Ollie LaVenia Frank Hawkes Written by her daughter Nena Rey Hawkes

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Sunday’s, we children walked to church without either parent because both had church assignments. Mother always looked for us from her perch at the organ during prelude music. A smile crossed her face when she caught our eyes. During the week she played the organ for Relief Society, too. For many years, I went with her to Relief Society and sat with her on the organ bench as she accompanied the singing – I was too young for school or to stay at home.

Mother became Primary organist when she was eleven years old. She really enjoyed the trust and by the time she was 12, she was Sunday School Organist and eventually became choir organist, too. At one time, when she was choir organist, seven members of her family sang in the choir including her father. She loved to play for her father too as she enjoyed listening to his beautiful singing voice. Her love affair with music was an integral dimension of her life. At the age of five, Mother would hear a piece of music she liked and as soon as possible she would run home as fast as she could to go and play it on the piano. Soon after Mother began taking piano lessons, her mother learned that Mother was playing the music by memory or ear, rather than note reading. It was the teacher’s practice to play the music lesson for the next week just at the conclusion of the lesson. Her mother advised the teacher not to play the music or she would not learn to read the notes. The teacher followed the directions, and Mother soon learned to sight read the notes.

Several prominent choir directors lauded Mother as best accompanist in Cache Valley. She never turned down a request for those who asked her to play be it for a funeral, for a vocal number, or for a piano or organ solo. People loved to hear her play her testimony, and I think the genius of her talent was her unique expression. She was honored when asked to accompany Jessie Evans Smith when Joseph Fielding Smith was the visiting general authority at a Stake Conference in the Logan Tabernacle. In her long musical tenure in the church, she played organ and piano solos for hundreds of funerals. Mother served faithfully as an organist and pianist in all of the church organizations throughout her entire life. It was not until her early seventies that she was released from her church musical responsibilities. Some months before her death, she played the piano and remarked that her fingers could still move with ease across the keyboard.

During her late forties, Mother served as Primary President. Through these years, she helped several Primary children receive special assistance at the Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. One young man with a speech problem received special help. As Primary President, her deep concern for each child in the ward was evident.

Civic responsibilities played an important part in her life. She worked as an election judge for years and participated as a volunteer in the Republican Party. I remember so well standing on the corner of main street and center street in down town Logan handing out flyers to support John Dewey for President of the United States. When Dad attempted to dissuade her from voting for a woman that was running for Mayor of Logan City, she told him she would vote for who she wanted, “furthermore you will never know for whom I cast my vote because you can’t follow me into the voting booth.” He laughed at her comments. Other times he said, “I wouldn’t want a woman that agreed with me on everything.”

Because music was so important to Mother, it became a very important part of our family’s life too. Dad bought her a piano soon after they were married; later on he gave her an organ. She taught each one of us to play the piano. She was always in demand to give group and private piano lessons which she did for many years. In addition to her accompanying singers, she and Lou played piano and organ duets in churches all over the valley.

Our family sang, to her accompaniment, around the piano on Sunday evenings. Dad sat in a chair and whistled along. Mother and Dad often chuckled about how music was so important to her, yet he could not carry a tune. However, he loved music and supported her musical interests and made certain she had everything necessary for her to continue enjoying and perfecting her talents.

Bud delighted in embellishing his stories to get a rise from her, and she never disappointed him. After he got the reaction, he added the part that calmed her nerves, and then she laughed. Nerves and worry were her worst enemies. Her “high strung” nature helped us quickly learn to close doors carefully and to make choices that would not cause her undue concern.

We have fond memories of her excellent culinary skills. The food Mother made and sent to Ward bazaars always ended up back on our table. Dad would either go to the bazaar early and bought the food item or he sent one of us to buy it before anyone else got the chance.

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