R is for Ruby Ellen Yeakley, my mom

Ruby Ellen Yeakley is my mom. It is at this point I say I miss her as much today as I did when she passed away 15 years ago. I can't believe it's been that long and I have so much to tell her. I know and truly believe that I will have that chance someday. She probably already knows. She always did. 

My grandfather took this picture of my mother. 

I had the best parents anyone could ask for. I was truly blessed and my brother likes to say that we were disadvantaged children because our parents weren't divorced, didn't drink or smoke, and were Christian people who lived their faith. 

My mom was born in Wichita Falls, Texas on January 12, 1918. That's easy for me to remember because I used to tell her she was born in 1819, at which point she would always tell me that she wasn't quite that old. 

My mother loved to sing and was always humming some tune, mostly hymns. She also played the piano but not as well as I did so it was another point where I got to tell her that I was better. However, not once did I ever beat her at jacks. Even at 80, she still beat me. She was good!

In my opinion, my mother was an overachiever but then, I'm a slacker so it might not be a good comparison. She went to college and got a degree in Library Science. While in college, her mother died and she took her grade school sister to college with her and took care of her so her dad could continue working. He was a minister and a printer and caring for his 12 year old daughter would have been hard for him. I have a lot of the letters he wrote to them and she wrote to him. They were home for the summer and holidays and when my mom graduated, Lola Mae was old enough to stay at home with her older brother who was 16 while my grandfather worked. 

My mom was an independent woman and did what she wanted. I don't know that I would have had the nerve to travel to New York City alone and spend a couple of weeks there exploring on my own. 

She met my dad during World War II at the USO at their church in Wichita Falls. She then took a job in Denver, Colorado at the public library and my dad traveled there to see her. They were married in 1947 in Los Angeles. My dad didn't meet her parents as both of them were gone when they met. 

Christmas Day, 1947, Denver, Colorado

My mom was the Children's Librarian at the Covina Public Library when I was small. She moved to the Monrovia Public Library when I was in grade school. When I started Junior High, she was the librarian at La Puente High School and when I started high school, she setup the new library at Rowland High School. While I was in high school, she went back to college and got a Master's Degree. She never stopped learning.

What I miss the most is the sharing. My mother was smart, full of wisdom and my best friend. 

E is for Ernest Oliver Rhea, my dad

I am half Yeakley and half Rhea so how can I do the letters of the alphabet without mentioning the Rhea side? I actually have a blog for the Rhea/McCollum side that has enough information to complete a family history.

One of the more interesting things about families is that spouses become another part of the family and it is hard to separate the two. My dad is a Rhea but after all those years, the distinction between family names blur and he was as much a Yeakley as my mom was a Rhea.

My dad, Ernest Oliver Rhea, was born in Billings, Montana on October 17, 1921. He was the youngest son of William Ogden Rhea and Mellie Farris. The three boys were raised in their earliest years on a farm bordering the Yellowstone River. My dad had lots of stories about living on the farm. When they were in Middle School, the family moved to town. My grandmother was an astute business person and bought land and houses so there was always rent coming in. My guess is that when they had enough money, moving to town suited her better.

My dad on the left and my uncle playing chess (about 1943) in the two story home my grandparents built in town. The upstairs was rented while the family lived in the lower level. That is the place I remember spending summers and holidays.

My dad attended school in Billings. My grandmother was big on education and all three of the boys were pushed to go to college. In 1942, my dad was at Michigan State University studying music. While there, he was also in the Michigan State Orchestra. However, life got in the way and he enlisted in the Army during World War II. His Army career consisted of administering tests for men who wanted to fly. While in the Army, he was stationed in Texas where he met my mother at a USO. Their first encounter was when he taught her to play chess.

They kept in touch and when he left the Army, he went to Colorado where my mother was employed as a Librarian at the Denver Public Library. They were engaged on Christmas Eve 1946. The next year, my dad and mom moved to Los Angeles where they were married on July 4, 1947. My dad had enrolled in USC and was studying accounting. The music career was left behind for a more lucrative profession.

After graduation, they moved to Bakersfield, California where my dad was employed by the Internal Revenue Service. In 1952, there were two big earthquakes in the area that stirred up the dust and released the spores for Valley Fever. It made my dad ill and they decided to move, ending up in La Puente, California.

For several years my dad made the 60 mile drive to Los Angeles for the job at the IRS and then decided to open his own accounting business. He did well and although we weren't rich, we were comfortable.

When he was older, he went back to playing the flute with the church orchestra. 

The love of music that he had as a child was reborn after he retired. My love of music comes from him and I also play the flute. We did duets all the time. 

When he passed away on February 10, 2006, I put the flute away. However, the love of music lives on. I am teaching my 13-yr-old and my husband to play the piano.