By Martha Fife Dalley

Mary Fife was born at the family home at Riverdale, Weber County, Utah on 10 October 1912. He father Joseph Adam Fief, born 15 June 1868 at Riverdale, Utah was the son of Joseph Fife and Martha Ann Bingham. Her mother Clara Jensen, daughter of Neils Jensen and Johanna Sandberg, was born 1 August 1875 at Logan, Utah. She was the sixth of eight children born to this family. When she was about three years old the family moved to Trenton, Utah where Mary started school when she was six years old. She went to the Trenton school to about 7th grade. The family lived about three miles from school and either rode a horse or brother Douglas took them in a buggy. In the winter they went in a covered sleigh.

Mary was a happy, cheerful, loving child. She had five older brothers and sisters, Wilbert Dolan, Glen James, Glayds, Jean and Douglas Joseph, one younger sister, Martha A., and younger brother Wendell N.

Mary was baptized on 9 July 1921 in Trenton, Utah. When she was about eight or nine years old, her mother took sick and was taken to the Budge Hospital in Logan where she died 10 January 1921 of blood poisoning. Her dad took her and Martha to Logan once to see their mother while she was hospitalized. They stood by her bed and sang "I Have Two Little Hands". That was the last time they saw her alive.

Gladys was sixteen years old when their mother died. She quit school and took care of the family. Her father was really good to the family and helped all he could. They all depended on him a lot. Gladys was a real mother to all of the children.

When the family moved from Riverdale to Trenton, Father built a large brick home which the family enjoyed very much. About 1925, the farm in Trenton was sold and the family bought a larger one in Dayton where Wilbert and Glen lived and farmed and the family moved from Trenton to Preston. They hated to leave their friends in Trenton, but in Preston they lived close to Aunt Cindy. She was very good to the family and helped them a lot. Mary attended Jefferson School in Preston. A few years later financial difficulties beset the family and they had to move out to Dayton. They all hated to move out there, as they had no electricity and had to pump all of their own water. They raised a lot of sugar beets and spent most of the summer thinning and hoeing beets and then topping them in the fall. The summers were long, hot and dry, but Mary kept her sister Martha singing. They sang all of the popular songs, then the church hymns. Mary taught Martha to sing alto. Martha still sings alto to "Now Let us Rejoice".

Mary was very active in the church in Dayton. She taught primary and Sunday School classes. She started high school in Preston and had to ride in an old covered truck from Dayton to Preston.

I recall an incident which took place when Mary was in high school and she and Mary were at a movie at the church in Dayton with some friends. On of Mary's friends named Wanda Balls drank too much homemade beer. She got sick and threw up all over. It even splashed on us. All the kids were so disgusted with her and treated her awful. No one would walk with her or have anything to do with her. But one day, bless Mary's heart, she forgave Wanda and was a real friend to her. After I was married and had my first baby, Mary came to the hospital in Preston to see me. On the other side of the room was Wanda. She had a baby boy who was born with a hair lip. Mary was still her friend and comforted her all she could. It was then that I forgave Wanda.

As I get older and thin about this incident, I realize that Mary chose the good part as is told in the Bible in the story of Mary and Martha and Jesus. Read it. It's found in Luke Chapter 10, verses 38-42.

When Mary started her sophomore year in high school, she had a sick spell. She had a high fever and had the flu really bad. She was delirious for a while. Her father and Aunt Cindy took her to a lot of doctors and they diagnosed her with Parkinson's disease. Her shaking got worse, but the medication they gave her helped. She was still active in the ward and went to dances. That is where she met Brown Pitcher. They were married 24 November 1937 in the Logan Temple after a short courtship. They lived in Cornish, Utah in two rooms of the old family home. It was while living here that all five of their children were born; Pauline, Carol, Arminta (Minnie), Jerry Brown and Wendell Leon (Lonny).

Grandma Pitcher helped her all she could with the children because her sickness became worse as time went on and the shaking got worse with each child.

On 4 May of 1956, Brown passed away leaving Mary with five children between the ages of 16 and 11. Because of her illness, Mary was not able to keep her family with her for very long after her husband's death. Some of Brown's family took Mary's children and the Fife's cared for Marry. Her condition continued to worsen until finally she had to be put in a nursing home. She was in the Sunshine Terrace for a few years and passed away in the Logan hospital on 24 September 1959. They had a lovely service for her at the Cornish church. She was buried in Smithfield cemetery beside her husband.

Mary was a wonderful daughter and sister, a sweet and loving wife and mother; a precious soul who was tender, loving and kind to everyone.