My mom, Ora Ila Moody Lott Creech, was born in the long-gone hamlet of Rogers Prairie, Jack County, Texas, on 21 January, 1915. Her parents were William Lee, a farmer, and Ada May Comstock Moody. She had two older brothers, James Hayden and Bill, two older sisters, Essie May and Peggy, and two younger brothers, C.B. and Jeff. Her family and friends called her "Skippy". The family moved to near Jermyn, Texas when she was 2, and after her father passed away in 1922, the family lived in Mineral Wells, Texas, which she considered her home town.
After her father died and especially during the early years of the Great Depression, Mom knew some hard times, but she didn't much speak of the poverty of those days. Instead, she'd tell of things like her brother Bill pushing her so high on the old wooden swing in the back yard, of their little dog Tex's tricks, of her mother sitting on the porch and playing the fiddle, the happy things. It was mighty hard to stay gloomy around Mom. She could always find a silver lining to most any cloud.
Mom became a nurse. She wed her first husband, Arthur B. Lott, in 1938, and he was killed in WWII, in 1943 - they were childless. Between husbands, Mom worked at Nazareth Hospital in Mineral Wells, as a circulating nurse in the OR. She married her second husband, James E. Creech, on 3 August, 1952. They had one daughter, Dorothy Elaine. Jim, an Arkansawyer, was career Air Force, and they lived in Alabama, New York, Washington State, France, California, Arizona and Utah before he retired and the family made one last move, to Arkansas.
Mom had the greenest thumbs of anybody, and her gardens were always something to see, both flowers and vegetables looking pretty enough to be in magazines. She could also name pretty much any wildflower or bird she saw, and wherever she lived she enjoyed exploring the area and learning all about it. Mom also loved to travel, dancing, reading - especially whodonits, and was a wonderful cook.
Ora Ila was survived by her husband Jim Creech, daughter Dorothy, son-in-law Kenneth Varnell, two grandsons, David and Dennis, and her brothers C.B. & Jeff Moody. We all miss her terribly, but are comforted knowing she is with our dear Lord and Savior, and all her loved ones who went before her.
After her father died and especially during the early years of the Great Depression, Mom knew some hard times, but she didn't much speak of the poverty of those days. Instead, she'd tell of things like her brother Bill pushing her so high on the old wooden swing in the back yard, of their little dog Tex's tricks, of her mother sitting on the porch and playing the fiddle, the happy things. It was mighty hard to stay gloomy around Mom. She could always find a silver lining to most any cloud.
Mom became a nurse. She wed her first husband, Arthur B. Lott, in 1938, and he was killed in WWII, in 1943 - they were childless. Between husbands, Mom worked at Nazareth Hospital in Mineral Wells, as a circulating nurse in the OR. She married her second husband, James E. Creech, on 3 August, 1952. They had one daughter, Dorothy Elaine. Jim, an Arkansawyer, was career Air Force, and they lived in Alabama, New York, Washington State, France, California, Arizona and Utah before he retired and the family made one last move, to Arkansas.
Mom had the greenest thumbs of anybody, and her gardens were always something to see, both flowers and vegetables looking pretty enough to be in magazines. She could also name pretty much any wildflower or bird she saw, and wherever she lived she enjoyed exploring the area and learning all about it. Mom also loved to travel, dancing, reading - especially whodonits, and was a wonderful cook.
Ora Ila was survived by her husband Jim Creech, daughter Dorothy, son-in-law Kenneth Varnell, two grandsons, David and Dennis, and her brothers C.B. & Jeff Moody. We all miss her terribly, but are comforted knowing she is with our dear Lord and Savior, and all her loved ones who went before her.
My mom, Ora Ila Moody Lott Creech, was born in the long-gone hamlet of Rogers Prairie, Jack County, Texas, on 21 January, 1915. Her parents were William Lee, a farmer, and Ada May Comstock Moody. She had two older brothers, James Hayden and Bill, two older sisters, Essie May and Peggy, and two younger brothers, C.B. and Jeff. Her family and friends called her "Skippy". The family moved to near Jermyn, Texas when she was 2, and after her father passed away in 1922, the family lived in Mineral Wells, Texas, which she considered her home town.
After her father died and especially during the early years of the Great Depression, Mom knew some hard times, but she didn't much speak of the poverty of those days. Instead, she'd tell of things like her brother Bill pushing her so high on the old wooden swing in the back yard, of their little dog Tex's tricks, of her mother sitting on the porch and playing the fiddle, the happy things. It was mighty hard to stay gloomy around Mom. She could always find a silver lining to most any cloud.
Mom became a nurse. She wed her first husband, Arthur B. Lott, in 1938, and he was killed in WWII, in 1943 - they were childless. Between husbands, Mom worked at Nazareth Hospital in Mineral Wells, as a circulating nurse in the OR. She married her second husband, James E. Creech, on 3 August, 1952. They had one daughter, Dorothy Elaine. Jim, an Arkansawyer, was career Air Force, and they lived in Alabama, New York, Washington State, France, California, Arizona and Utah before he retired and the family made one last move, to Arkansas.
Mom had the greenest thumbs of anybody, and her gardens were always something to see, both flowers and vegetables looking pretty enough to be in magazines. She could also name pretty much any wildflower or bird she saw, and wherever she lived she enjoyed exploring the area and learning all about it. Mom also loved to travel, dancing, reading - especially whodonits, and was a wonderful cook.
Ora Ila was survived by her husband Jim Creech, daughter Dorothy, son-in-law Kenneth Varnell, two grandsons, David and Dennis, and her brothers C.B. & Jeff Moody. We all miss her terribly, but are comforted knowing she is with our dear Lord and Savior, and all her loved ones who went before her.
After her father died and especially during the early years of the Great Depression, Mom knew some hard times, but she didn't much speak of the poverty of those days. Instead, she'd tell of things like her brother Bill pushing her so high on the old wooden swing in the back yard, of their little dog Tex's tricks, of her mother sitting on the porch and playing the fiddle, the happy things. It was mighty hard to stay gloomy around Mom. She could always find a silver lining to most any cloud.
Mom became a nurse. She wed her first husband, Arthur B. Lott, in 1938, and he was killed in WWII, in 1943 - they were childless. Between husbands, Mom worked at Nazareth Hospital in Mineral Wells, as a circulating nurse in the OR. She married her second husband, James E. Creech, on 3 August, 1952. They had one daughter, Dorothy Elaine. Jim, an Arkansawyer, was career Air Force, and they lived in Alabama, New York, Washington State, France, California, Arizona and Utah before he retired and the family made one last move, to Arkansas.
Mom had the greenest thumbs of anybody, and her gardens were always something to see, both flowers and vegetables looking pretty enough to be in magazines. She could also name pretty much any wildflower or bird she saw, and wherever she lived she enjoyed exploring the area and learning all about it. Mom also loved to travel, dancing, reading - especially whodonits, and was a wonderful cook.
Ora Ila was survived by her husband Jim Creech, daughter Dorothy, son-in-law Kenneth Varnell, two grandsons, David and Dennis, and her brothers C.B. & Jeff Moody. We all miss her terribly, but are comforted knowing she is with our dear Lord and Savior, and all her loved ones who went before her.
