Memories of Jackie

Last week on Wednesday, March 24^th I dropped Lisa off at the airport to go say goodbye to her mother in Edmonton and then I headed north to go say goodbye to my sister. Since I was going to be alone, Brandon decided to fly out to be with me. Greg & Gaylia and Dixie & Mark were also able to make it. It was wonderful to see family and the whole experience was therapeutic for me. I arrived home late this afternoon.

Ross asked me if I would share some memories from Jackies childhood. Melissa shared memories of Jackies adult life. I will talk about Lisa’s trip to Edmonton (quite a story) and my visit with family later but for now I wanted to share my memories of Jackie.

I have been asked for copies of my memories so below is what I shared at the funeral. It includes memories from all of Jackie's siblings.  

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On February 26, 1955 Jackie Marlene Leavitt entered this world and the world was a better place because she was in it. As I spoke with my brothers and sisters I learned that Jackie was everyone’s favorite sibling. When I think about that I realize that this is no surprise. Jackie always made you feel like you were the most important person in the world.

One of my earliest memories of Jackie was one day when all my older siblings were climbing this big tree in our front yard. Well it probably wasn’t all that big but I must have been four or five so it seemed huge to me. I couldn’t reach the lowest branch so there I was stuck on the ground while my family was all in the tree. Jackie, being who she was, could see my distress so she came down and boosted me up to that first branch so I could join everyone else.

Jackie was a natural mother. As a young girl Jackie loved to sew, cook and play house. All that homemaker kind of stuff. Mom would always try and divide up the chores so that everyone could experience a wide range of work but Jackie would always trade jobs with others so that she could stay in the kitchen rather than do yard work.

When Dixie and Jackie were little, they used to make clothes for their dolls by cutting out scraps of fabric. At first they would just tie the clothes onto the dolls but before long they were using a needle and thread, and by the time Jackie was six or seven she was using the sewing machine making nice clothes for her dolls. Both Dixie and Jackie became exceptional seamstresses. They both continued playing with dolls long after their friends did because they loved sewing clothes for them.

Jackie always wanted to play with her little dolls and I loved to play with her, but she always wanted to play house and would get quite upset when I wanted to line them up and shoot them with my dart gun.

Our farm was at the foot of a rather large hill and halfway up the hill was an irrigation ditch. Further up the hill were large sandstone rocks. We all had a ball playing in those rocks. I thought they were mountains, but they were probably no more than fifteen or twenty feet tall. On hot summer days we would cool off in the irrigation ditch which was often more mud than it was water.

Near the bottom of the hill was an artesian well that continually flowed. In the winter that made a great skating rink that must have been a mile long. 

As long as I’ve been around, Jackie has always wanted to help people. Some of my earliest memories are of Jackie taking care of me. She was three years older than me, but I saw her of more of an alternate mother than a big sister. If I was scared of something she would comfort me, if I hurt myself she would bandage me up. If I wanted my mother and she wasn’t around I would go to Jackie. At the time I thought I was someone special, but I grew to learn that she was this way with everyone. Jackie made everyone feel like they were special.

Jackie was terrified of thunderstorms. When she was about five years old a very loud thunderstorm rolled in over the farm and woke her up. Greg would have been ten at the time so Jackie went into his room looking for comfort. She told him that she was scared and asked if she could sleep with him. Greg told her to climb in. Greg tells how they formed a bond that night. Normally Jackie would much prefer being in the kitchen than out with the cows but after that night she often helped Greg with his chores.

Jackie loved to do hair and would often sit and put her sister’s hair up in fancy braids or buns or whatever it is that girls do with their hair. That was probably a good skill for Jackie to learn because she ended up with four girls and they have always had beautiful hair.

I remember one time we were on a road trip and I was resting my head on Jackie’s lap. She pulled out her makeup and proceeded to go to work on my face. I wasn’t too thrilled about the makeup but I loved the attention she gave me. When I finally sat up and put on my glasses my eyelashes kept brushing on my glasses. I’m not sure how girls with glasses use mascara.

