotten you for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and daughters.” Today we are gathered to honor the memory of one of his choice daughters, Sister Lucretia Parsons Ashcroft, someone that has strengthened our community, and continues to strengthen that community and many other communities through her family and extension of her family. Prelude and Postlude were, and will be, played by Sister Mary Jane Seamon. Prayer at the mortuary was offered by R.H. (Hal) Hansen, who is a son-in-law. We will have a musical selection now by the 2nd Ward Double Trio, “Prayerful Hour,” accompanied by Sister Mary Jane Seamon and the opening prayer will be offered by Brother Kenneth G. Ence, a son-in-law of Lucretia.
Prayerful Hour, sung by a Double Quartet composed of Maude Halverson, Necia Mullett, Diane Shirley, Sherrill Lunt, Jackie Riddle-Jackson, Jacque Marchant, Carol Carter, and Maralyn Dotson
“May we in this hour look up to thee
And humbly ask for faith and charity
With love for God, love and understanding for each other
We offer this prayer.
Father on high, who rules the cloud,
Give us the strength to follow where thou leadeth,
And give to us patience in the little things
And strength in all our trials.
May we follow, ever humbly follow.
Grant, O Lord our Prayer.
Light for us the way. May we thy servants be each day.
Give us tender patience and strength in all our trials.
May we follow, ever humbly follow.
Grant, O Lord, our prayer.
Light for us the way. May we thy servants be each day. Amen.
Prayer by Kenneth G. Ence
“Father, Humbly we bow our heads before thee this afternoon to remember the life of Sister Inez Lucretia Parsons Ashcroft. She’s been a friend to all of us and we are thankful for the love she has shown us, for the sweet spirit she carried with her and for the helpful hand that she has been to all of us. We’re thankful for the gospel plan at this time, Father in Heaven, for the assurance it gives us that we will be seeing Mother Ashcroft again. We ask thee to bless us, as her family, that we might live the proper way that we will be able to be reunited once again. Bless the proceedings of these services that everyone will be able to control their feelings, will be able to control and give to the best of their ability their thoughts, that we may gain the things that we would like to hear today, and we ask these blessings in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Bishop Brown
The sisters in the trio all have special feeings in their hearts for Sister Ashcroft, as I know all of you do, which is why you are here today. The family and Sister Ashcroft asked if a dear friend of hers, Kathryn Applegate, would be a speaker and give the eulogy. She also asked if Brother Leon Chidester would speak to us today. We’ll begin that way with Sister Applegate and then Brother Leon Chidester, and then we’ll have a musical selection from a granddaughter, LuAnne Brown -- “Londonderry Air,” accompanied by Sister Emily Carter.
Eulogy -- Kathryn Applegate
Sister Ashcroft became a very dear friend of ours. They called President Ashcroft to be President of the Irish Mission, and it was there we became very close. Sister Inez Lucretia Parsons Ashcroft was born the 17th of November, 1906, to James Henry Parsons and Inez Cooley Parasons -- the second child, the second girl. Her father ran a farm, so Lucretia learned the skills that most of the boys in the family have. She learned to milk the cows, tromp the hay,
ride the derrick horse, mow and rake the hay, and when she was a little older she tried to plow with four horses, but she said the rows were so crooked that they never asked her again.
The only school they had in the small town where she grew up was up to grade 6. Her older sister, when she finished the school there, waited for one year ad then she and Lucretia moved into Logan where they went to school. You know Sister Ashcroft -- they had four years of high school and two years of college, but Lucretia finished it all in five years, receiving her teaching certificate. The two of them rented a room where they had to go down an alley, up some outdoor steps to get to their room.
She said her first great adventure was when she was eight years old. Her mother took her on the train into Logan to be baptized. The train ride was so exciting for her. She never forgot how wonderful it was. When she started doing her personal history she found that President Ashcroft was baptized that same day in the Salt Lake Temple.
Lucretia’s mother was a good seamstress and taught her daughter to sew. When Anne was old enough she wanted to take dancing lessons Sister Ashcroft made all the costumes for the girls in the class. The girls always had new dresses for Easter, Christmas, and to start school each year.
