Amie Ruth Logsdon
Born May 15, 1921 in Temple, Oklahoma
Passed away March 4, in 2018 Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Her obituary was published in the Pueblo Chieftain newspaper, March 7, 2018 in Pueblo, Colorado. It read as follows:
Amie R. "Ruth" Logsdon, 96, entered
life on May 15, 1921, and entered eternal life on March 4, 2018. Ruth was a
retired hairdresser and a great artist. She adored fishing, sewing and growing
roses. Ruth was saved and baptized into the Baptist Church in Hastings, Okla.,
1942. She is survived by children, Ann and Doyle. Preceded in death by husband,
Clinton; and son, Lyle. Memorial contributions may be made to Pueblo Art Guild,
1500 N. Santa Fe Ave., Pueblo, CO 81003. Viewing will be at 1 p.m. March 13,
2018, followed by service at 2 p.m., at Imperial Funeral Home. Online
condolences, www.imperialfunerals.com
The following is the script of her visitation and service:
2018-03-12
Amie Ruth Logsdon Funeral Service
Time Lines for Mother’s funeral
1:00 PM - Visitation
Play five John Denver songs that take 19 minutes, repeat
three times. Pause one minute before repeating each set. That will fill one
hour. Play songs at low volume.
2:00 PM - Service
2:00 PM to 2:03 PM
Play three minutes of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 In D
Minor, Op. 125 ('Choral'): III. Adagio Molto E Cantabile / Andante Moderato /
Adagio (Beginning) to begin the
service. (This is the third track on the album by The Paris Conservatorie
Orchestra)
2:03 PM
Doyle talks. (Introduces himself as the officiator and
welcomes guests.)
Good afternoon, My name is Doyle and I am the son of Amie
Ruth Logsdon. I was her care giver near the end of her life and felt it
appropriate that I lead this service.
It’s been seventeen years since I last attended a funeral
service in this facility. That service was for Ruth’s husband and my step
Father Clinton Logsdon. Some of you were present at that time. Notably my
cousin Stanley and Aunt Joyce and her children.
I am here with friends Karin and Amber from the Yoga
Studio Satya in Colorado Springs. They graciously offered to accompany me on
this trip.
I want to give you an overview of this hour of service and
the grave side and reception events that will follow. My mother left written
instructions for her funeral service that she wrote in 1998. Mother requested
that John Denver music be played at her service. However she did not pick the
songs, I picked five songs from the Essential
John Denver album. I did this when she moved into the nursing home in the
fall of 2016 and I sorted through her papers when I closed her apartment. These
songs played during the visitation hour. Originally I considered playing them
during this service along with my commentary between them. However, that would
prolong the service considerably.
Perhaps John Denver music may seem rather upbeat for a
funeral service, but then Mother always was somewhat of a jokester and indeed
had a youthful outlook and was always up for a good time.
Following my talk, and invitation of others to talk,
Beethoven’s Symhony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 ('Choral'): III. Conclusion will play. (This is the
fourth track on the album by The Paris Conservatorie Orchestra)
At that time, we will head to the grave site for a brief
grave side service. Limo rides will be provided as can be accommodated. At the
grave site, two Tennessee Ernie Ford songs will be played. “His Amazing Grace”
(100 Greatest Gospel Classics) and “Take
Me Home Precious Lord.” (100 Hits Vintage
No 5) Between their playing will be with the reading of Psalm 23. The last
song will be followed by a reading of the Lord’s Prayer. We will then return to
the fire side room in this building for a reception with coffee and pastries.
Keep it simple, keep it short were my Mother’s wishes.
Adopting the role of officiator at my Mother’s funeral
service is a natural extension of my role as her care giver. While I did not
provide 24x7 hour care in my home, I managed my Mother’s affairs and
coordinated with the nursing home administration. Ruth lived independently till
she was 95 at the Richmond Tower Senior Apartments in Pueblo downtown near the
River Walk. In the fall of 2016, she fell in her apartment and broke her hip.
She never returned to independent living and was unable to walk after that.
I managed to get her transferred to the Sunny Vista Living
Center in Colorado Springs near where I live. This facility provided a private
bedroom and bath in a beautiful calm environment. She lived there for a year
and three months. She often said she liked the place, partially because she
“Didn’t have to cook or wash the dishes.” The facility offered many
entertainment options for the residents. She especially liked the classic
guitarist that played Sunday afternoons.
The Colorado Springs Heritage Pentecostal Church conducted
services in-house that Mother attended. She was given a Bible as a gift by a
member of that church. It was dedicated to “Seeking God.” This Bible is going
is to be placed in her casket.
My sister Anne who lives in San Diego came for an extended
visit in February of 2017. She stayed about three weeks and visited Mother
daily. Thereafter, she talked to Mother frequently on the telephone and sent
many cards and flowers. My Mother and
sister spent several years without talking so it was good that they reconciled
their differences in my Mother’s final days.. My Mother’s motivations were hard
to understand at times. She often said “I did the best I could.” At times I
began to wondered about “Best for who?” Understanding and reaching peace with
one’s parents can be one of life’s great challenges.
