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Stories and memories from each of her children:
Robert Mitchell: "I do remember once in Thistle when Father punished me for disobedience. It was painful. I cried. What I remember now was not the deserved punishment but I remember Mama. She cried. It hurt her more than me. She comforted me. There is nothing in the world so consoling as Mother love."
Susannah Mitchell Heath: "Mama's quiet courage and faith at the time of Papa's death has been an inspiration and example to me that I have tried to follow. Mama had two crippling accidents, and we feared that she was always going to be in a wheelchair. Because we knew we could not give her care she needed, we had to have her in a rest home. She understood and always tried to be cheerful and not complain to save us worry. She found others who were lonely and continued to give her love and do good for others."
"I always remember Mama when I read Proverbs, Chapter 31. Truly she earned the title 'A Virtuous Woman' as given in the Bible. 'Her price is above rubies - Her children arise and call her blessed - Her husband also he praiseth her - Her own works will praise her at the gates.'"
Sarah Mitchell Olsen:“A choice memory of Mother’s thoughtfulness for others came many years later - a short time before she passed away. One evening as Max and I went to her room for a visit, we could hear her singing ‘Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?’ As we approached her bed she stopped singing and greeted us with the words, ‘I can’t think of anything good I have ever done for anyone,’ and she seemed a bit depressed. We assured her that all of us become forgetful as we grow older. Then we reminded her of many of her accomplishments and worthwhile things she had done for others and her face brightened."
Lucy Mitchell Lunt remembers talking with her mother shortly before her (Lucy’s) father’s funeral. “[Mother] said, ‘One of the things I’m most grateful to your Father for is that he let me be the one to be sweet and kind to you children. He did the disciplining and punishing if necessary.’ This was an insight for me into Mother’s lovely character - that she could fully recognize and appreciate the important and worthwhile qualities of life and it was a beautiful tribute to Father.”
Elizabeth Mitchell Nielson: “Mother and flowers were inseparable. . . .All through the years she shared her flowers with others. Especially she delighted in taking arm loads to the cemetery. She always wanted enough flowers to put on all the graves in her parents’ and Father’s lots. Whenever plants or cut flowers were sent to Mother they were appreciated to the fullest. They were light and nourishment to her soul.”
Alice Mitchell Lillywhite: “As I try to put down a few fond memories that would do justice to Mother’s life, I seem to hear her say, ‘Of course you can do it. You learned how to write in school, and your Father is such a good writer.’ She always made us feel that we were capable of anything we were asked to do, and she always held up Father as an example. She had faith in us and in him, which gave us self confidence.”
Janet Mitchell Samuelson: “I remember one time when she played fairy godmother.” When Janet had nothing to wear for a date to a dance and no money to buy something to wear, her mother made her a blouse out of the lining of an old coat. Janet said, “That evening I received many compliments on my new blouse. After the dance when I undressed and went in to tell Mama about the dance I felt exactly like Cinderella because when I took the blouse off it fell in shreds . . .” What a seamstress!
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| Susan Liberta Brazier Mitchell with all her children |
Remembrances from I Remember Mama - I Remember Grandma: A Personal History of Susan Liberta Brazier Mitchell July 4, 1871 - July 8, 1961, written by her family, July 4, 1971. Copy in my possession.
