Her parents, David Franklin and Emma Geneva Huish Haymore, welcomed her to earth on July 6, 1921. She married Chester Moray Todd on April 29, 1943 in the Mesa Arizona Temple. She is the mother of eight, grandmother of thirty-seven, great grandmother of eighty-seven, and great, great grandmother of four. She loved and cherished each one.
We will celebrate her 97 years on Friday, March 8, at a viewing from 6:00-8:00 pm at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary, 3401 South Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah.
On Saturday, March 9, at the Midvalley First Ward, 1050 East Chapel Hill Drive (7450 South), there will be a viewing from 9:00-9:45 am. The funeral will follow at 10:00.
Mabel was the third child, first girl in her family. She was born at home—1120 Eighth Street, Douglas, Arizona. She weighed ten pounds. We get a good idea of what she looked like from her mother’s poem:
Daddy’s forehead, Daddy’s hair,
Daddy, Daddy everywhere;
Daddy’s ears and Daddy’s nose,
Daddy’s cheeks and Daddy’s toes.
Daddy’s teeth and Daddy’s chin,
Daddy’s thousand-dollar grin.
I’m not a cousin nor a niece,
But Daddy’s little masterpiece.
(In her later years, invariably when she looked in a mirror she would say, “Hello, Daddy.” Then she would comment on how much she looked like her father and add, “It looked fine on a man.”)
Her father, who went by Lynn, had been married previously to Mabel Stevens. After three years of marriage, their infant son died during the birthing process and Mabel soon after. A few years later, Lynn met Emma Huish and they were married. After two sons were born to them, Lynn wrote, “Our first little daughter was born on July 6, 1921. Emma, showing her love and unselfishness, suggested we name her Mabel after my first wife.”
Our mother, Mabel, wrote of her early life: “I grew up in a family with a mother and father, four brothers and four sisters. We lived in a little town in Arizona on the Mexican border. We knew all about deserts, smelters and sulfur smoke, Mexican children as friends, and pinto beans…. I was a tomboy. I wore Levis. I walked on my hands across the gym and tumbled during halftime at the games…. My mother wanted us to have the nice things in life so we studied ballet. My dream for years was to dance. Then I wanted to be a trapeze artist. I played piano for a ballet school for several years in exchange for lessons for my sisters and me.
“My brothers, Lant and Leonard, were my best friends. We rode horses together and played in a dance band together. We loved to dance, both on the dance floor and at home. My sisters were also my best friends…. We worked together and played together. I felt secure.”
Emma was ill for long periods of time, and Mabel, starting at about age eight, gave dedicated, loving service to her mother and siblings. During these times, Mabel would come home from school at lunchtime, get food for her mother and younger siblings, change the baby’s diaper, and return to school.
Mabel started formal piano lessons at age eight. This was the beginning of a lifetime of joy, years of lessons, accompanying, performing, and teaching piano lessons. Her mother said. “She almost taught herself to play the piano. She was born with heavenly cadences ringing in her ears and music tingling on her fingertips.”
Mabel wrote: “Music helped me safely through adolescence. I played for every school function from elementary through high school. Much time was spent practicing and playing for orchestra, choirs, ensembles, vocalists, and instrumentalists. I played in every church in town. The Christian Science Church wanted to hire me. My brother, who was an excellent clarinetist, formed a dance band, and Leonard played the drums. With three or four other musicians, we played for dances in town, for church dances, and for nightclubs out of town. With the money earned, we began to save.
“I went to Boston for a year to study piano and organ. It was a time of practicing many hours every day. It was a time of maturing and reflecting. I loved music, but I didn’t want it to be the main thing in my life. It was the first time I made decisions on my own without having parents close by.”
Mabel worked in an office as bookkeeper and secretary in Douglas and in El Paso. She learned many life lessons by working at her father’s side at his grain, feed, and grocery store—The Haymore Mercantile. For a family reunion she wrote a song with her sister Mary that included the words: “Work, work, work at the Haymore Merc.” This is a phrase she used up to the last days of her life.
In 1942, her father was called to be mission president in the Spanish-American Mission with Emma as the mission mother, as they called the mission president’s wife in those days. Mabel came to stay with them for a time at mission headquarters in El Paso, Texas, which is seven miles from Fort Bliss where a handsome Army lieutenant from Salt Lake City, Utah was stationed. That lieutenant, Chester Todd, wrote: “After arriving in El Paso, I went to visit Bishop Pierce and met his son, Arthur Clyde. I asked him if there were any Latter-day Saint girls about my age in El Paso. He said, ‘Yes, there is one who is at BYU summer school and she will be home this weekend, but she is the one I intend to marry.’ Then he launched into a detailed description of her many fine qualities. I said, ‘I will not ask her for a date until you have had the opportunity to propose.’ His description sounded just exactly what I was looking for in a wife. On Sunday we went to the mission home and when I saw Mabel, I found myself hoping she would reject Arthur Clyde,” which Mabel did in her nice way.