Mother asked that John 3:16 be read at her service. Her
new bible has a leaf turned down on a page to mark the passage. This is the
King James Version (KJV):
John 3:16
For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Her final decline was very sudden. She appeared to be getting
along just fine. Then she caught a lingering wet cold. It was not pneumonia. On
a Monday morning, after singing the previous day with the Sunday afternoon
guitar player, she told the charge nurse that she was ready to be with God and
did not want to get out of the bed. At this point she was completely bed
ridden. The last words I heard her say included the included the phrase “I want
to go home.”
This brings us to the first John Denver song titled “Leaving on A Jet Plane” which I see as
a metaphor for the spiritual journey that Mother took early in the morning of
her passing.
Her funeral card includes a poem she wrote that I’d like
to read which definitely includes references to that final plane ride.
Mother’s Love for Her Children
Weep not for me,
I’m not alone,
I’m with Jesus,
I am his own.
Take heed my children,
and gather near.
You too will be called,
Have no fear.
As each day on earth,
You eat your bread,
Just sing, she’s alive
With Jesus, she’s not dead.
I’m going on a vacation,
I’m ready to fly.
I’ve taken that last plane,
To my home in the sky.
Composed by Ruth Logsdon,
11-27-98
Mother was from the country hills of Oklahoma. She was
definitely influenced by her years there. She graduated from the Lone Star
School near Temple, Oklahoma. Later, she graduated from Beauty College in
Lawton, Oklahoma after deciding that the farm life was not for her. I sometimes
characterize our departure from Oklahoma as Late Dust Bowl Refugees.
She settled in Pueblo with the assistance of her older
brother Steve Hensley. It was here that she met the love of her life and long
time husband, Clinton Logsdon, who was originally from Kentucky. My Mother was
working as a hair dresser and rode the bus to and from work. Clinton was
driving a Pueblo city bus. When I asked how they met, she said she would wait
inside the beauty shop until she saw his bus coming – she could tell by the way
he sat – and then go out and get on his bus for the ride home. Clinton
responded by asking her to set close behind him so that he could protect her
and made a special detour to drop her off at the door of her house. She liked
that.
I thought that the
John Denver song “Take Me Home, Country
Roads” (3:10) would be a good song to celebrate the many roads that Ruth
and Clinton traveled on their fishing
and camping trips.
Ruth was the youngest of nine children of Luke and Amie
Hensley. All of her siblings preceded her in passing. She was the baby of the
family, the last to leave home. One of her favorite stories was about the
family farm that was located three-fourths of a mile from the Lone Star School,
from which she graduated. Her father Luke bought an old grain shed from a
farmer named Delany for fifty dollars and built their home around it. This
house was moved into Temple during World War II where her Poppa Luke and Momma
Amie spent their remaining years. I remember going to Temple for my
grandparents 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary celebration during
which I recall one of my uncles chasing my sister, Dixie Ann, around trying to
pull one of her lose teeth with a pair of pliers. He did not suceed.
My Mother’s memories about the Temple home included plenty
of fish stories and games of dominoes. While at the nursing home in Colorado
Springs, she tried to get people to play dominoes with her. She was unbeatable
and eventually no one wanted to play her because she never lost. One of her
Oklahoma fish stories was about camping at Cache Creek and catching cat fish so
large that it took two men to carry it back to camp where her Momma would cook
it in the same black iron kettle that was used for clothes washing as well as
for making Lye soap.
One of my Mother’s memorable dishes was the holiday fruit
compote dish that she called “Fruit Salad”. Basically it was a couple of cans
of Delmonte fruit cocktail with additional mandarin orange slices and sliced
bananas mixed with shredded coconut. A jar of left over Fruit Salad in the
refrigerator made a great late night snack when combined with a slice of ham on
a dinner roll juiced up with mayonnaise. And don’t forget the piece of fruit
cake or pecan pie to round out the snack. My Mother must have loved cooking
when she was younger because she certainly did a lot of it.
Mother liked to sew. She bought a brand new avocado
colored Bernina sewing machine that was a real work horse. She made lots of
clothes, quilts, and throw pillows. I recall one hand tailored red and black
paisley shirt with matching bell bottom trimmed jeans that she made for me back
in the 70s. I wore them till they fell apart. She also made lots of quilts. I
still have a few of them. Some are dramatic patterns of hot colors with black
frames. She was always trying to do something new “just to be different.”
Her creative interests extended to painting as well. She
was a self taught artist and worked in oil paints for a long time. She was a
member of the Pueblo Art Guild and won a few ribbons for her exhibits there.
She liked to paint landscapes of mountain scenery that reflected her interest
in hunting and fishing. Flowers were a favorite subject also. She also taught
painting.