When Charles was born the doctors said he would not live to see his third birthday, but with his mother’s love and care and his dad’s love and concern he lived to be a teenager. The girls said they had never seen a grey hair in their dad’s head until Charles died -- then he went grey almost overnight. Like most children, they had the children’s diseases that came along, but kept them away from Charles. Anne said she pulled him to school in a little wagon for a few years, then they bought her a bicycle so she could pump him to school.
Theron and Lucretia always had a church job if possible. It was when she was called to be Stake Primary President that she asked me to be on the board, and it was here that I met her. What a wonderful organizer she was. A few years later President Ashcroft was called to be our stake president, and while he was still stake president they called him to be president of the Irish Mission. He asked Brother Mark E. Peterson if there was a chance that if he could get any couples from our stake would they send them to Ireland. He said, “You send them across my desk and I’ll see that they come to Ireland.” So Bishop Hulet came and asked us how we would like to go to Ireland on a mission. It was wonderful when we stepped off that plane and Sister Ashcroft put her arms around me and said, “Welcome to Ireland.” Jim and President Ashcroft were also embracing and shaking hands.
In June before we came home in December, my mother died. Sister Ashcroft said to the President, “I feel we should go check on the Applegates. I feel they have a problem we need to know about.” The next morning at 9 o’clock they knocked on our door. Again it was so good to see them. She was a spiritual person. I think she knew I needed her. We didn’t have a telephone when we moved over there -- telephones were for rich people, but when President Ashcroft wanted Jim to call, he always sent us a telegram that we got at 6 o’clock in the morning and said, “Call Redhill.” One time they called us to see if we could come in and help them. I think it was 17 elders that were coming in and Sister Nichols and Nanny of course had the weekends off. So we went in and helped and a few weeks later they called us again and said, “Could you come in? Bring clothes for 3 or 4 days.” So we went in and he said, “We want to take you south with us.” So it was then that we saw most of Ireland. They stopped at the old castles. They stopped at one where they kissed the Blarney Stone. And of course, knowing me, you’d know I kissed the Blarney Stone. In June I said to the President, “What do you think about us going to the London Temple?” and he sat there for a minute and then he looked up and smiled and he said, “Well, I’ll sign your recommend.” So we went to the London Temple, which we likely wouldn’t have done in December when we were released to come home.
Whenever we went into the Mission Home they always seemed glad to see us, and whenever any of the General Authorities came they always called us and had us come in. Many nights we stayed at Redhill. They named their houses over there as well as their children. When we came home in December, of course we spent a few days with each of our children and the first time we went to the temple, President Ashcroft, having been ordained now as one of the Temple Presidency, said, “President Whipple would like to see you.” So ten years and two months later we were released -- such happy years!
The girls were telling us about a trip they made to Oregon. The older ones picked cherries, then thinned apples and pears. They picked apples in the early fall. They came home with quite a bit of money and they all worked very hard. They said Sister Ashcroft fell out of one of the trees one day and bruised her quite badly so she had three days off to rest and they all envied her a litte bit. Sister Ashcroft always loved flowers and her yard showed it. President Ashcroft always had a great big garden and Sister Ashcroft always took care of everything -- bottled and froze, dried. If any was left over they gave to friends or President would say, “Put it up for Marie, or Susan, or Kay, or Judy, or Maureen.” She always said, “I hope I won’t ever be a burden to my children,” and so very few days she had to have help. The last few years she did go to extraction. We went in one day and she had been to extraction and she said, “I didn’t know whether I could get back across the street or not.” She was a friend to us -- a wonderful friend. This poem always reminded me of her. She was so much a good influenc in my life.
“There’s a comforting thought at the close of the day,
When I’m weary and lonely and sad,
That sort of grips hold of my crusty old heart
And bids it be merry and glad.
It gets in my soul and it drives out the blues,
And finally thrills through and through.
It’ just a sweet memory that chants the refrain,
‘I’m glad I touched shoulders with you.’
“Did you know you were brave?
Did you know you were strong?
Did you know that you helped when I erred?
Did you know there was one leaning hard?
Did you know I waited and listened and prayed?
And was cheered by your simplest word?
Did you know that I longed for the smile on your face,
For the sound of your voice ringing true?
Did you know I was stronger and better because
I had merely touched shoulders with you?
“I am glad that I live, that I battle and strive
For the place that I know I must fill.
I am thankful for sorrows. I’ll meet with a grin
What fortune may send, good or ill.
