Eudean Worthington

Born 17 May 1897 in Nephi to Charles Edward Worthington and Mary Eliza Anderson
Married Raymond Peter Olsen 19 May 1915 in Manti
Eudean-Earl
Died 25 May 1976 in Ferron
Buried in Emery




1900 Census
1910 Census
1920 Census
1930 Census

Earl R Olsen's memories of his mother Eudean transcribed by Iris Olsen

She did a lot of reading. She was an excellent cook. She was the Relief Society secretary for many years. She handled the ward finances for years. She had a really good business head on her.

She, with Dad was a member of the Cowbell Association for the State of Utah. For some time she was the State Historian of the Cowbell Association. They traveled all over the United States each year going to conventions.

She crocheted, knitted, and sewed on the sewing machine. She was very clean in the home and was not afraid of hard work. She had a bigger foot than Dad. She was a very hard worker.

She had wonderful dinners in the summertime for the men who would help with the threshing of grain on our property.

She was a very strict mother and could put you in your place in a minute. When I was a young boy, while Dad was on his mission, I knew that she was scared to death of mice. One day I brought into the house some baby mice without their skin to show her. She quickly kicked me out of the house.

As a teenager, she came from Sanpete County to stay with Ella Peacock and her family. Evidently she did not get along with her father and had to leave home and earn her own living. It was while living with the Peacock's that she met Dad. He met her on the street one day and the spirit told him that she was to be his wife.

One night she and Dad were across the street visiting with Alonzo and Wyone. While coming home her hip cracked and broke. She was laid up a long time and eventually results of this break was one of the causes of her death. While healing I went to their home every day at noon without fail and helped her walk and visited with them.


Iris Olsen's memories of her grandmother Eudean

She was a wonderful cook. I remember our family dinners around that table in the dining room and the kitchen table. I can see her now bringing in bowls of wonderful jellos, meats, etc. It was an elegant time. I remember her bathroom. It was so white–everything in it was white. I loved to go into her pantry. There were so many goodies in there. Also, she usually had two or three types of homemade cookies. When asking if we want a cookie, she asked me once and I hesitated and said something like, "I don't know." Instead of offering me again, she said, "Well I guess Iris does not want one." She did not offer again and there I sat wishing I had a cookie and watching everyone else eat one.

Biography of Eudean written by Cleon Olsen Killpack

My Mother, Eudean Worthington Olsen, was born May 17, 1897, at Nephi, Utah, to Charles Edward and Mary Eliza Anderson Worthington. She was the first child of the family. She later had the following sisters and brother: Ruby, born July 8, 1900; Dessie Verene, born April 30, 1903; Edna Elizabeth, born February 2, 1908; Theron C., born June 2, 1912; and Leta J., born March 22, 1914.

She was baptized on September 2, 1905 by Thomas W. Vickers and confirmed by John S. Cowan, September 3, 1905. Her schooling commenced at Nephi on September 8, 1903. She was graduated at Emery, Utah, May 1, 1911. Some of her friends were Delila Foote, Ella Olsen, and Maybell Peacock.

She was born in Nephi, but when she was six years old the family moved to Emery, Emery County, Utah. She often told the story of how she helped drive the cow. There used to be a tunnel on the road through Salina Canyon. She said she walked and drove the cow through the tunnel while the others rode in the wagon. She was frightened of the dark. Jean and Faye heard her tell the story and one of them made the boast that their grandmother had walked from Nauvoo (instead of Nephi).

As a young girl she went to work for Briggie Peacock in Emery. He had a large family and a store in the town. She cooked, washed and ironed. I believe she got a dollar a week for wages and part of this was in script which had to be spent in the store. She made baking powder biscuits every morning for breakfast. She often said that if she was out late at night on a date, she had to get up earlier the next morning. Mr. Peacock’s philosophy was - if you dance, you must pay the fiddler. Mr. Peacock had a daughter a little older than she. Her name was Eleanore, called Ella. They were friends and married brothers. The two families were always very close.

She talked a great deal about her Grandmother Anderson. She said she used to stay with her and loved her very much. I imagine the family must have visited in Nephi and Fountain Green as that was where their family was from. As a child I remember going to visit Aunt Jane. She was living in Nephi. She was my Grandfather Worthington’s sister. She was a little short lady with brown hair done up in a bun in back.

I remember she had some good fruit cake to eat.

After she was married they worked together for Tade Olsen, G. L. Olsen’s father, on a ranch. They got $40 a month as wages. They lived in a tent. They built a house in Emery and when Earl was six years old her husband was called on a mission. She took in boarders: Rose Boss and Alice Probst, school teachers. She made butter and sold all the spare lumber they had to keep him in the mission field.

She told the story of how she needed some money to send to her husband, Raymond, who was on a mission and did not have any. She went outside and saw a dollar bill lying on the ground. She picked it up and dollar bills kept appearing until she had enough.

I was born September 23, 1923, and when I was two years old, I remember being in Ephraim with Grandma Olsen while they went to Salt Lake. We went to the train station every day and then went to the cemetery where Ethel was buried. I remember crying in the night and Earl ringing a little silver bell to make me stop crying.