Music was a life long interest. She played the piano. At
one time she had a Hammond Organ in her house and later had a keyboard in her
apartment at the Richmond. She liked gospel and early 50s pop songs. While at
Sunny Vista, she liked the music entertainment especially the Sunday afternoon
classical guitarist. She still liked to sing and collected the lyrics of some
of her favorite songs in a notebook so that her and another resident could sing
together. In addition to gospel songs, she collected the lyrics to the
“Tennessee Waltz”, “Flowers on the Wall” by the Stadler Brothers, “Heavenly
Sunshine” by Kenny Rogers and “You are my Sunshine.” I recall her singing the
last one around the house when I was small.
She liked to walk for exercise. It seemed like she was
always just getting back from a walk or getting ready to go for a walk when I
talked to her on the phone while she was living at the Richmond. She had ready
access to the River Walk. As she got older I started doubting this because on
our shopping trips, it was becoming clear that her ability to walk was
diminishing. I believe she wanted me to think she was more capable than she
was.
At one point though she walked the track at South High
School daily. I walked with her a few times and she indeed set a fast pace.
Mother liked to swim and go to the hot springs. One of the
pictures on the poster baord is from a trip that we took to the Ojo Caliente
Hot Springs in New Mexico near Taos. This was in the 80s. The place is now up
scale luxury. Back then, it was funky and cheap. We stayed in an small motel
room that had linoleum flooring and a corner gas heater, the kind with ceramic
bricks behind a grill. This was my first experience with a herbal wrap and it was
old style with men and women separate. The men attendants wore cowboy clothes
and wrapped you in flannel sheets and army wool blankets as you lay on a
plastic covered mattress that made for an intense sweat experience.
With those family stories and Mother’s poem in mind, I
thought John Denver’s song: “Poems,
Prayers, and Promises” would be a song she’d like.
One final note, she liked to dress up and look pretty. Her
pictures show this.
Now I’m going to talk about my brother Lyle. Clinton and
Mother named their child Clinton Carlisle Logsdon, Jr. He was my younger
brother by ten years. He was commonly called Lyle. I knew him all of his life.
Lyle passed away last summer on August 16th at age 65. He suffered
with gastrointestinal issues and eventually died from a cerebral hemorrhage. I
ended up being his final care giver. After his death, I took possession of his
ashes. I’m taking this opportunity to have his ashes placed in Mother’s casket
and buried with her. Thus Clinton, Ruth, and their son Lyle will share a common
grave site. I like this arrangement better than illegally scattering his ashes.
One of my best memories of my brother is as as a happy
laughing funny little eight year old guy at my 18th birthday party.
As he grew older, he seemed to give up on life. I don’t want to be too
judgmental in this regard, however, because I see some of his characteristics
in myself as we shared many of the same influences.
So it seems that the John Denver song “Rocky
Mountain High” (4:44) reflects
some of the events that shaped our lives.
Mother wanted John 3:16 read at her service, so I’ll read
it again. This time it’s the New International Version, the NIV
For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.
What great truth about my Mother’s life do I have to
share?
First of all, “What is truth?” That question is one of
Jesus’s Biblical quotations.
I never forgot one of my birthday cards wherein my Mother
wrote: “God gave you life through my body.”
We are reminded that we face life daily with its potential
for ups and downs by the last John Denver Song that I selected, “Some Days as Diamonds (Somedays are
Stone)”
How does one know if today is a diamond or a stone? Does
it sparkle like a diamond or shine like a piece of coal? A diamond is a stone,
is it just our perceptions that make some days diamonds and others stones? Who
is to say that a diamond is more precious than a stone? What are the
circumstances that create diamonds from stones?
Based on my personal observations of the passings of my
step father Clinton, my brother Lyle and my Mother Ruth, one of the truths of
life is this: “Dying is the hardest part of living.” Again, “Dying is the
hardest part of living. Maybe its more specific, letting go of one’s breath is
the last physical act of living that consumes one’s very last bit of energy.
Life is the greatest gift.
In conclusion, I believe my Mother used her gift of life
the best that she could.
It is customary at these events to offer the opportunity
for others to speak if they wish. Does any one want to talk?
One final event that my Mother asked for. That was the
reading of the Lord’s Prayer, This is the Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV) version. She
asked that you join in if you wish.
Matthew 6:
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which
art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is
in heaven.
11 Give us this day out daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
(Commence playing of Beethoven’s Symhony No. 9 in D Minor,
Op. 125 ('Choral'): III. Conclusion.
People file out to Limos.)
(Place the Heritage Bible in Mother’s casket
(Assemble at the grave site.)
Thanks for accompanying me to the grave site. We are again
following my Mother’s final wishes. We will play two Tennessee Ernie Ford Songs
with the reading of the 23rd Psalm in between. The first song is
“His Amazing Grace.”
Play “Amazing Grace
“ (2:32)
Psalm 23 (KJV)
The Shepard psalm - A Psalm of David
1 The Lord is my shepard; I shall not want.
2 The maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth
me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil: for thou art with me; they rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine
enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Play “Take My Hand
Precious Lord” (3:08)
The final event will be another reading of the Lord’s
Prayer. This is the New International Version
Matthew 6
9 This is how you should pray:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in
heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our
debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
the evil one.
(End of grave side service.)
(Return to Fireside Room for reception)
