Remembering Mom

The loss of my mother has been very hard for me. I was an only child, and my father died when I was nine, so it me and Mom against the world, always. She was a wonderful mother, who taught me that there is nothing out of reach if you are willing to work hard. She taught me the value of education. She taught me what unconditional love is really all about and was an example of kindness, patience and humor. There is a huge hole in my heart and life, and I miss her every day. She was SO proud of me, and SO proud of my children. They were the greatest joy of her life, as they continue to be the greatest joy of my life every day. She was never hesitant to tell us all how much she loved us.

This is a brief eulogy we read at her memorial serivce:

Mary Louise “Billie” Noble -- Nov. 29, 1919 to Nov. 29, 2007

Before we begin, we want to thank each of you for coming to join us this evening. Mom's passing was sudden, even though she was 88, she was in good health, and we feel very blessed that she was not ill, and did not suffer. She was loved and cherished by many people in her life, and our family will miss her.

Mary Louise Noble, known by her many friends and family as "Billie" was born in Farnam, Nebraska, on November 29, 1919 to Virgie Spangler Crossgrove and Merle Crossgrove. She was their second child; however, her older sibling, a boy, named Vernon, and had died at 4 days of age.

She grew up on the farm in the 1920's with no electricity, running water or indoor toilets. She suffered a severe injury to her knee at the age of 2, and her parents feared she would never walk without a crutch. Her doctor wanted to break her leg and re-set it, but her mother intervened and refused to let him do it, instead doing her own version of physical therapy and encouraging Billie to walk. With the help of a tiny chair, built by an uncle and a large gray tabby cat on whom she leaned, she learned to walk again and even to run.

Her sister was born when she was four, and they have had a close relationship throughout their lives. One very vivid memory she often told of was when she and her sister, Dorothy, were walking home from school and Billie threw a lunchbox at her, causing a cut on Dorothy's head, which bled and bled. Of course, Dorothy was upset and crying, and covered in blood. Billie said her mother was so frightened by the blood that she never even was punished for her misdeed. Of course, she never threw anything at anyone ever again!

She loved school and did very well. She had a love of reading from a very early age, and although was only allowed to finish the 8th grade of formal education, continued to read nearly everything she could throughout her life. She would often go to the library and come home with 5-6 books and have them all read in 2-3 days. And one of her favorite presents was a gift card for Border's, since she really enjoyed spending money on a good book. She love biography and history, and even collected cookbooks and bibles.

She grew up during the "Great Depression" and the dust bowl of the 1930's, and her parents struggled to get by. They grew a lot of their own food and Grandma Crossgrove sold eggs in town for extra cash. Billie left home at the age of 17, in 1937, and moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where she got a job as a maid and governess for a wealthy family. She made $6.00/week, and sent $4/week home to the farm. She took care of the children, cooked and cleaned and had Sunday's off. At one point, she got appendicitis, and had to have surgery--that was the only time she cut back on the amount of money she sent back home, since she had to pay her hospital bill.

It was in Lincoln she met Vivion O. Noble, and fell in love. World War II was raging, but the US was not yet fully involved. Vivion moved to California to find work, and Billie followed, staying with her future sister- and brother-in-law, Genevieve and Jim Whitmer, until she and Viv were married on November 2, 1944. She worked for the telephone company and was chief operator when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7. She recalled how the switchboard "lit up like a Christmas tree" as many people tried to call friends and family in Hawaii, and told the operators the terrible news about the bombing.

She continued to work for the phone company, and Viv worked for the engineering firm, Bendix. Briefly in 1952 they returned to Nebraska, thinking they might farm, but it quickly became obvious they would not make a go of farming on 160 acres, and they returned to Los Angeles, Viv returning to his job at Bendix and Billie, being pregnant at the time, stayed home to raise their daughter, Barbara, born November 7, 1952. In 1956, she and Viv opened their home to a young Hungarian refugee, Sandor Osvath, who came to learn English and loved their home so much, he stayed for 4 years, and became their "adopted" son.

Motherhood was the greatest joy of her life, and she made a beautiful and loving home for her family. On December 22, 1961, her husband, Viv, died suddenly of a blood clot to the lung, leaving her alone to care for her young daughter. She opened an Antique Shop, but as she often said, she wasn't a very good at dickering, and it was not successful. Billie and Barbara moved to New York, to be closer to Billie's sister and her family, and then, after her Father became ill in Nebraska, they moved to Kearney, Nebraska to be closer to her aging parents. For the next several years, she and Barbara spent every weekend in Gothenburg, helping her parents with shopping, household chores and laundry. After Billie's father died, her mother moved to a retirement apartment in Kearney. Billie also helped care for her Aunt, Nora La Bounty, who lived in a nursing home in Kearney in her later years as well. In Kearney, Billie worked for the Nebraska Book Company, and managed their very successful college book store first in an off-campus location called the College Book Store and Market, and then on-campus as the Antelope Book Store. She retired from there in 1987 after 23 years of service.

Barbara married Randall Parker December 2, 1971, and they have 3 children, Erik, Elinor and Ethan. Billie often said her grandchildren were the "frosting on the cake", and she was devoted to them. After her retirement, Billie moved to Lawrence, KS to be closer to her family and grandchildren. She soon moved into the Parker household and has been there ever since, managing the household and caring for her family. She was tremendously proud of her family, and supported and encouraged them to follow their dreams throughout their lives. Since her own education had been cut short, and she often felt handicapped by her lack of education, she strongly believed encouraged and supported her family's educational goals, and was tremendously proud that they all graduated from college(except for Ethan, who is still going to college!).

She loved animals, and was never without a dog or cat and usually more than one of each. She especially loved Siamese cats and dachshund dogs, and owned a number of each throughout her life. She was quite a collector, and had collections of many types--she collected coins, violets, doxie dogs, Siamese cats, Tea Leaf Ironstone China, cookbooks, Santas, and bibles. She loved to cook and made the best apple pie on earth. We joke that in her later years she took up furniture breeding, because it seemed like every time we turned around, she had another piece of furniture in the house to stick in a corner somewhere. But she did love and collect antiques.

She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and regularly attended meetings until recently, when it was too difficult for her to sit for long periods of time.

Billie will always be remembered by those who love her for her warmth and kindness, her strength of character and devotion to her family. We will miss her every day.