The Ever-Capable Lucy Marie

Lucy holding Calvin (my grandpa) 

and a cousin, Beulah, in the mid-1920s

This morning I got a text from the #LightTheWorld Campaign challenging me to share an inspiring story of my ancestors. My first thought was of my Grandpa Calvin Hooper's Aunt Lucy, a woman who found a way to accomplish everything she needed to do, even a life-altering incident. Lucy Marie Muir was the youngest of eleven children (the three who came just before Lucy had died as infants). Grandpa's mom had moved back in with her mom to have him after her divorce, and seven-year-old Lucy was there to help.

After Great-Grandma Jeanette Muir Hooper remarried and moved to Ogden, Lucy helped her mom with their busy life in Beaver, Utah. As a senior in high school, Lucy married Elden Thomas Gillins in 1935. Within a year, they had their first child, Elden Wallace Gillins. Her husband worked for Union Pacific Railroad at a maintenance station in Thermo, near Milford. Her son, Elden, later shared this story of his mother's incident and perseverance.

Lucy Marie Muir

"During this visit it began snowing, and since Dad was supposed to be at work the next day, they attempted to return to Thermo. Apparently the car heater was not working, as I recall my parents saying they had attempted to wrap themselves up in blankets to keep warm in the car. They had almost made it to Thermo when the car either broke down or stalled. 

"I recall them saying that they were near the railroad tracks and finally made the decision that Dad would walk down the tracks to Thermo and try to get help. There apparently was no help available as Dad made a fire in the apartment and returned to the car. He and Mother decided to try and reach Thermo. Dad would carry Mom and Mom would carry me. They wrapped both Mom and me in a quilt and Dad carried us both and started out. During the trip Mom’s one foot and the hands that were holding me became frost bitten from the exposure during the walk. They tried to get circulation back into the hands and foot but were not successful.  

"They stopped a train going to Milford, and then continued on to Beaver. Again they tried but were unsuccessful in getting circulation into her limbs. Mom received Priesthood blessings [in which she was promised she would not lose the use of her hands], and they then took her to Cedar City to the hospital where they amputated her fingers on both hands and half of her foot.

"When Mother was released from the hospital, they returned to Thermo where they continued to live and Mom continued to convalesce. In a little over three years, Mother delivered another boy. This boy was also born at her mother’s home in Beaver, and they named him James Thomas Gillins, apparently after both of his grandfathers, although they never made it known either way that I can remember. After Jim’s birth, they returned to Thermo. 

"Mom taught herself how to take care of her babies, even to the point of bathing, dressing, and changing diapers. She even mastered the art of pinning the diapers on the babies herself. By the time it became necessary for me to start school, she had become very accomplished in taking care of us kids. We had moved from Thermo back to Milford, and Mom had become determined that she was going to learn how to drive. She accomplished this, and I can remember her making the trip from Milford to Beaver with just her and Jim and I in the car. 

"As Mom used to talk of the blessing she received at the time of her injury, she would say that at first she thought that when they said during the blessing as they said that she would never lose the use of her hands. She said that she was sort of disappointed when they had to take her fingers, but as she thought of the blessing and the promise, she realized that she had received the fulfilled blessing. She never did lose the use of her hands. 

"I don’t recall her ever being defeated by anything she wanted to accomplish. She could bottle fruit and vegetables, although it was difficult for her to hold the slippery foods. This became my job as I grew up. 

Her nephew's wedding. Lucy is in the back row, far left. 

Her husband, Elden, is in the middle of the back row. Lucy 

generally hid her hands during pictures.

"Mom also learned how to knit and crochet by using her thumb stub and the area where her index finger had been. As she used to teach the children in Primary, they would try to mimic her and hold their finger close to their hands. 'It doesn’t matter what I tell them, they want to do what I do,' she would say. When she would knit or crochet, she would wrap the thread around the palm of her hand and hold the needles in the webbing between the thumb and forefinger stump." [Lucy Marie Muir Gillins As Remembered by Her Son, Elden Wallace Gillins]

Great-Aunt Lucy lived her life finding creative ways of doing everything she needed and wanted to do. She served her family, community, and church members. When Mom and Dad told me about her as a kid, I was surprised that she could still do daily tasks, and amazed that she could knit and crochet. Lucy inspires me to have faith in promised blessings, and to find a way to accomplish what I want to do.