Valley Pioneer Dies at Age 93
Mrs Mary Elvira Vail Livingston, 93, an early pioneer of Star Valley, died Thursday Nov 2 in an Idaho Falls hospital from causes incident to age.
Funeral services were held in the Thayne Ward Chapel on Monday Nov 6 at 1 p.m. with Bp DeVon Van Noy officiating.
Burial was in the Thayne Cemetery.
She was born Aug 9, 1869 in Franklin, Idaho, the daughter of Isaac Hawk Vail and Teresa Ann Beeler.
On July 11, 1890 she was married to Justin Dillard Livingston. To this union were born eight children a set of twins Esna and Vesna (Both of whom preceded her in death) Silas, residing in Ashland, Ore.; another pair of twins Lynn and Lily who now live in Alpine and Idaho Falls, respectively; Lois who lives in Alpine; and tow more sons
Bud and Earl, who both live in Idaho Falls
Mrs Livingston was known, loved and admired by many. Her family knew her as "Mother"or "Grandma" or "Aunt Vi". In fact many who were not related to her called her by these endearing names.
Grandma Livingston was a true pioneer of the West. She had a rich long life and goes now to her final rest at the age 93. Until a few years ago she lived a very active life. In every sense of the word, she had the courage and fortitude of the early pioneer. Her parents were among the first five families to settle in Franklin, which is Idaho"s oldest town. She is reported to have been the second white child born in Franklin. She was one of a family of nine. she had seven brothers Ammon, Alma, Hyrum, John, Davis, William and Wallace Vail and one sister Martha Vail Van Noy
In those days time were hard, and Grandma learned to be a hard worker at a very early age. She learned to bind the grain, work in the fields, and drive the ox cart just as the men did, besides doing kitchen work as well. The Indians were unfriendly and the family had to be very careful.
Her father died when she was six or seven year old, but her mother kept the family together though it was a hard struggle, and they were very poor. She had but one pair of shoes which she kept clean by setting them beside the door to be worn only when Company came to visit.
When she was about 17 years old, her family moved to Star Valley and settled in Thayne. their home was just a little log cabin with a dirt roof and dirt floor, and it was one of the first built in Thayne. the whole area was just sagebrush. It was hard to survive during the long hard winters. the snow was so deep it was necessary to walk on snowshoes, which she did very well.
A little later in order to help her family out, she went from Thayne to Caribou Mountain where the miners were and worked in a hotel there. Not too long after this she met her husband, Justin D. Livingston. They were married in 1890 and lived in Thayne during the early years of their marriage. From there they moved to the Snake River Valley and then back to Star Valley to Thayne, and then to Alpine to homestead. It was here that she made her final home until the Palisades Project was completed a few years ago. After her home was taken she moved to Idaho Falls, where she lived with her daughters Exna and Lily until her health became so bad that she moved to the LDS Rest Home.
Many of her years were spent at Alpine where she lost her husband in 1925 when he was killed by a bull and where one month later she lost her son, Vesna who died a painful death with appendicitis.
Though her life was hard she had a strong will and determination not to give up. She also found time to help her neighbors wherever she lived. She was a practical nurse and even served as midwife for awhile.
Her great love was for the outdoors. She fished, she hunted, she huckleberries. Hers was truly an outdoor life. At one time she went out with dudes and tourists and cooked in the hills. All she needed was a frying pan and a coffee pot to make camp life really wonderful. She could even cook pies and doughnuts right over the campfire.
She led this active life until she reached a a very old age. In her lifetime she killed five head of elk, two mountain sheep. one bear and countless chickens. Grandma also caught her share of the big fish and at the are of 86 when she wrote her life history, she had that summer picked five quarts of huckleberries.
She had an active life and truly typified the hardy pioneer. At age 77, she survived a major operation and then in 1954 when she rolled down the river bank she was able to recover and live on, although it was harder for her to get around so well as before. She then spent many hours reading and doing needlework. she loved to crochet and knit and many have a piece of her handiwork to remember her by.
She believed firmly in her church, although she was not too active in it. In 1927 when her son, Lynn, was married she went through the temple and had temple work done for her husband and Vesna.
She leaves a large posterity. Besides her six children, she has 36 grandchildren about 59 great grandchildren and several great, great grandchildren. She leaves also many other relatives and friends who knew her throughout her long life.

Livingston, Mary Elvira Vail (i 9 Nov 1961) (1)Star Valley Independent

Mary Elvira VAIL is the daughter of Isaac Hawk VAIL and Tryisha Ann BEELER
Mary Elvira VAIL married Justin Dillard LIVINGSTON 11 Jul 1890 in Freedom, Lncln, WY