Mother Bear

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February 2000

My Stories

Barcelona

Bruges

Rome & Paris- Part 1

Rome & Paris- Part 2

New York Pretenders

6 National Parks in 6 wks

Mother of all Road Trips-1

Mother of all Road Trips-2

Mother of all Road Trips-3

Mother of all Road Trips-4

Containing Jim in Paris

Ranging the Yellowstone

Lisbon Portugal- Part 1

Lisbon and Sintra- Part 2

Evora Portugal- Part 3

Coimbra Portugal- Part 4

Porto Portugal- Part 5

At the Mammogram Office

Carmel Art Gallery

Venice- Part I

Veneto- Part II

Ravenna- Part III

Cinque Terre- Part IV

Vernazza Bonus- Part V

Granner

Crunch Time

Putting on the Ritz

Granada and Sevilla

Amsterdam

Tuscany and Umbria - 1

Tuscany and Umbria - 2

Driving in England

Dwelling in England

A Dozens Reasons

In the Hamam

Istanbul Greece Diary

Pearl Harbor Team

Old Girl

Paris

Provence

Grandpa's Cabin

Pay-It-Forward Latte

England and France

N. Italy - 1

N. Italy - 2

N. Italy - 3

N. Italy - 4

Lessons from 4 Corners

Mexico

Going to the Dogs

Don't Embarrass Me!

Letter from Siena

Arrivederci Roma

Joining the Matriarchs

Living History

Newlywed Game

Chaos Theory

Zach on the Road

Huckleberry Season

Stanley & the Sunbeam

I Dare Say

Legacy

Middle School Relay

Grad Party

Yellowstone

Moving On

Radio Shack

Newlywed Couches

Visitors

Old Faithful Inn

Snowbound

Sweet Potato

Mother Bear

Two Blondes in Iberia

Revisiting Spain

Four Seasons Camping

Curly's Truck.

Disaster Restorations

Bobbie the Wonder Dog

Ducks and Beavers

Wearing Red

Photo Boxes

Las Vegas Soufflé

40th Birthday Party

The Heart Tickler

Wonderful Little Things

Heritage Tour

Erickson Era

Old Buildings

Chelsea's

Split Seams

All Nighter

Talent Show

A Look Back

 

She was a petite woman, with a Nordic complexion and a soft, soothing voice; a fragile woman. Appearances are often deceiving.

Lois Schutte Davenport bore five children, the last two as twins before there was such a thing as ultrasound to warn mothers of their fate. These two babes grew to full term and weight within their tiny mother; she could barely reach the steering wheel on her way home from the obstetrician’s office. Somehow, Lois made her way.

In the early 1960’s, Lois packed up her pink station wagon, sinking with the weight of her grand family and a garbage can full of yard tools tied to the back. The Schuttes were moving to Salem, Oregon where they knew no one, but Lois saw an opportunity to make friends through the local dental wives group. It was at a dental auxiliary meeting that my mom, Ruth Tyler, first spotted Lois.

Both women were new to town, had large families, and not a whole lot of interest in the elite social scene of Salem, such as it was. Instead, they detected in each other a sly sense of fun, a sensitivity and a love for life. This was the beginning of the Schutte and Tyler alliance, a relationship more like family than most families.

With grandparents and other relatives miles away, the Schuttes and Tylers settled into a course of spending holidays and other celebrations together. On Thanksgiving, we’d all head to Lincoln City with too many kids, dogs, and 28 pound turkeys. Mom would stir gravy with a crying baby on her hip, and older kids had to sit on a motel bed with their holiday plate in the crowded beach quarters. These trips are among my most cherished childhood memories, and I recall that through it all, Lois and Mom would be talking, non-stop, always.

Lois was an outstanding cook; even as kids, we knew to expect something special from her kitchen. She wasn’t afraid to experiment with food, creating her unique spin on a vegetable casserole or a huckleberry pie. Once, our families went on search for such huckleberries on a camping trip to the Jefferson Wilderness area. It was here that Lois was famously captured on film after a surprise encounter with a mother bear.

Lois wasn’t really much different from that mother bear. She was out to protect her young at all costs. Pity the threatening force who might be fooled by her small form and sweet voice.

Lois’ strength was further tested in later years with some painful episodes in her life, the greatest being her diagnosis with ovarian cancer 5 ½ years ago. True to form, Lois fought her way from a six month prognosis to nearly six years of life. She packed a lot of living in those years with her husband, children and grandchildren, as well as more Thanksgiving trips to the beach. Lois outlasted others who fell ill years following her own diagnosis, and she did so while taking dune buggy rides on the Oregon coast with my mom seated next to her.

As tough as she was, Lois’s body ultimately starting giving out this past fall and she began a rapid decline. All those who loved her so dearly- her husband, her children and grandchildren, and yes, my mom, got to spend many of these precious days with her.

Lois often spoke of the angels who gave her strength and the Spirit who gave her life meaning. With husband, Ernie, and children, Ed, Jim, Dorie, Diane and Dana at her bedside, Lois breathed her last this past Friday. But the strength of the angels and the strength of this mother bear lives on in those of us whose lives she’s touched.

Goodbye, Lois. Be with the angels now, where you belong with your fair face and soft voice.

 

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