Lillie Mae Garvin Dean, 1909
Mother: Lillie Mae Garvin Dean
To her children, mother was known as "caring and self-sacrificing," working long, hard hours to feed and clothe her family.
"When I was about 5-6...I had always heard it in Sunday School about God, but not so vivid as this, when one Sunday evening late we were on our way to church in and after a heavy rain. Roads were slippery and so were going very slow when all of a sudden dad slammed on the breaks and at dusk we turned from the back seat to see what was happening. I can still see the muddy water running down the creek, but the bridge was washed out and gone. We almost drove out into it. Lights on the old Model-T were not much bigger than a flashlight so dad couldn't see before he got to the water. I still wonder how he was able to back up for so long in deep, deep mud with staying in the road, but he did. As we were backing up my mother was looking back at all of us girls in the back seat to see if we were all okay. Then I heard her say, "Thank you, God." Then I knew definitely why we worshipped God every Sabbath, but we then, as now, many times must see it before we can believe it. What a lesson and I thank Him often for the beautiful memory I have that incident." (memories by Maureen Dean Jaynes)