Jackie’s willingness to spend time with her little brother continued even into her teenage years. About the time Jackie was old enough to start dating we had moved into town and our Dad decided to built a motel in Waterton Park where we spent every summer until we all left home. I loved Waterton as did our entire family. I had a built in job every summer and a huge playground.

My sisters, on the other hand, had an endless supply of boyfriends. It seemed to me that Jackie had a different date every weekend. Sometimes she had multiple dates on the same day. I remember one time she rushed into the motel from one date and was panicking trying to get the boy to leave before the next date showed up. I’m sure this was a nightmare for my parents but I loved it because Jackie, being who she is, even involved me on her dates. She let me go on her dates with her. I thought I was so mature, but it was because my sister loved me. At the time I thought that was a natural thing for a sister to do but I soon realized that I had an extraordinary sister.

I’ve wondered if she took me on these dates because she was trying to get rid of an unwanted boy, but she would take me on dates with local boys who were longtime friends. I remember Jackie and some boy eating at Franks Restaurant with Lester and I. There’s Jackie and her guy in one side of the booth and across the table is me and Lester. What kind of sister does that?

One of my favorite Jackie dates was when we would go chasing bears. The boy of the day had a fancy pickup truck with a huge spotlight that would plug into the cigarette lighter. That thing could light up the entire mountainside. We would then drive out to the dump or around the back streets of Waterton and look for bears. When we found one we would chase it down until it would run up a tree. That is when I learned that you don’t want to get between a mother bear and her cubs. Instead of running up a tree they will run towards you. That can be a bit terrifying. Jackie and her dates would also take us on trips into Waterton backcountry in highly modified Volkswagen beetles. I can hardly believe that my sister would let me hang out with her during these wonderful experiences but one thing I knew without a doubt was that my sister loved me.

One summer a film crew rolled into town. They were filming a movie called “Pioneer Woman”. The three main actors were Joanna Pettit, David Jansen and William Shatner. I didn’t know and I didn’t care who Joanna Pettit and David Jansen were, but I was very excited about William Shatner. I was a bit of a Trekkie. I might still be a bit of a Trekkie.

When they film a movie with big stars, they don’t force the stars to sit around for hours on end while they get the scene all set up and make sure the lighting is right. They hire a stand-in to do that. That summer Joanna Pettit needed a stand in. The crew looked around Waterton for someone who was of similar height and build as Joanna Pettit and they found Jackie. What a great experience that was for Jackie, but of course, Jackie, being who she is, made it a wonderful experience for me as well. She got William Shatners autograph just for me.

Jackie must have become rather good friends with the film crew and on day Captain Kirk decided that he wanted a sauna. That was good for me because our motel had the only sauna in town. Jackie arranged for Kirk to use it and Jackie arranged for me to be there when he came. I am happy to say that Captain Kirk and I have both used the same sauna, but not at the same time. I didn’t get to know him that well. Jackie even went on a date with William Shatner. Well, I say a date but I’m sure it was just that they had lunch or something like that but to me it was a momentous moment. Jackie always found a way for those she loved to share in her exciting experiences.

My dad served a mission in New Zealand and in 1968 the New Zealand missionaries who served from Southern Alberta had a big reunion. I remember it well and I had a great time, but the most important thing that happened at that reunion was that my brother Greg met Gaylia Foote. To make a long story short, Greg and Gaylia ended up getting married and our two families became good friends. That is why years later when Gaylia’s sister Diana got married, our family wanted to be there to celebrate with Diana. The way I heard it though, not everyone in our family really wanted to go. Jackie figured she had better things to do that night but she finally gave in when she was told that she could take a friend with her.

At the same time Gaylia’s Uncle Mel Foote wanted to take his family to celebrate with Diana, but his son Ross was less than enthusiastic about going. It wasn’t until Mel bribed Ross with the car that he agreed to go. The reception was in Welling, and Mel told Ross that if he went he would let him take the car into Raymond for a bit.

