Tribute to My Mother

Tribute to my Mother, Mazie E. Lovely Brown

Mother in her 20s

Precious Memories, how they linger, how they ever flood my soul. Yes, these memories truly are precious. My beautiful Mother, Mazie E. Lovely Brown, had a heart and soul for the Lord Jesus. To know her was to love her. She had such a fun loving personality and loved to laugh. When anyone else in the family needing cheering up, they always came to Mother. Mazie Lovely was indeed a lovely person.

Mother and Dad

About 1940

Mother and me 1934

Mother and Me

One of my favorite pictures

Age 36

Age 56

To hear Precious Memories...click control.

Mother was born in Ashland, KY on December 12, 1906. She was one of ten children, with six brothers and three sisters. A Brother, Dewey died at four months of age, Brother, Miles Henry, one year, Sister, Ada Francis at three years, and Sister, Della at thirty two. In fact, my Grandmother Lovely lost her husband at the age of 61 and outlived all but four of her children.

After high school Mother worked in Akron, Ohio at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. A note I have from her Sister, Oma, states that the neighbors always knew when Mazie came home because they heard the piano and singing.

Mother was definitely an artist. Before I was born she was a member of the West Virginia Federation of Music where she played the piano and sang. She had a beautiful contralto voice. My Dad bought her a piano when I was 10 years old. Wow, could she play! She played by ear and could play anything in any key. If she didn’t know the song, you could hum it and she would play it. She could, as the old saying goes, "make that piano talk." Sometimes she would sit down at the piano and play for an hour or so, composing her own music. It was wonderful to listen to her create. I wish I could have written it down.....precious memories.

Mother's whole family was musically gifted. When we visited my Grandmother, all her family would gather round for a musical festivity. Mother and her Sister, Oma, both played the piano. Her brothers played saxophone, guitar, accordion and banjo. They had no sheet music, they just played!! My Grandmother would sit and listen, and you could see the joy in her face. Those were happy times and precious memories.

Mother always tried to bring a little culture into my life. She enrolled me in tap dancing when I was six. I was also in a little theatrical group that performed locally. At the age of eleven I began taking piano lessons. Mother was always there to take me places and watch all my performances...precious memories

We always went to church together. Mother sang in the choir and when I was older I also joined the choir. I remember sometimes on Sunday after church we would go to a local bakery and get a loaf of freshly made bread and sit in the car and eat the whole loaf. We used to love to watch people walking by and wonder what they were thinking, observing their expressions, gestures, etc. We would laugh ourselves silly. Those were special times together.....precious memories.

We lived a short distance from relatives in Mother’s family, so we visited back and forth often. Even though I was an only child, I had many cousins. I look back now and realize what a big part of my life they were. They filled my life with much happiness...precious memories. I still keep in touch with them.

Mother would send me to the grocery store to shop for groceries, usually staple items such as bread, milk etc. In those days milk was in a bottle, and the cream was on the top of the milk. Mother loved the cream for her coffee, so she would always skim it off the top. Sometimes when I went to the store she would allow me to get an ice cream of my choice. I would look into the cooler and choose what I wanted. That was a special treat for me. I thought that was the greatest thing. It made me feel so grownup. The little things in life are so important...precious memories.

Mother had a real flair for decorating. She was very creative and made a lot of things for our home. Before I came along, she crocheted a beautiful coverlet and it was done free-hand...no pattern. I still have it and use it on my dining table.

We had wallpaper in most rooms in our home. I remember when we were having my bedroom wallpapered, Mother said she would let me pick it out. My favorite colors were pink and green and I chose a wallpaper with light green background with swans on lily pads and pink flowers. Looking back on it, I think that wallpaper would have been more appropriate for a bathroom. But what’s more important than a mother’s love?...precious memories.

I know everyone thinks their mom is the best cook, but my Mother could really put out a spread that was not only delicious but also appealing to the eye. Frequently she entertained ladies' groups from church and everyone loved her food. When Christmas came around, she really outdid herself. She baked cakes, pies, cookies, and candies; she even dipped her own chocolates and did her own cake decorating. I could hardly wait to get into the goodies!

When in high school I was a majorette in the band. Several business establishments invited us to perform at their luncheons. I asked Mother if she would play for us. She was delighted. My girl friend, Peggy, and I would go over the arrangements with her. She accompanied us on all our luncheon engagements. I was so proud to have her play for us...precious memories.

After I was married, my husband and I lived about 80 miles from my parents, and we visited each other often. One time when my Dad had their house remodeled, Mother came to visit us for about a month. She really loved her coffee, and I remember how funny I thought it was that she brought her percolator with her because she preferred her coffee to my drip grind.

At that time I worked a full time job and could not be with her during the day. She loved to shop, so occasionally she would ask me to take her down town where she would spend the entire day, and I would pick her up after work. She could out-shop me any day! We had a wonderful time together that month...precious memories.

Several years passed and we moved from the area. I did not want to leave my home. But it wasn’t long until my parents moved to be near us. By then I had two beautiful girls. Mother loved them so much. We spent a lot of time together, so she got to see them often.

Mother began to have very painful back problems. I took her to an orthopedist, who immediately suspected a heart condition. She was seen by another doctor who diagnosed her with Angina and put her on medication. Her symptoms continued to get worse and she was hospitalized on Tuesday, October 28th. She improved, and by Friday the doctor said she could come home on Sunday. But the Lord had other plans for my precious Mother. My Dad and I left the hospital Friday evening and we received a call from the doctor around midnight telling us that she had suffered a heart attack and died. That was October 31, 1964. She was only 58.

This was one of the most difficult times I ever faced in my life. My heart was very heavy that Christmas. As I looked at my Dad, I realized that I had a husband and two young children and he had no one. I tried to be there for my Dad, but I grieved for my Mother a long time.

To this day, 36 years later, I still miss her, and our daughters missed knowing a very special lady. But I am not one without hope. I know that I will see her again someday when I meet Jesus, and we will sing praises to the King of Kings together. Praise God for precious memories.

With love from your daughter,

Patricia

May 9, 2000

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