Just over a week ago I lost a dear friend. I wanted to write about some of my memories of her. She was one of the sweetest most gentle ladies I have ever known. I got the privilege of taking piano lessons from her for the past year and half. During that time I grew to love her very much.
Martha was always thinking of others. Every time I showed up for a lesson she would ask my how I was doing, how my boys were, if they liked school, how Mike's work was going. She and Bobby didn't have money to spare, but she was always picking up little treats and coloring contest pages for my boys when she went to the grocery store. On holidays she would make special little candy bags for me to take home to them. My boys liked going to Sister Morris's house, eating apples in her backyard, and playing with the toys she still had lingering around from when her grandchildren were young . For a few months last year I was pregnant and too sick to take lessons. She would call me up every week or so just to check on me, make sure everything was okay, and tell me that she was thinking of me. I don't think I ever left a piano lesson without her giving me a hug and telling me that she loved me.
Martha and Bob had the sweetest marriage. She was the organist in church and Bobby would always sit up on the stand with her so that he could be near her during Sacrament meeting. Bobby had some surgeries and health problems this last year that required temporarily staying in a nursing home. Martha missed him so much. It was so hard for them to be apart. I would drive her down to the nursing home and she would stay there visiting him as long as she was able.
She was such an example of a woman with a strong testimony. There were so many times she would brush off my enquiries of how her health was by just saying she had faith that the Lord was taking care of her. One of the stories she used to tell was about few years ago when she fell on a patch of ice in the parking lot and shattered her arm. She had to have multiple surgeries to fix it. The doctors didn't know if she'd ever be able to play the piano again. She was given a blessing that her arm would be healed and her musical abilities would be restored. She didn't doubt, it was a long time before her arm functioned normally again, but she knew that she just needed to be patient and the Lord would fulfill His promise to her. There were so many different occasions when she took the time to bear her testimony to me. She loved her Heavenly Father and had such a close relationship with Him.
Martha was an amazingly talented woman. Her former piano teacher was German and Julliard trained. She was very strict and mean. I think Martha tried to make up for that by being extremely patient and sweet with her students. She thought everyone should know how to read music and she loved to teach....especially adults! I learned so much from her. I loved to listen to her play. I would practise a song for weeks and when I played it sounded like a mediocre melody for a beginning pianist. Martha would sit at the keys and play the same song from the same sheet of music and it would sound beautiful! She was the organist at the Jordan River Temple for many years and she loved it. She would always talk about how much she enjoyed going to serve on Tuesday nights. This last year they released her from that calling because her health was failing. She was so disspointed, but going there every week was tiring her out and she knew it was the right decision. The temple presidency gave her a certificate of thanks for her many years of service. She was so proud of it she put it in a frame and displayed it in her front room.
The week before she passed away I missed my piano lesson in order to go camping with my family. I wish I would have known that it would be the last time I would have seen her. I wouldn't have missed that lesson for anything. I told her "thank you" after every lesson and I responded in kind when she said she loved me, but I don't think I ever truly told her how much she meant to me and how much I appreciated her sharing her talents with me. I regret that I never once even took my camera with me to one of our lessons and got a picture of her sitting at her piano. She had such a hard time this last year. She would call Mike or I to come and close her gate in the front yard because walking up or down the stairs in her house would absolutely exhaust her. She was diagnosed with congenital heart failure and had to carry around an oxygen tank (which she hated).....despite all that she rarely complained! She had such a positive and cheerful attitude. I miss her, but I'm glad that she's finally out of pain. My heart aches for Bobby, but I know that he'll be with her again someday. I'm so grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I'm grateful for the knowlege that we'll see our loved ones again. I love you Martha!
What a stirring tribute as a rememberance to her. Your words would mean a lot to her family, no doubt. You should copy them down into a card or something!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you had this neat lady in your life!