I may have no wealth, I may not be great,
But I know I shall always be true
For I have in my life that courage you gave
When once I touched shoulders with you.”
Speaker -- Leon Chidester
“But in humility let your adornment be the hidden person of the heart, in which there is nothing corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price.” Just a matter of weeks ago, my wife and I were in a care center in South Jordan watching with her mother in her last hours here on earth, and while we were there I became aware that Anna Seamon, a former member of our ward was also there. I decided that I would find her room and bring her greetings from her friends here in Cedar City. I found her in her bed. She smiled as I came in, happy to have a visitor. I took her hand and introduced myself. She was pleased to know that I was from Cedar City, but she couldn’t remember me. Who was my wife? No, she couldn’t remember her either. “My mind isn’t working for me anymore,” she explained. “I have trouble remembering. But I can remember all the names of my stepchildren I helped to raise,” she added, “and I remember Sister Lucretia. Tell me about Sister Lucretia. How is she?” And so for a few moments we spoke lovingly of Sister Ashcroft. A couple of days later, I met Sister Lucretia at I.G.A., where she had walked with her little grocery cart -- I suspect as much for sunshine and fresh air and exercise as for food items that she needed. I conveyed Anna’s greetings to her. She thanked me and said, “I worry about Anna. I write to her every week, but I don’t hear back. I wish I could help her more.” That’s Sister Ashcroft, and I wonder this afternoon how many people through these long valleys, across these high deserts, over this wide world, had their lives touched and blessed by this gentle sister. I am wondering how many hearts, both here and beyond, are remembering her with us today.
To remember. We have met here this afternoon to remember the life and example of this saintly woman, to mourn as the Doctrine and Covenants admonishes us, in godly sorrow, the passing of a mother, a grandmother, a great grandmother, a sister, a dear friend, and to celebrate a reunion beyond the veil of two people whose love bound them together in unique and wonderful ways. On these occasions when we are asked to recall and review a life, I realize again that I can effectively speak only for those moments when my own life has toughed that life. Many of you have known and interacted with Sister Lucretia as a very vibrant and dynamic presence. I knew her primarily in another phase of her life, no less productive, no less supportive and filled with love, but a quieter, more reflective phase. But perhaps my thoughts this afternoon will call up to your mind happy moments you shared in your unique way with this good woman. As I remember on these occasions, I find myself slipping back to beginnings of my experiences with individuals. I find strength and comfort in recalling how it began. But I’ve been surprise as I’ve thought back about this sweet sister that I am remembering a constant, supportive presence rather than some portent, latent event as a beginning.
I go back to the fall we moved to Cedar City -- a strange new place to our children -- and of particular concern to our oldest daughter who was just begining kindergarten that fall. We were renting the Foley home, and since my wife was busy at home with three younger children, it became my job to help my daughter learn how to find her way home from South Elementary. We identified landmarks. I said to her, “Look Alyce, you carefully cross the street here and then you walk straight until you come to these two houses that have little walls in front of them, and then you turn and walk this way until you find home.” And it worked. And I have wondered at times since if Sister Ashcroft could have known that her little wall served as an important landmark in a little life -- a way to find home, as Lucretia’s own life has continued to serve as a firm landmark for so many others -- a way to find home -- here, and in heaven, as your life, and my life must surely do. And maybe it’s significant that the house my wife and I ultimately bought for a home has a little wall in front, just as Sister Lucretia’s did. On those walks back and forth to kindergarten, it didn’t take us long to discover who lived in the corner house -- That was Dr. Brown, who became our dentist. And on that same street there was Dr. Farnsworth, who became our doctor. Mel Cowley, who became our druggist, the ladies who worked at the hospital, the grocer, the men with car businessess and garages, and many other kind people. But it took us a bit longer to get to know the people in the second house down with a little wall in front -- an older couple, patient, loving, concerned -- for they seemed to be there for a while and gone for a while and back for a while, and I didn’t understand for a long time that I was wondering about a unique couple that, in a very quiet and competent way, had devoted their lives to the Lord. Brother Theron and Sister Lucretia, who had become landmark models for my life, as their little wall had been a landmark for my daughter. And I had been reminded of these people who quietly wear their lives away doing the often unrecognized work of the Lord. These people have a name. President J. Reuben Clark once called them “They of the Last Wagon.” They are the laborers in the Lord’s vineyard. They are the meek and the humble of the earth who bear the harvest in -- the elect of God, holy and beloved. Jesus simply called them “My Friends.”