Chester and Mabel began dating. Mabel wrote: “During these five months, Chester never missed a week without sending me a beautiful bouquet of roses. We had wonderful times at the Waterfilled Gardens, at the theater, up McKillign Canyon with friends, dancing on the road, and talking in the mission home until quite late.” Chester and Mabel married and lived in Chester’s words, “A honeymoon year in New York City.”
Mabel and Chester are the parents of Marilynne Linford (Richard), Eileen Moore (Wayne), Jeanette (who passed away August 21, 2016), Rochelle Biesinger (Mark), Sheila Smith (James), Clinton Todd (Lori), Douglas Todd (Susette), (Doug passed away January 13, 2015), and Russell Todd (Janette).
Mabel was ward Primary president in 1961, PTA president at South High 1976-1978, member of the State of Utah PTA Board for two years, Nibley Park School reading tutor for ten years, choir accompanist for the German Choir for two years, Nibley Park Ward Relief Society president 1965-1977, Granite Stake Relief Society president 1977-1983, fulltime missionary with Chester in the California San Diego Mission, missionaries on Temple Square for over three years, temple ordinance worker in the Salt Lake Temple for seven years, Granite Stake Primary Board from 1996-1999, stake music chairman of the stake centennial in 2000, Relief Society pianist at St. Joseph’s Villa once a month, ward organist and choir organist, stake organist until 2016, ward Relief Society pianist until her passing.
Her life’s work included her love for Chester on every level. She adapted to his unique likes in foods; she happily tolerated his love of birds; she typed his reports and edited his talks. His work was her work. She loved him and supported him in every way, serving by his side and complementing his finest qualities and compensating for weaknesses. They made an attractive and dedicated team, to each other and to their family. Chester passed away April 28, 2005.
Mabel spent her last years enjoying family—playing the piano for anyone who would sing or dance, playing piano duets, playing games, especially Rook and Skip-Bo. Her question every night after dinner was, “Are you willing to lose a game?” She enjoyed quilting and doing puzzles.
We found in her journal a note she had written in her beautiful cursive about ways to qualify for the Celestial Kingdom:
1. Have faith in Heavenly Father
2. Have faith in the Savior
3. Desire and be willing to follow Them
4. Follow the prophet today
5. Serve others and show love
6. Read the scriptures, learn from them, apply their teachings
7. Work hard
8. Pray
9. Be a worthy family member
10. Develop talents.
She expressed daily, sometimes many times, how desperately she wanted to do what was right.
The book her children wrote about Mabel’s life ends with these words:
“The paragraphs in the Book of Todd are mostly punctuated by semi-colons, commas, and periods. But joyful exclamation points emphasize passages where goals are reached, expectations achieved, and long-worked-for dreams realized. Treasured times of births, birthdays, baptisms, endowments, missions, marriages, scholarships, honors, vacations, and reunions swirl together with the mundane, creating collective memories and traditions.
There are black and white drawings scattered throughout the Book of Todd. The daily routine scenes of cleaning, cooking, going to lessons, school, shopping, studying, working, fulfilling Church and community obligations are captioned in balance. Normal life is bound together with duty and purpose. Disappointments are erased through compassion and forgiveness. Tender moments are captioned in love. Just being together at Puerto Peñasco, Lake Powell, Disneyland, Sea World, St. George, and in each of our homes are illustrations in color and captions in camaraderie and mutual respect.
The plot is simple: teaching correct principles yields self-governance. The theme is lofty: This is our work and our glory to help our Father in Heaven bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of ourselves and all who follow.
The Book of Todd is positive and promising, but not at all perfect. However, there was enough—time, money, space, room to grow, people to do things with, service to give, friends to make, trips to take, games, puzzles, hope, wisdom, encouragement, love, testimony, friendship, and faith.
As the chapters turn into volumes and each Todd child, grandchild, great and great grandchild writes his or her history, may this legacy continue. May each successive generation improve on the previous. May each of us be blessed to look on the coming generation and say: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 1:4). May this be our eternal journey and joy.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
v.1.9.5