When Ross arrived at the reception, he saw this beautiful girl sitting across the hall. Jackie really was exceptionally beautiful. For those who know Ross, he is a fairly reserved and quiet guy, but he really wanted to meet Jackie so he worked up his nerve enough to walk over to Jackie and ask if she wanted to go drive into Raymond. Jackie was all for it, she was quite happy to get out of there. So they went and piled into Ross’s car. You can imagine Ross’s dismay when Jackie’s friend ended up sitting between him and Jackie. As it turned out, Jackie’s friend also figured that Ross was a pretty interesting guy and Ross and Jackie spent the evening trying to sit next to each other.

Despite the temporary setback, the night must have gone well because Ross set up a date for the next weekend. Jackie’s friend was not invited. After that first date there was a date pretty much every weekend right up until Ross left for his mission to Texas. Ross was quite taken with Jackie and he did his best to get a commitment from her to wait for him. The best he was able to get was a commitment to write.

Jackie had no intention of sitting around wasting away waiting for Ross so it wasn’t long before she returned to her very active dating life. However, things were different now. Of course, her new love interest started falling hard for Jackie, (who wouldn’t) but it wasn’t long before she sent him on a mission along with a promise to write. And then she did it with her next boyfriend and then one more. As best as I can figure, Jackie sent at least four boyfriends out on missions and she was writing to them all.

The first few months on his mission were tough for Ross. He had a difficult time getting Jackie off his mind and struggled with the desire to come home and marry her. Finally, he realized that the only way he was going to be able to give his mission the attention it deserved was to quit writing her. I’ve have heard of many missionaries who received a Dear John letter, but might be the only missionary I know who sent his girlfriend a Dear Jane letter. Fortunately for all of us, Jackie started writing again towards the end of his mission, and the day after Ross arrived home he drove straight to Waterton. He did stop by the Stake President’s house on the way to get released from his mission. Jackie didn’t know he was coming.  

By this time we had two motels in Waterton and Ross arrived at the Windflower while Jackie was working at the Ponderosa. Dad called down to the Ponderosa and asked Mom to send Jackie up to the Windflower. Mom told her to go get lunch ready. Ross sat and visited with Dad while they waited and before long before Jackie comes bouncing into the living quarters, took one look at Ross and turned around and left. She figured that what she was wearing was less than appropriate for this return missionary so she went and changed before she would talk to him. Ross proposed to Jackie on their second date.

When they were newlyweds Ross and Jackie lived in a trailer on his father’s farm. I was now old enough to drive so Lester and I made several trips to Fort McLeod to visit them. They eventually ended up in Cardston and when Lisa and I came to Cardston to visit family or to attend the temple we would stay with Jackie and Ross. I always felt at home with Jackie and Ross and she always made me feel that she was as glad to have me there. Jackie and Ross have moved a few times since then, but wherever she has lived I have always felt at home when I was in her home.

It is difficult for me to accept that Jackie has now moved on, but when I think of her with Mom and Dad I can’t help but smile. Thank goodness for eternal families.

Jackie’s life as a child and growing into a woman, was the foundation to a wonderful life that blessed hundreds of people in much the same way as she blessed her brothers and sisters. To do the next part of this story justice, I am going to let someone who was there talk about this chapter of Jackie’s amazing life. I will now turn the time over to Jackie’s daughter Melissa Sanders.

 

Jackie

Yesterday my sister passed away from Covid. It has completely overwhelmed me. I feel a loss much greater than I could have imagined. Because Jackie is so close to the Lord she was inspired to give me a phone call last week Wednesday. She told me that she felt impressed to call me. I am so glad she did. We had a long and wonderful conversation and it was the last time we spoke.

She told me that she had Covid but felt she was through the worst of it and was on the mend. I am not good about calling my siblings. I love them more than anything in the world but I just don’t think to call them as often as I should. I plan on changing that. Thank goodness for an inspired sister who is open to promptings from a loving Father in Heaven who knew how much I would need that call.

Later in the week Jackie’s condition declined to the point that Melissa and Ross took her into the hospital Sunday evening. They weren’t allowed to go into the hospital with her and though he didn’t say anything at the time, Ross knew that she wouldn’t be coming home. That same night they sent Jackie to Idaho Falls where she could get better treatment. Her condition was better Monday and she even texted Dixie for a while on Tuesday morning but later in the day things took a turn for the worse and they had to put her on a ventilator. That is when I got really worried. Half the people on a ventilator never get off of it.

