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This is dedicated to the Beloved
Memory of
My Mother, Eloise Dooley Reynolds. Born Morrilton, Arkansas March 27th,
1922
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This is dedicated to the Beloved
Memory of
My Mother, Eloise Dooley Reynolds. Born Morrilton, Arkansas March 27th,
1922
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My mother grew up the daughter of a tenant farmer in the countryside around Glasgow, Kentucky. Her mother's family, the Youngs, had lived in that area for many generations. The crucial events in her life, aside from her marriage and the birth of her three daughters, were two: moving to Japan with her husband Hugh and two oldest daughters in 1947 as part of the Army of Occupation, and accepting the position of Secretary Mother Superior (my terms!) at the School of Social Work at the University of Oklahoma around 1965.
Concerning the first, the move to Japan, here is an excerpt from Eloise's memoir about her life just before that move, during World War II.
The second great event was the University of Oklahoma School of Social Work. For an evocation of that time, here is a letter from Dr. F. J. Peirce, former Director of the School. Dr. Peirce, Mother's dear friend whatever this letter might say, was killed in a tragic accident in the fall of 2000.
Somehow my mother was blessed with the capacity to touch people. My sister, brother-in-law and I were leaving the hospital when one of the nurses I recognized from the nephrology floor stopped me at the elevator and asked how Mother was. It was common knowledge that she had stopped breathing three days before and had had to be revived. I told her, "She's going to die. We think it will be tonight." "Oh, I am so sorry!" said this person I barely knew. "I loved her. We all loved her so much."
That's right, I thought. We all loved her so much.
There is another piece of memoir somewhere in my boxes. If I ever find it I will publish it here and notify those who let me know they would like that.
In the meantime, if you would like to know more about the funeral service, please continue:
Thank you for reading this tribute
to Eloise Reynolds that comes from the deepest heart of her youngest daughter,
Mary Catherine. If you have Eloise stories to share, please send
them to me and I will post them for her internet family to share.
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