As a girl at home, Mother never told me to do the work, we did it together, then we would go to Grandma’s or do something special. I did not mind housework. I remember her ironing temple clothes on her kitchen table. That was when I decided I wanted a temple marriage.

Mother had one of the first permanents in Emery. I remember the man coming to our home with his big machine and putting the hair up on hot rods. Many women came to watch.
Marvell was born September 29, 1929. I remember he was the first child born in Emery after we got electricity. Aunt Ruby came to stay with us while Mother was in bed. Opal and I made the bed in the little bassinet many times for the special baby boy. All of our children used that bassinet.

Mother was one of the best seamstresses in Emery. Our home was the place where the women gathered to sew burial clothes for the dead. Complete temple outfits were made by the women. These could not be purchased ready made, or perhaps they were too expensive, as they are today. Many of my Mother’s sisters’ children came to stay at our home at different times. My mother told me that in her Patriarchal blessing she was told that her home should be a resting place for many, and it truly was.

She was the Secretary of the Missionary Fund. She kept very accurate records and the money was safe in her keeping. She kept the records in a gray ledger book. She was also secretary in the Relief Society when Adelaide Brinkerhoff was president with Virtue Anderson and Carrie Hansen as counselors.

Relief Society day was my day to cook the evening meal, as their meetings and visits lasted late into the day. The meal I remember cooking was spare ribs and winter squash. I have tried to cook it and make it taste as well, but perhaps it was the old black cookstove that gave it its flavor. She was also in the MIA with Mabel Jensen and Eve Jensen. They took the young women to Salt Lake City for a trip.

She was always supportive of her husband in his various church and civic positions. He was Second Counselor in the Bishopric with G. L. Olsen as Bishop and Ed Anderson as First Counselor for sixteen years. He was Mayor for many years, on the town council and President of the Canal Company and member of the Cattle Board. They went on many trips to Salt Lake City in these capacities and always enjoyed this. They always went to General Conference in Salt Lake City. In their later years they were especially active in the Cattle Association both locally, statewide and nationally. They, together with Home and Mabel Jensen, and Helen and Sam Lewis attended state and national conventions. They enjoyed this.

She was a member of the State and National Cowbell Association (charter member). She had a great collection of bells given her at these contentions. She liked to dress nicely and always looked pretty.

She and her Mother had a very special relationship. They enjoyed the company of each other and spent many hours together. I was privileged to go with her. Opal was usually at Grandma’s. They lived there for a while and then moved, but not far away. I would try to get Opal to go and ask Grandma for a piece of bread and jam, but did not want Grandma to know it was for me. I would tell Opal, “Go and tell Grandma me and Cleon want a piece of bread and jam.” Invariably she would say, “Cleon said to tell you we want a piece of bread and jam.”

When I was in the sixth grade my parents took up a homestead. This meant that we would live on it six months of the year. For three months in the summer we lived there in a one-room, log cabin and a tent. This was very enjoyable for my parents, but devastating for me. I was not included in summer fun and it made me different, but they proved the homestead and accomplished their goal.

When I was in the eighth grade it was finally over. They had a Model-T Ford which was used for special occasions and the rest of the time they used a wagon and team of horses. The cabin was right by the canal and Mother was always afraid Marvell would be drowned. One day he came up missing and it was a pretty frantic situation until he was found asleep in the Model-T which was parked under a tarp.

On February 17, 1944, Marvell died in his sleep during the night. He made a cry and when they reached him he was dead. This was very hard for my parents to bear. They never really got over it. He was only fourteen years old. The doctor said it was probably a heart attack.

The following April, Ray went into the armed forces and my baby son, Robert, and I went home to Emery from Ogden to live.

At this time they remodeled their home and indoor plumbing was installed. G. L. Olsen had a hardware store and helped all the people in Emery to modernize their homes. They did not have a furnace, however. Robert and I got up at 5 a.m. every morning and made the fires and got things ready for the day. We lived there for two years. We spent the long nights playing Rook and listening to the radio for news of the war. Robert became more like their son than a grandson. They loved him and tended him and he grew into a little boy, taking his first steps and saying his first words in the home of his grandparents who loved him very much.

Earl and Dixie and family lived in Dragerton during the war. He worked at the coal mine. Dad took care of his farm and livestock and always helped him in this way so he could earn a good living for his family.

After they retired and Earl took over the farm and livestock, my parents enjoyed their membership in the State and National Cattlemen’s Association. They enjoyed visiting with their family and friends. My Mother made many beautiful quilts, handkerchiefs and other handmade articles which she gave as gifts. She loved to try new patterns.

This was changed when she fell and broke her hip. This was on the 4th of July. She was hospitalized and tried to recuperate, but when she was getting along pretty good, she fell again and this was more traumatic. She eventually had to be placed in the Emery County Nursing Home. Dad went with her. She died there May 25, 1976. She was buried May 28, 1976, at Emery, Utah.

They were the parents of three children; grandparents of ten and had many great-grand children whom they loved as their own.

My Mother was also my friend.