Wednesday looked much better. She was stable and all of her organs (other than her lungs) were in good shape. They told us that in a situation like this if things weren’t getting worse then that meant that she was successfully fighting the infection.

Thursday looked promising. They had reduced her oxygen from 100% to 90% and were keeping her blood oxygen in the 90’s. We were getting hopeful.

Friday she took a turn for the worse. She was back up to pure oxygen and her blood oxygen levels were starting to drop. Late in the evening they called Ross and told him that he had better bring his family to the hospital. Her heart rate was in the 150’s and sometimes above 160. Her blood pressure was 70/50 and her blood oxygen was 50%.

At the hospital they weren’t allowed in the room as long as the oxygen was on so they stood outside and watched her through a window. When everyone was ready they turned off the oxygen and let them in her room two at a time. The girls let Ross stay in the whole time while they switched out. Five minutes after they turned off the oxygen Jackie’s heart rate dropped from 150 to 0 within five seconds.

While Lester and I were probably the closest growing up, Jackie was always my backup mother. If I needed any special attention (real or imagined) and my mom wasn’t around, then I would go to Jackie. She was always there for me. She would kiss my owies, wash and bandage my cuts and scrapes, and comfort my fears.

I have clear memories of Jackie and I playing on farm equipment back when we still lived on the farm. I also remember that we had a big tree in our front yard and my older siblings would climb the tree. I couldn’t reach the first branch and so I was unable to join them. I remember Jackie boosting me up so I could grab that first branch. Once I had the branch then I was able to join everyone else.

I also remember playing dolls with Jackie. She had these little plastic dolls maybe an inch or two tall. That became a bit of a problem because she always wanted to play house but I wanted to stand them on a box and shoot them with my dart gun.

As we grew older Jackie expressed her love in different ways. I remember a road trip we were on and I was lying with my head on Jackie’s lap. She pulled out her makeup and began decorating my face. While I wasn’t too thrilled about getting made up, I loved the attention she was giving me. I also remember her commenting on how long my eye lashes were as she was putting on the mascara. When I put my glasses back on my eye lashes rubbed against my lenses. That was inconvenient.

I have many fond memories of Jackie in Waterton. It seemed to me that she was bringing home a different boy every weekend. The coolest part was that she sometimes took me with her on her dates. I remember one time that Lester and I were with Jackie and her date eating dinner at Franks Restaurant. Her life was beginning to deviate a lot from mine because she was definitely interested in boys, but I love how she did her best to include me even in this part of her life.

One of the times I was most interested in Jackie’s life was when a movie crew moved into town to film a movie. The leading male role in this film was William Shatner. I have always been a Trekkie so William Shatner, better known and Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the Star Ship Enterprise, was and is a hero of mine. I was trying to figure out the best way to meet Mr. Shatner when he came to me. He was looking for a sauna and our hotel had the only sauna in town. Jackie made arrangements for Captain Kirk to use our sauna and he asked her out on a date. Obviously that relationship didn’t go anywhere but Jackie was definitely a hero in my book after that. She even got his autograph for me.  

My dad went on an LDS mission to New Zealand and in 1968 they had a big missionary reunion. At that reunion my brother Greg met Gaylia Foote. Greg and Gaylia got married in 1971, and at their wedding reception Jackie met Gaylia’s cousin Ross Foote.

Jackie and Ross dated for some time until Jackie sent Ross off on a mission to Texas. Of course Jackie wasn’t one to sit around pining for her missionary, and so while Ross was on his mission she sent several more boys off on missions.

After Ross served an honorable mission he returned home and promptly ended Jackie’s very busy dating life. Ross and Jackie have raised a beautiful family with a strong healthy and handsome son Justin followed by four beautiful daughters, Jamie, Stephanie, Kristen and Melissa.

