Effie Dean Woolley (1892 - 1980): Our Family History

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1892 - 1980 (88 years)

Submit Photo / Document Has 2 ancestors and 7 descendants in this family tree.

Personal Information | Notes | Event Map | All | PDF

Name	Effie Dean Woolley
Birth	27 Jun 1892	Alton, Kane, Utah, United States
Christening	4 Jul 1892
Gender	Female
Initiatory (LDS)	23 Jun 1909	LOGAN
FamilySearch ID	KWD1-7CY
Death	18 Dec 1980	Preston, Franklin, Idaho, United States
Burial	22 Dec 1980	Lewiston City Cemetery, Cache, Utah, United States
Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
Person ID	I20387	mytree
Last Modified	25 Feb 2024

Father	Ezra Foss Woolley, b. 16 Feb 1865, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States d. 20 Dec 1933, Dayton, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 68 years)
Mother	Grace Ann Hemenway, b. 10 May 1866, St. George, Washington, Utah, United States d. 13 May 1939, Preston, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 73 years)
Marriage	13 Apr 1887	St. George, Washington, Utah, United States
Family ID	F9729	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family 1 Robert Moss Lewis, b. 28 Jul 1890, Lewiston, Cache, Utah, United States d. 2 May 1909, Lewiston, Cache, Utah, United States (Age 18 years)

Marriage 17 Jul 1908 Logan, Cache, Utah, United States

Children

+	1. Robert Moss Lewis, Jr, b. 16 Mar 1909, Lewiston, Cache, Utah, United States d. 6 Jul 1985, Preston, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 76 years)

Family ID F288 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 5 May 2024

Family 2	George Alvin Brower, b. 14 Dec 1876, Lewiston, Cache, Utah, United States d. 25 Oct 1962, Preston, Franklin, Idaho, United States (Age 85 years)
Marriage	7 Dec 1913	Farmington, Davis, Utah, United States
Family ID	F9728	Group Sheet \| Family Chart
Last Modified	5 May 2024

Event Map

	Birth - 27 Jun 1892 - Alton, Kane, Utah, United States
	Marriage - 17 Jul 1908 - Logan, Cache, Utah, United States
	Initiatory (LDS) - 23 Jun 1909 - LOGAN
	Marriage - 7 Dec 1913 - Farmington, Davis, Utah, United States
	Death - 18 Dec 1980 - Preston, Franklin, Idaho, United States
	Burial - 22 Dec 1980 - Lewiston City Cemetery, Cache, Utah, United States

= Link to Google Earth

Notes

Grandma Brower was born Effie Dean Woolley in Kanab, Utah on June 27, 18 9 2. Shortly after her birth, her family moved to Cache Valley where Gran dm a grew up and where she met my grandfather. While my Grandma Benson w a s a petite, refined woman, Grandma Brower was large, loud and effervesc en t. She also had a rather crass or irreverent side that could seem quit e a musing at times to a little boy like me.

While only 16 years of age, Grandma married my Grandfather Lewis who w a s 18 at the time. They had their only child, my father, a few months la te r. Two months after the birth of my father, my Grandfather Lewis die d a t the age of 18 from a ruptured appendix. Suddenly, Grandma was a 16- year -old widow with a two-month old baby. She was emotionally and financ iall y unable to care for her child and, essentially, abandoned him to th e car e of relatives. Over the next several years, Grandma held a variet y of jo bs and seemed to drift aimlessly in her life. Then, she met Alvi n Brower , a married father of two daughters, who was several years olde r than Gra ndma. Grandma started to live with Alvin, who then divorced hi s wife. A t some point, Grandma married Alvin and they became my Grandm a and Grandp a Brower.

Grandpa Brower purchased the farm in Riverdale where I eventually grew u p . Grandpa and Grandma farmed in Riverdale until my father bought the fa r m from them in 1936. As I mentioned earlier, Grandma was a large woma n . I have been told by those who knew her at that time, that she could w or k like a man. In fact, she was quite a teamster. One elderly neighbo r tol d me that the language Grandma used while driving her teams would m ak e a sailor blush.

