THELMA EVA LUND
By Constance Lund Neel
Temmie was born on the 31st of July 1908, the 2nd girl and child of Djalmar Emanuel Lund and Aagot Marie Randby at 677 West Capitol Street, Salt Lake City, Utah. Temmie was a very active, happy child; a tom-boy from the start, loving to play with the boys, "Kick the Can," "Run Sheepy Run," baseball, hopping on the ice wagon, always tearing her clothes and shoes, being a constant consternation to her parents. Mother would say, " Now Thelma needs new shoes!" Father complained about buying her new shoes so often. Temmie claimed the bushes reached out and tore her clothes. She was King of Bunker Hill and mother's company fruit, potatoes, onions, and carrots were always missing from the larder so Temmie could feed her tribe up in the cave of the hills. Ropes were tied from site to another so the cave dwellers could take a ride. She loved baseball and would gather all the kids in the neighborhood together in an empty lot that used to be an orchard. They would play for hours, screaming and whooping it up. Her zest for living continued throughout her life. She was the type of spirit that was undaunted, and once known was never forgotten. She had friends galore, loving and interested in everyone she met. She needed to be needed, knew no strangers, was always ready to do anything for anyone.
Temmie didn't like to help with the chores. The call of the wild was in her blood. She cussed as she did her scrubbing job, threw the bread dough up to the ceiling when she was on kitchen detail and usually managed to prop up a book and read as she did her task. She had her brothers and sisters under her thumb. On Pay Day it was Temmie who divided the candy that was a bonus for paying the monthly food bill. She always ate the extras so the candy could be divided evenly. At one time she pulled all of the teeth out of the glass dolls' mouths that her younger sisters had gotten for Christmas. She had ordered a sled for Christmas and took it to bed with her. Many a spanking awaited Temmie after her escapades when her mother and father couldn't locate her in her familiar haunts. Once they found her at Warm Springs floating on an old man's stomach. She wised up eventually as she got older and put a board in her pants to soften the blow when she had her almost daily spanking. When mother and father left for the evening, many a batch of taffy or fudge were instigated by Temmie.
Temmie was baptized 2 September 1916. She attended church but her thoughts were not on the lessons, but on the good looking boys in her class. When Temmie became of Mutual age, she held a position of drama director and put on many zesty Road Shows and managed to include her sisters in the cast. At one time she was in charge of the ward dances and before the event would go to the neighboring stores and beg prizes off of the local merchants.
She always owned some kind of wheels - a Franklin Touring car, "Puddle-Jumper" (a coup) or Model T Ford - and always had a car load of friends. Her best friends throughout the years were Alma Reed, Alice Kidd, and many, many boys. Her last year of high school at West High she got a job on weekends at the Mary Elizabeth Dress Shop as a sales clerk and delighted her sisters with some fur-trimmed coats for Christmas. Then she worked as ZCMI selling magazines and ready-to-wear. In 1929 she left home and moved up into Emigration Canyon where she purchased a cabin. Here she could give vent to her yearnings for the outdoors. She got a job bluffing her way as an experienced stenographer for Felt Radio Parts and then worked for Felt Auto Parts for 21 years. Father gave her tips on how to use a comptometer, transcript, typewriter and shorthand.
She married George Pixton on the 20th of September 1940, the culmination of a long courtship over the years. George wanted Temmie to quit working so she worked part time in a drug store until his death from leukemia in 1944 when she moved to Ogden to live with her sister Vonnie for nine months. When Vonnie moved to Sacramento, Temmie joined her. She started working in Jackson as an accountant for nine months after which she worked for George Gibson and Watts. She later worked as an accountant for some doctors and then became self-employed, keeping the books and doing income tax returns in her home.
Temmie met Ira Raymond Griffith at a social club called 30-60 of which he was president. He was a good match for Temmie, loving parties and people and having a rare sense of humor. Later, Ira became the president of a square dancing club and they enjoyed socials with their friends while he was president for two two-year terms. Temmie delighted in the programs they had to plan once a year for the square dancing club. She was a natural performer and at one time was told she sang as well as Kate Smith. One act they prepared was to have a hearse (which their friends owned) and the ushering in of the casket with a corpse into the hall. Another act was a hillbilly act with Ira as a woman with curls, hat with flowers, wearing a shawl and beads. Friend, Al Gunderson, was the man. Another time Temmie played the part of Annie Oakley wearing braids and all of the regalia. The men put on an act dancing as can-can girls wearing knit shirts, pom poms on their ankles, wearing paper flowers on their wig tresses. At the end of the act they flipped their skirts up to display "The End" on their posteriors. Once the men dressed as Southern belles with bonnets covered with flowers and with balloons under their t-shirts that were popped at the end of the act. Temmie did such a grand job of playing Annie Oakley that word got around and she was asked to perform at a Jr. College. She sang "My Bill" and slung her guns into her holsters like a pro. Vonnie helped engineer and sew many of the costumes and props for these acts.
Temmie enjoyed knitting and knit enough sweaters to supply the whole family. Temmie did beautiful crewel work which was displayed in many rooms of her home. She enjoyed making Christmas balls - so elegant that her tree decorations became famous and she was featured in a local newspaper. She loved to entertain and 150 people was not an uncommon number to grace her home with barbecues and open houses.
Temmie traveled with her sister Vonnie to England, Denmark, Norway, Washington D.C., New York City, Hawaii, New Orleans, Canada, Caribbean and Catalina, Amish country, Chicago, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Mexico, Acapulco and New Mexico.
Temmie passed away on July 23, 1981. The memories of her will always be sweet. She was endeared by so many for her fun-loving personality and her generous nature. She always wanted a whole baseball team of children and ended up with a baseball league because she was like a mother to all of her sisters' children. Aunt Temmie was like Santa Claus - a jolly good person to all. Her memory will always be treasured.