Ordinary, Faithful People

I’m reading a book called “Ordinary Faithful People.”  It’s a Bible study on the book of Ruth.  One of the chapters is a chapter on commitment and serving others.  The author, Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. tells of the faithfulness of Ruth to Naomi and her commitment to her that, “Where you go I will go; where you stay I will stay.”  He relates a story about a woman he knew who dedicated her adult life to caring for her widowed mother, and how unusual and old fashioned that kind of commitment had become.

I’m going to tell you about another woman I know who dedicated her life to caring for her widowed father.  The father was my grandfather and the woman was my aunt.  My grandfather was born in 1870 and lived to the age of 96.  Sol’s life was normal for a person of that era.  He farmed with horses, moved a lot, suffered through drought, storm and disappointment on the Great Plains, but in later years lived a rich, full life due to the care of his daughter, Ella.

Sol’s wife Mary died, we think of complications from the flu and pneumonia, in 1922 or 1923…I can’t recall which right now.  Sol was in his early 50’s and his youngest child was 11 years old.  Ella was a young woman at the time along with her sisters.

I don’t know what prompted her decision, but Ella decided that she would forego marriage, children and a family to care for her father.  The decision wasn’t made lightly, and it caused more than one male suitor great disappointment.

Ella and Sol eventually found a home in southern Kansas on the edge of a small town.  It once had been a working farm, and the three or four acres that remained still had a barn, chicken house, and other outbuildings.  Sol took to raising chickens, and at times other livestock.  They gardened and enjoyed the rural lifestyle as well as the benefits of living in town.

Ella went to work for the Electrolux Vacuum company selling vacuum sweepers.  The only woman salesperson in the Wichita district at the time, Ella not only made a living, but did very well at it.  They were never in want; never in need.  They always had friends, family, adequate resources, and good health.

Both are gone now, and have been so for many years.  Sol died in 1966, and Ella a few years later in 1974.  But the example she set of caring for her dad all of those years to the point that she broke through the glass ceiling of an all male sales force for a vacuum company in order to do so is a compelling one that demands to be appreciated and her servant attitude emulated.

Of course, many people offered their condolences to the family when Ella passed away.  The only one I specifically remember, however, was from a man named George Ball from Wichita, who was Ella’s sales manager for Electrolux.  It had been years since she had sold a vacuum, yet Mr. Ball was touched to the point that he let the family know he cared.

Grateful thanksgiving, Aunt Ella, for your wondrous example of selflessness and service.