After selling the farm to my father, Grandma and Grandpa Brower move d t o Preston where Grandpa Brower worked in the Elks Lodge. At this poin t, G randma Brower lived a very sedentary life. They built a home on Onei da St reet in Preston about two blocks east of the elementary school. A s a chil d, I thought the home was very beautiful. Looking at the home to day, howe ver, I am shocked at how small it is – perhaps 800 square feet . But, t o a little boy living in the home I was raised in on the farm, i t seeme d really grand.

Grandma eventually went to the temple and became relatively active in t h e church. She always remained a real freethinker, however. For example , s he found the temple garment too restrictive and, therefore, cut the m ark s from the garment and sewed them into her underclothing in roughly t he a ppropriate places.

While Grandma was not a very good mother to my dad, she was a fabulous g r andmother to me. Most grandmothers love their grandchildren (and she ce rt ainly loved me), but grandma really liked me .

When I was a young child, I was particularly small, self-conscious abo u t how skinny I was, not particularly athletic, and very unsure of mysel f . One month after my sixth birthday, my mother enrolled me in elementa r y school. Prior to that time, I had never been to kindergarten, primar y , church, or any other activity for children. I knew no children othe r th an my siblings and cousins. I was ill prepared to be separated fro m my fa mily and the farm. Going to the first grade at Central Elementar y Schoo l was one of the most traumatic periods of my life. I was so home sick, th at I would crawl through the shrubs separating the playground fr om the po st office during recess and cry until the bell to return to cla ss rang . I would go back to class and endure class until lunchtime whe n the teac hers lined us up and marched us a block and a half to Jefferso n Elementar y School where we would have lunch. Then, I would try to kee p it togethe r through the afternoon until I could go home. After Grandm a Brower learn ed of the difficulties I was having, she would walk down t o the school an d meet me when class was dismissed for lunch. She would t ake my hand an d walk me back to her house where she would feed me lunch . Typically, sh e would fry me a steak and serve it to me on one of her f ine china dishes . After lunch, she would take my hand and walked me bac k to school. She u sed to sing “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” to me as we w alked. It has bee n 60 years since I was in the first grade, but I can st ill remember the f eel of her hand and her voice as she sang to me. It fe lt like she saved m y life during that painful year. I will always be gra teful to her, and lo ve her for that.

When I was in the third grade, mother enrolled me in violin lessons. M y t eacher was Mrs. Pack and our lessons were on Saturday morning. Afte r clas s, I would walk the two blocks to Grandma Brower’s house where I w ould wa it for Mother to come and pick me up. I would talk to Grandma abo ut thing s I had learned in school and my opinions on various current eve nts. Gran dma thought I was really smart. Often, she would loudly laugh a nd say t o Grandpa Brower “_____, Alvin, isn’t he smart! Have you ever me t suc h a smart kid?” It made me feel for the first time that being smar t was c ool.

I have always loved sports, and so, when I visited Grandma’s house on Sa t urday morning she would watch the weekly baseball game with me. I love d t he Dodgers so she became a huge Dodger fan and knew all of the player s’ n ames. We used to talk about the Dodgers and baseball all the time. A s fa r as I know, she had little interest in baseball before I started wa tchin g the games with her at her house on Saturdays.

When I was in the third grade, our elementary school had a special para d e for the students. Each student was supposed to decorate his/her bik e an d ride it in the parade. I think it was for May Day. I had one of th e sma llest, least impressive bikes in my class. Mom thought it would b e a goo d idea to have Grandma decorate my bike. We drove to town and dro pped i t at Grandma’s house the afternoon preceding the big parade. Whe n I arriv ed to pick up my bike the next day, I was dazzled. Grandma ha d covered ev ery surface on the bike with multicolored crêpe paper. Ther e was crêpe pa per through the spokes of the wheels filling up the entir e area between t he wheel and the hub. There was crêpe paper on the handl ebars, the seat , everywhere. It was the most gaudy thing I had ever seen . I loved it . I felt like the star of the parade. It was absolutely typi cal of someth ing grandma would like.

Grandma Brower died in 1980 at the age of 88. Her health wasn’t particul a rly good during the last years of her life, but I don’t recall her eve r b eing very sick. She retained most of her mental capacity, and up unti l th e last few years of her life, she read a book a week. She was a pass ionat e, colorful, flawed person who was a perfect grandmother for a timi d, sel f-conscious little boy. I’m grateful she was mine.