I am so thankful that I joined the Capps Family
Band while Mom was still playing with the band. We practiced twice a month, and
I saw more of my family than I had since I had become an adult. Mom was a
favorite at the nursing homes where we played music for the “old” folks, most
of whom were younger than Mom.
I talked to Mom every day, and I went to see her
as often as I could. When Mom and I visited, we never ran out of things to talk
about. When I called her the last time, she picked up the phone and said
cheerfully, “Well, my phone does work.” We had a good conversation and talked
about taking naps since neither of us had slept well the night before.
Mom loved to travel by car or train, but she
didn’t like flying. She traveled with family and friends, and loved the Girl’s
Trips that we took for several years. The last trip we took was a day trip to
Branson to watch her favorite performer, Daniel O’Donnell.
Mom, Aunt Freida, and Lainey made several train
trips to California to visit Uncle LeRoy and Aunt Dude. On one trip, Aunt
Freida thought they were on the wrong train and she stepped off. While she was
away, the train pulled out for its destination. Mom, Lainey, and Freida’s purse
traveled on. Lainey was worried about her “momma,” but Aunt Freida was on the
next train.
Mom also enjoyed the Alaskan cruise with Tom and
Teresa. I was her roommate and had to help her find her way to the dining room,
but she easily found her way to the casino.
Mom liked to go to the “boat” and one time someone
asked me if the boat was on the Lake of the Ozarks or Truman Lake. Recently,
Reta took Mom and Lebetta to Boonville, and I drove over to join them. Mom had
a favorite machine, but someone was playing on it. When Lebetta saw the machine
was open, she tilted the chair forward and told the guy playing slots close by
that she was saving it for her sister-in-law. When I started to put the chair
down for mom, the guy said, “That machine is saved.” I told him it was saved
for us. Mom had to go to the bathroom so I sat at the machine. I said, “My mom
is 99 years old.” He said, “That’s what the lady that saved it said. but your
mom sure doesn’t look 99.” I told mom later that he thought some young chick
was trying to steal an old lady’s machine.
Mom had a zest for life and considered every day a
good day because she woke up that morning. Mom was good hearted but she wasn’t
a push over. Mom was never afraid of hard work, and she went from the factory
floor to the plant manager of Amex/Perfection Manufacturing. Although she
retired in 1995, every time I met a former employee, they always said she was
the best boss they ever had.
Mom was a woman of abiding faith. She was active
in the Ivy Bend Baptist Church for many years where she served the church as
treasurer and Sunday School teacher. She was the song leader and played her
guitar. Mom was an original charter member of Big Rock Church. Faith was an
everyday activity for Mom. She prayed over every meal, and she prayed for her
loved ones by name every night at bedtime.
Mom was the heartbeat of our family. The Capps
Clan was blessed that Lula Ellen Capps lived a long, active life for 99 years,
111 days. Her children, son-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren,
great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, sisters-in-law, friends, former
in-laws, nieces and nephews are charged with holding her warmth and love in our
hearts. We need to be worthy of the personal legacy she has gifted us.
Trudy Capps Garcia wrote: It’s such an honor to be
1 of the 90 grandbabies. What a life! What a blessing it was to know her, love
her, and call her ours.
When I wrote that I couldn’t imagine a more loved
person than Mom, her granddaughter Amy Weis wrote, “Not only was she greatly
loved, she loved greatly.”
I want to end with this poem I found a few days
ago that Mom wrote about her own mother shortly after her death in 1984.
Mommy
She was a just a little old lady,
She was crippled and hardly could see,
She had raised eight of her children,
My brothers and sister and me.
She had lost dad and our two brothers,
Her family, her mom and her dad,
So she has known more hurt than we do,
And sometimes, I know she was sad.
But she also had something within her,
That reached to anyone who
Needed a shoulder to cry on,
Or someone just to talk to.
She loved us and let us all know it,
And her love will live on in the heart
Of all of us who called her “Mommy”
And from us this will never depart.
For Mommy is only sleeping,
She will never really go away,
A part of her will always be with us,
Until we meet her in Heaven someday.
Written by Lula Capps, February 10, 1984
Note: My mom helped me
care for Jim, and for many years was a volunteer and advocate for the Alzheimer’s Association. We
were so blessed to have her for more than 99 years and doubly blessed that she was
mentally sharp and in good health until the day she passed. Her life was a testament
to a life enriched by loving and being loved.
Copyright © May 2026 by L. S. Fisher
http://earlyonset.blogspot.com