When they were newlyweds Ross and Jackie lived in a trailer on his father’s farm. I was now old enough to drive so Lester and I made several trips to Fort McLeod to visit them. They eventually ended up in Cardston, and usually when we came to Cardston to visit family or to attend the temple we would stay with Jackie and Ross. I always felt at home with them and she always made me feel that she was as glad to be with me as I was to be with them. Jackie and Ross have moved a few times since then, but wherever she has lived I have always felt at home when I was with her.

It is difficult for me to accept that Jackie has now moved on but when I think of her with Mom and Dad I can’t help but smile. Thank goodness for eternal families. 

Thanksgiving

This year was supposed to be the year that our kids come home but nobody does that anymore. Sarah and Sam hung on the longest and for several years were the only ones who came home but now with his job as a Highway Patrol officer it is difficult for him to schedule holidays off. Lately however Alycia and Trevor have been coming home and they were planning on coming this weekend. Unfortunately with Covid some of the places they wanted to go to while they were out here are closed.

The one place they really wanted to see was Legoland and when they learned that it was closed they decided that it would be easier for them to just stay home and fly us out there. They suggested that we get together with Brandon and Serene and that would allow us to see ten of our seventeen grandkids. We figured it was a pretty good deal.

We arrived at Brandon’s place late on Tuesday night, visited with Brandon and Serene for a bit and then hit the hay. The next morning I was lying in bed when all of the sudden a bunch of kids piled on top of me.

I had my head under the covers and apparently they thought that was kind of funny. I then suddenly jumped up and grabbed which ever kid was closest and gave them a big hug. I think I scared them to death. It’s been a while since I’ve seen these guys so it was great to see them again.

Before the day got too busy Brandon and I went to his gym to work out. He about killed me and I’m still feeling my arms and shoulders this morning. I think I like running a whole lot better than I like working out in a gym.

 

My first order of the day was to make a couple of apple pies. I’ve always had a kid or two willing to help me out but it’s been a long time since any of them were home. Now I’m able to talk my grandchildren into helping me out and it is great. Haley made one pie almost entirely by herself and Sydney made a good portion of the other pie. They tasted delicious. Later in the day Alycia and her family arrived and we were able to all visit with each other. It was my first chance to see June since she was born and boy is she a well fed child. She is also a very content child and usually quite happy. Friday we visited the Stock Yards in Fort Worth. We’ve been there before but it was a lot more fun now that the kids are getting bigger. That was probably the best part of the whole trip.

Sydney and Hayley are truly young women now and it is so fun to have a grown up discussion with them. At the stock yards we watched the cattle drive and after that we saw a gun fight. We then went to the Fort Worth water gardens which were pretty cool.
I wasn’t to hip on that but they were taking Sydney and Hayley. I love being with all the grandkids but I really enjoyed being with the older kids so along I went.

Thursday we had thanksgiving dinner and the Quinn’s. They had a good crowd over there and it was good to see them all. It was fairly late in the day when we all headed back to Brandon’s but we left Brandon behind.

He had made earlier arrangements to go on a trip with Paul Quinn and they left right after we did. They went lawn Bowling in Arkansas.

Saturday Lisa really wanted to go and see the Magnolia place in Waco.

The stores at Magnolia are not child friendly so I played outside with the little kids while Lisa and Serene checked out the shops with Sydney, Hayley and Rosalie.

It was not my choice of things to do but it was still fun. After Waco we headed straight to the DFW airport and following a tearful goodbye Lisa and I were on the plane. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip but it was wonderful. Thank you Serene for hosting us and thankyou Alycia and Trevor for getting us there.  

 

 

Admiral William Bleigh

I learned something very interesting today. We had the Elders over to visit tonight and Lisa was sharing with them the Family History 21 day Challenge that she is doing. That conversation eventually led to us seeing if we were related to them. My genealogy is so extensive that I am related to pretty much everybody but this time it was a bit of a surprise because one of our Elders is Tongan. Well actually is mother is from New Zealand and he was raised in New Zealand but his father was Tongan.

I was very interested to see how our genealogy would connect. Our common ancestor is thirteen generations back but in the late 1700’s one of his lines jumps back to England through Admiral William Bligh. You may have heard of Bligh since he was the Captain of the Bounty in “Mutiny on the Bounty”.

