Twinkle and Binkle, The Starr News: Mother (Nola Lucille Hopkins Starr)

My mother was and is the closest person I know to an "angel". If I ever get to heaven and she does not meet me with a brightness of heavenly light about her I will be very disappointed. Mother was faithful in her faith to the end of her life here on earth. Mom's life was dedicated to her husband, children, and her home. We kids were perfect in her eyes, and even when we strayed she would forgive us, and I'm sure she talked to God about getting us back on the straight and narrow. I was probably her biggest disappointment of all her six kids but she was always there when I needed her. I could always tell by the look on her face when I had disappointed her, but I could also tell by the sparkle in her eyes when she was proud of me. She, along with Dad, sacrificed a great deal in their lives to give us kids the best life possible. There are so many memories I have of mother that I could never put them all in this writing, so I'll only write a few.
I remember when Dad was in the Army mother would carry me, and lead my older sister down to the local general store where we would get on a greyhound bus and travel to Brigham City to spend the weekend with mother’s parents. This was done even in the winter months on a regular basis. I don't think I was much over two or three years old.
Mother also taught school at the local Plymouth Elementary School while Dad was in the service. She was the principal, and as a condition of her accepting the position it was understood that she would be allowed to take me with her. I would sit in a desk with one of the students and color pictures. When I had to go to the bathroom I would run up to her desk and she would unbutton my trousers and I would run down the hall. When I was finished I would come back to her desk so she could button me up again. I was pretty much the school mascot.
Later in life Dad got us a Shetland pony for Christmas. Being the oldest boy I was the one who rode the horse while Dad led it all over. Later after the horse was broken to ride mother would come out on the porch and hold the horse while I saddled it. Mother was deathly afraid of the horse but she knew I wanted to ride and she made the effort so I could.
I remember her cinnamon twists she would bake, and when we came home from school they would be cooling on the cupboard. I can still taste them today even though I'm not allowed to eat sweets anymore.
After Dad came home from the service, mother became a stay at home mom and was always there to greet us when we came home from school. I'm sure this had a lot to do with the fact that none of us turned out to be delinquents.
I was drafted into the Army and after stateside training I went to Viet Nam. I remember the look on Mom's face when she handed me the letter from the president telling me to report for duty. I went over to Viet Nam as an infantry sergeant responsible for a combat rifle squad. Believe me when you’re in combat, letters from home are what keep you going. They serve as quiet reminders that the world you grew up in is still there, and someone you love still cares and worries about you. I can't remember a time when that mail chopper landed that I didn't have a letter from mother.
Mom's gone now and I miss her very much. Some times when one of the kids do something special I catch myself wanting to call her and tell her about it. Her birthday is January 6. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!
Her son Lanny Starr

Mom as a teenager at play

My beautiful mother

Mom, Dad, Me and Sis

Mom and her students, Year 1936-37
front row: Delora Lamb, Beverly Udy, Bonnie Jean Estep, Bernice Hess,
Merna Archilbald; second: Lyle Hess, Phyllis Udy, L. Archibald, Helen
Mason, Delores Smith, Aileen Archibald; third: Raymond Hess,
Ronald Archibald, Boyd Josephson, Vernon Lamb, Lloyd Mason,
Mitchel Hess, Devearl Nish