Called by whatever name, they are they who find strength and meaning in the inward person of the heart and whose adornment is a meek and quiet spirit. And this afternoon I think I would testify to you another name in the books, the Lord’s Book of Remembrance, his list of those loved friends of the Savior. There, one will find Lucretia.
As I ultimately became better acquainted with Brother Theron and Sister Lucretia, I came to know that they, in years past, had come from the greener northern part of the state to teach at the college, that they had raise their family here, counted pennies, bought a house that became a home to their children, educated their children and sent them out into the world, so much as my wife and I were trying to do. I discovered that Brother Theron liked to garden, as I did, that Sister Lucretia loved flowers, as I did. I found myself identifying. I found myself thinking about them and the way they lived, and what they shared as I walked past their home on my way to the college. I found in their lives traits from the most spiritual to the most practical -- traits that spoke to me. One small example that has many meanings --Brother and Sister Ashcroft, as we had heard, were not much for waste. They had come through the depression. They had counted pennies, they had a large family, they knew how means get stretched to the limits. The night before the first killing frost, their garden was shared with friends and neighbors, rather than left to be wasted. I trust that the family won’t object to my mentioning mornings in their little blue Volkswagon “bug” they sometimes drove behind some of the grocery stores here in town and when they found boxes of bread or pastries put out to be thrown away, perfectly good, but dated, they would gather some up and share it around the ward, often some for my family. And my kids, knowing that we didn’t often buy those sort of things would ask, “Where did these good sweet rolls come from?” And I would just say, “From the Ashcroft bakery.” They tasted sweet as manna. When our sons went on missions, there were envelopes with money from them. When our son got sick on his mission, they understood (as former mission parents). They were there. She was there. And how do you speak of it? Of the constant love and support of a kindly friend any more than you can of your own mother or grandmother? -- you’re too close.
On my walks back and forth to the college I often went down Second West and passed the Ashcroft home. I often saw Sister Lucretia at the window or in the yard and waved and spoke to her. I occasionaly had opportunity to visit with her there in her home. I occasionally had opportunity to visit with her there in her home. In recent years, as Brother Theron went on ahead to prepare another more lasting home for them, Sister Lucretia’s health became more of a concern, as life’s circumstances changed and the decision was made to sell their home and have her move into an apartment. I didn’t see her as often and our contacts became oriented much more around the ward -- the ward activities and meetings, but things didn’t really change. Sister Lucretia was still very much the same. She was always there, always prepared with the lesson reading assignment -- quiet most often, but when she spoke there were gems of wisdom and experience, hard won and deeply felt, freely shared.
I remember her speaking of the process as mission parents of sorting out, kindly, gently, mission records of hasty baptisms, lost members, wavering branches. And I loved the anecdote she recently shared with us in Brother Mecham’s Sunday School class, which she enjoyed so much. President and Sister Kimball had come to Ireland to help conduct some needed church business. Going by car from one city to another across the beautiful green countryside. Lucretia rode in the back with Sister Kimball. Theron drove and President Kimball was busy doing paper work. Every few minutes, Sister Kimball would tap President Kimball on the shoulder and say, “Spencer, look at this beautiful view.” As Sister Lucretia reported the incident to us, President Kimball finally turned to his wife and said, in a firm but very kind and gentle voice. “Camilla, Heavenly Father didn’t send me all the way to Ireland to look at the scenery. I’ll do this paper work and you look at the scenery and report to me about it when we get back to Sat Lake.” I suspect that that incident had special meaning in her ife because it was reflective of her own dedication to the work.
Sister Lucretia was one of those who would always come up after Sunday School class and thank you for the lesson -- “You don’t know how much your lessons mean to all of us.” She spoke of the joy in her visit to the Holy Land. She spoke of her immense joy in her family. But the thing that has impressed me most about this kind and quiet woman has gone without comment on her part -- all of the little responsibilities that so many of us so easily slip by and forget. She didn’t forget -- temple work, genealogy, family and personal histories, family to family Book of Mormons, family home evening, welfare cannery, year’s supply, secretary here, teacher there, wife of the stake president, temple worker, quietly filling her days with the Lord’s work, quietly filling her life with that peace that passes understanding, but that those of us on the outside could feel radiating and bearing us up too.