So the story, as Elder Langi tells it, is that cousin William was set adrift by the mutineers along with his loyal followers. Miraculously they eventually made 3,600 miles to Australia, in this small 20 foot launch loaded with 18 men. Only one of the 18 men died at the hands of a some native on one of the islands they stopped at. 

At some point in his career Bligh ended up in Tonga with a woman named Lesieli Taufa Tofua and they had two kids, a boy and a girl. Both of these kids were born while Cousin William was married to Betsey back in England. Elder Langi, my thirteenth cousin, descends from one of Lesieli’s kids. For some reason I found this story fascinating.

My Smart Home

I may have mentioned before that I love to use “to-do” lists to keep me focused  on the important jobs that need to be done. They allow me to prioritize what  I do and help prevent me from getting side tracked. Today was a pretty productive day but at some point in the mid-afternoon I got to a job where I was to install a smart dimmer switch in our family room. There were actually three similar jobs, the smart switch, a Ring doorbell and replace a light fixture in my closet. These jobs have been on my list for months because I keep bumping them thinking that I can do these kinds of things in the evening after dark. I try and do physical work in the morning so I’m not too tired later in the day. These other jobs I could do when I’m tired.

 

So I got around to my smart switch around the mid-afternoon and had the switch wired up in about 15 minutes. I went to fire it up and it didn’t work. I got checking things out and realized that my dining room light and my kitchen light (both smart switches) didn’t work either. Well if working on one switch messed up other switches then it must have been that power to those lights came through the switch I just worked on. I double checked and I had it wired correctly so then I checked to see if I had power. Since the neutral wires had a wire nut on them I just checked the hot wire and sure enough, there was power.

I then tore apart the dining room and kitchen switches. That was a nightmare because they were two fat switches packed into a double box with a mess of wires going through it. It is a very tight fit. So I pulled those switches out and they also had power. Very confusing. I then disconnected the switches and remove them so all I have is bare wires. No fancy electronics with WiFi radios in them, just bare wires. The hot wire had power but when I touched them to the switch wire nothing happened. It didn’t seem possible.

It was then that I noticed that the lights in the computer room weren’t working either. It was on a dimmer switch so I started getting worried. The four switches that didn’t work were all switches with fancy electronics. Was it possible that I had created voltage spike and had fried all the electronics. That thought was compounded when I realized that a lamp in the front room (on a smart plug) didn’t work either.

As I thought it all out I realized that couldn’t be the problem because I had removed the kitchen and dining room switches altogether. No electronics.

After scratching my head for a while I decided to go back to the source of the problem, my new dimmer switch. I remove it entirely and looked at the wires I had left. I had a hot wire coming in and a hot wire going out. The two neutral wires for those hot wires and then I had a wire going to the light. I checked power in all the wires and confirmed that the hot wire was hot and I connected it to the wire leaving the plug for the kitchen etc. It had to take the power to the kitchen but nothing. I then connected the light to the hot wire and it worked so that was progress.

It was so confusing that I was considering calling an electrician but this wasn’t rocket science and I knew an electrician would do the same thing I was doing.

Finally, after playing with these wires for at least three hours I was pulling on one of the neutral wires and it wiggled. That was weird, these are 14 gauge solid copper wires, they are rigid and they don’t wiggle. Upon closer examination I realized that about three inches down the copper wire was broken. I have no idea how that could happen but an intermittent open circuit like that can make trouble shooting very difficult.

It took another 20 minutes to wire everything back up and get them stuffed into their boxes and Alexa was back in business. As of now every single light in my downstairs is controlled by Alexa except the computer room (its next), the laundry room, the bathroom and my office. My thermostat and television are also controlled by Alexa. Lisa listens to her radio station on Alexa and I have various playlists programmed into her. I have Christmas music, Sunday music and a “Freds Favorites” playlist. Alexa even tells us when we have an Amazon delivery. I think the next thing after the computer room will be the kitchen faucet. They have a faucet that will dispense exactly the amount of water you need. No more measuring cups. Do you like the sign Lisa got for our laundry room?