A Passing Is Never A Footnote

The preliminary source for this blog, and the reunion held in 2009 was George (Wm) Kirkham, His Ancestors and Descendants compiled by E. Kay Kirkham and published in 1985. It related the emigration and progress of and English family settling in Lehi, Utah Territory in September 1859.

I learned today that E. Kay Kirkham's widow, Oleve Kittinger Kirkham has passed away in Bountiful, Utah. Aunt Oleve turned 100 last October. I will cherish the last time I visited her (if not the date) and the remaining positivity she displayed. Oleve did suffer extreme memory loss and so I needed to introduce myself throughout the visit. It took mere seconds to do so, and she would delight at the introduction. I showed her pictures of a JMK gathering and she was able to point herself out in the crowd. I believe I received a very important lesson from her in this: we are who we see. The years can wear on us, but we can be sure of ourselves, of what we believe, what we hold dear or true.

As well as helping Kay with his career in genealogy and church duties Oleve also wrote a book of her own family's history: The Kittinger /Davis Families.

I understand that Oleve will be remembered in an obituary to be published in Salt Lake City papers on Sunday the 3d of August.

Updates over the last year

After losing my father, Kirkham Cousin Jim Kirkham on January 28, 2014 to a stroke related to his several year battle with Leukocytic Lymphoma I have finally begun reviewing my Kirkham records.

Dad was a son of James Arno Kirkham and Sylvia Ucilla Gudmundsen. We are familiar with the Kirkham line: Arno was the eldest son of James Mercer and Kate Woodhouse Kirkham, both descendants of Lehi pioneering families; he the son of James Kirkham and Martha Mercer and she of John Woodhouse and Emma Smith Thomas. Sylvia Gudmundsen - always called Gene in my life- had grandfathers Samuel Mulliner, Jr and Gudmund Gudmundsson who were first missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Scotland and Iceland, respectively. I am not sure when the spelling changed in the Gudmundsen line, except that Gudmund emigrated with a group of Saints coming from Denmark, arriving Utah in Christian Christensen's company in 1857. Her parents were Isaac Gudmundsen and Mary Ann Mulliner. Wives of the aforementioned grandfathers were Mary Ann Richardson Mulliner and Marie Jacobsen Garff Gudmundsen.

Predeceased by his wife Joan Backman, of dad's seven children four survive him; Rex, Kee and Jan having passed away. Surviving are Ked, Rob, Jeff and Sue.

In my recent study I learn also of these passages:

Emma Pehrson Kirkham passed away in Farmington, Utah. Her husband Douglas James the younger son of Milo Franklin, youngest of James and Emma Wootton Kirkham. Doug and Arno then were the eldest and youngest grandsons of James Kirkham.  Doug survives his wife as do five children.

I have recently learned of the passing of Weston Kay Jones on December 12, 2010 in Spanish Fork, Utah and his wife Norma Bearnsson on October 21, 2011. Weston was the son of Martha Ann Kirkham, daughter of James Mercer Kirkham, and Hyrum Pidding Jones. He was the third grandchild  (and grandson) of James Mercer, Lhomond Jones and Jim Kirkham being numbers one and two. Lhomond passed away in 2009.