And so for a sister whose surface peace bespoke a greater peace, her life became for us a reflection of silence. “Here on the banks of this quiet pond, I turn back to watch evening fill the air. Shadows brush smooth over surface. Gentle swallows that dip to bless water with wingtips that leave only nimbus of a ripple, a shade of willows along edges. A cricket sings to silence and in reflection, light of one bright star reaches up to catch hands with a sister in this twilight walk. Wait for me while I touch God’s stillness and wonder if peace lies behond.” And there is a peace that comes from having one’s life in order. Sister Lucretia’s meek and quiet life was in order and she was prepared for this trip to be by her loved husband and sons for these holy days. And I have wondered if her decision to leave at this particular time of the year is simply an indication of that order in her quiet life -- the year comig to an end, accouts settled, loose ends tied up -- and although I can’t be sure, it wouldn’t surprise me if in these final days, when days were being numbered, if Sister Lucretia hadn’t asked the bishop for a tithing settlement. That’s the way she was. That’s the way she is. That’s the way we will find her as she comes to greet us in the quiet of the spirit world in resurrection’s sweet morning. This afternoon I would call down upon the family the peace and solace that our Savior has left for us, the comfort of a life well lived, the awareness of models firmly planted, the blessings of our Father to bear you up in these moments of separation and until you are together again, as you most assuredly will be, I pray in Jesus name. Amen”
Violin Solo by LuAnne Brown -- “Londonderry Aire”
Bishop Brown:
We have listened to some beautiul music, heard some heart felt remembrances from a dear friend of Lucretia; an inspiring, poetic message from Brother Chidester. Sister Lucretia Ashcroft was an extremely faithful member of the Church, an exemplary individual in every way. She will be greatly missed by all of us. She didn’t just endure to the end. I think she never faltered or wavered anywhere along the way. She and her husband, Theron, and their family have contributed tremendously to the 2nd Ward, the stake, the community, to the college. She served with Theron as the mother of missionaries when he was President of the Irish Mission. And again, she served with him in the St. George Temple Presidency, so her contributions have been world wide, not just local. Her life has been one of continuous service to the Lord.
When she was young she was very active in dramatics, road shows, operettas, and dance. After coming to Cedar City she continued this interest with Theron in such community productions as “Our Town” and “I Remember Mama.” She taught MIA, she was Stake Primary President, 2nd Ward Relief Society President; she was a counselor in the Stake Relief Society Presidency. After the Irish Mission service and her service in the St. George Temple Presidency, she began a one-and-a-half year call in the extraction program. She mentioned that a lot of times to the ward members, to me, and to others, how much she thought of it, and her dedication to that work was typical of her life-long service to the Church. When she became ill some time ago and it was hard for her to get over to the church, the extraction people offered to bring a machine over to her home because she wanted to keep working. She said, “No, I need the association of those workers over there,” who she loved so much. So she continued to make an effort to go back and forth to the churh to be there and to work in the extraction program. She was working on some difficult parish work, records which she completed and just turned in 9,000 names to complete that work the day that she went to the hospital. At the hospital the doctor advised the family and told Lucretia that there was little, or no, chance of recovery. Lucretia was given a blessing, and at that time she said,” Well, I don’t want a blessing to get well. I would just like a blessing that I can go as peacefully as possible,” and the Lord granted her several pleasant days. The family was called, her daughters were there with her and she was feeling really quite good for a few days and she spent individual time with each one of her daughters. They reminisced over old times and they made final plans and shared their love with each other. She reviewed and put in place a trust fund with all the money that came from the sale of the home, the mountain ground and the cabin that she loved so much up there -- all that money was put into a trust fund for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, as a missionary fund so that missionary work could continue to be done. Just after her blessing at the hospital when she was really having difficulty breathing and her heart was racing and going up and down, she took time to tell Anne to be sure and let Sister Foley know where those wash cloths were that they were making to take as Christmas gifts to their visiting teaching sisters. She had been very active in the family to family Book of Mormon program, and just this last 18 months she had sent out 211 of her testimony cards in three languages to go to different countries where her grandsons were serving and copies of the Book of Mormon to go with the cards. Her testimony will continue to be felt around the world for some time yet as these books are circulated.
Brother Chidester didn’t know when he mentioned this, but just hours before she died she sent LuAnne over with an envelope with her tithing money, letting me know that she was a full tithe payer, and that everything was complete, paid up, and in order. She was truly a faithful daughter of God. Her strength and energy and ethusiasm were just as strong when it came to family relationships as it was in her church service. Her family was very important to her and she was a major force in solidifying this family and keeping it together and making it an important thing in each of their lives.
Theron and Lucretia and each of their children held family home evening every Monday night from the time the children were little -- quite a bit before the church started emphasizing the home evening program. She collected pictures of all sorts of all the family activities and kept them organized in scrapbooks. They have had Sunday dinners for about the last fifteen years where all the family members in Cedar City would get together each Sunday. Lucretia insisted on preparing something for each of these dinners. She helped organize family reunions and made sure things went well there. The daughters and Lucretia had a sisters’ reunion every two years. I guess the last sister’s reunion was just a few weeks ago while she was in the hospital. At the family reunion two years ago Eric told LuAnne, “Your grandma is the perfect matriarch. She called everyone together for family testimony meeting at the cabin and she made sure that she was the first to bear a strong, firm testimony to each of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, confirming her belief in the gospel, letting them know how important that was to her and should be to them. When Theron was stake president and they were having visiting authorities she always had a little open house for all of the grandchildren and great grandchildren to come so that they could shake hands and meet the General Authorities that were there. Each of Lucretia’s grandsons were given something that belonged to Theron -- something that seemed particularly appropriate for that child to help him remember his grandfather. On her 80th birthday she had her picture taken and gave all of her children and grandchildren a picture, along with a special letter to each of them saying “I hope you’ll remember the enjoyable times we’ve had together -- Cable Mountain, Hole in the Rock, Dance Hall Rock, Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations -- all the places the family traveled together to strengthen these bonds of family. She was always very supportive of LuAnnne’s recitals. When she and Theron were in the Temple Presidency she arranged for a recital in the tabernacle and invited all the temple workers to come, and she prepared refreshments for all of them. Even this recent September recital when Lucretia wasn’t well at all, LuAnne says that she called several times wanting to know what she could do and how she could help. For each grandchild that got married or went on a mission she personally made a temple apron for each one of them with her own hands. I think she has made 18 so far. She hasn’t missed a one. She crocheted an afghan for each grandchild at the birth and then tied a quilt for each great-grandchild. She crocheted dolls -- you can see a little blue one over here -- one for each of her great-granddaughters. She’s done ten of these since October when she wasn’t feeling well at all, and she just finished the last one the Saturday before she died. She loved her family Christmas at Harl and Anne’s house. Christmas never started until the children, watching at the window, saw that little VW coming up the street so they could go and see their gifts.
Last mother’s day the family decided they would have some member of the family, a child, a grandchild, or a great-grandchild take one week during the year and that week they would do something special for Grandma Ashcroft -- send a gift, make a phone call, go to visit her, or something nice. Marie’s son drove all the way down from Salt Lake to take her to dinner on his week, and for each one of these things she wrote a special thank you letter to that person who honored her in that way. This last week when some of them came she said, “I’m not sure I can write a thank you to them. Will you be sure you thank them for me until I get a chanace to write to them. The grandchildren all remember the Christmas Day Brunch that Lucretia did each year for the family. They all came over and visited and enjoy some of the delicious things she had prepared. At the hospital Jeannine told her how much she loved her and how much she meant in her life. Lucretia said, “I hope so. I hope I have been some influence for good in your lives.” I don’t think we can withold our influence from people. It’s not always good, but our influence, whether good or bad, radiates out to other people around us, and Sister Ashcroft has been a tremendous influence for good in all our lives -- not just her family, but in all our lives, and the family continues that influence for good in communities through the United States and France. Kay is over there.
We all admire Lucretia and respect her. There are other things that we remember besides her church service and her family. A few of these come to mind -- her love of God’s creations of nature from the stars to the vegetables and flowers in the earth. We remember her promptness. Any of you who has ever picked her up for any occasion know that she always had her coat on and was standing out by the curb waiting for you to come by, never allowed anyone to come in and pick her up. She was there when you came, standing across the street there so you wouldn’t even have to turn around. Fantastic lunches and icy cold fresh fruit salads that she used to serve in remote places wherever they went when they took their tours all over. People wondered how she could have everything so fresh and delicious and so good, whether it was Hole in the Rock, or Nauvoo, or wherever it happened to be. She made all those lunches when they went on those bus tours across the country.
She was a wonderful seamstress. Any picture in a magazine was eough pattern for her to make a prom dress or formal or wedding gown. She sewed all of them without even having a pattern. The huge garden that she always raised and shared with friends, bottled things for family members -- all the fresh vegetables that they sold to the stores and restaurants. How she loved the cabin and the mountain. How much she enjoyed going up to the cabin with her family and taking friends and acquaintances up there and being with them.
And of course, the tremendous contribution the Ashcrofts have made to the college, the associations, they’ve made lifelong friends with people who’ve worked at the college who’ve been friends of the Ashcrofts. I think all of you could add a dozen or more other things that you remember about Lucretia. She was a fine woman, a lady in every sense of the word, and we owe her a tremendous debt of gratitude for the influence that she has been in our lives and the way she has enriched each one of us.
We will conclude our services, Brothers and Sisters, with a musical selection. Brother Floyd Rigby will sing a spiritual medley accompanied by Helen Williams. The closing prayer will be by a son-in-law, Harl Judd. Interment at the Cedar City Cemetary. Randall Peterson, another so-in-law will dedicate the grave. Pall Bearers are grandsons of Lucretia. Flowers are being taken care of by friends from the extraction program. They are honored to have the opportunity to do that for Lucretia. I would like to remind the family members that the 2nd Ward Relief Society has prepared a luncheon. It will be back here in the multi-purpose room in the stake center to give them an opportunity to visit together and reminisce about Sister Ashcroft and visit with each other for a few minutes before they have to go their various ways.
Speaking for the family, we’d like to thank all of you for your support, for the friendship you’ve expressed today, for your love for Lucretia and the family. For those who have taken part in the program or assisted in any way, we’d like to thank you for the help and love you have expressed.
Vocal Medley by Floyd Rigby -- “Star of Bethlehem” and “I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked”
“The night was long, we traveled far,
At times I looked but could not see the star,
Unveiling there, as it did then, the way to Bethlehem.
My heart held fear in puzzled joy,
For I was only a small shepherd boy
Upon a hillside, soft and green. I head an angel sing.
I saw the midnight sky arrayed with radiant angels bathed in light,
Holy light,
Bringing word that Christ was born
And beckoning to find him, go and find him.
A sweeter face I ne’er will see
Than of those loving eyes smiling up at me.
I found a king. I found a friend that night in Bethlehem.
‘I walked today where Jesus walked
In days of long ago.
I wandered down each path he knew
With reverent step and slow.
Those little lanes they have not changed,
A sweet peace fills the air.
I walked today where Jesus walked
And felt his presence there.
My pathway led to Bethlehem, the memories ever sweet.
Those little hills of Galilee that knew those childish feet.
The Mount of Olives, hallowed scenes, that Jesus knew before.
I saw the mighty Jordan roll as in the days or yore.
I knelt today where Jesus knelt, where all alone he prayed,
The Garden of Gethsemane, my heart felt unafraid.
I picked my heavy burnden up and with him by my side
I climbed the hill of Calvary where on the cross he died.
I walked today where Jesus walked and felt him close to me.
That Christmas night so long ago
Has filled my life with light because I know
That he is now, as he was then, a King in Bethlehem whose love never ends.
Shine for me again Star of Bethlehem.
Closing prayer by Harl Judd
Our Father in Heaven, at the close of these services for Sister Lucetia Ashcroft, we wish to thank thee for the opportunity to be here under such favorable circumstances. Help us to remember her and help us to put into our lives the things she has shown us how to do. We ask thee to bless those of us who are family members that we may have a special feeling about Grandma Ashcroft. Help us that we may travel safely to the cemetery, that all may be well as we go. Bless those people who have miles to travel this day to get back to their homes that they may have thy guiding and protecting care to be with them. Dismiss us now with these blessings we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
Organ Postlude Music by Mary Jane Seamon