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| "Lizzie" Hurst |
My great grandmother, “Lizzie”
Bateman Hurst, passed away January 8, 1902, leaving behind her husband, Samuel
Harris Hurst, and nine children, ranging in age from 22-day-old Howard, to seventeen-year-old
“Harry”.
Her remains were buried in
the family plot in Logan, Utah, next to two more children who preceded her in
death.
An old friend of the family, a Scandinavian convert, spoke at her funeral
service, giving a comforting answer to what was troubling many in attendance.
He told the gathering,
“Many are asking, ‘Why should this mother be taken?’ I want to tell you that this woman shall have more influence over her family than if she had lived, and I prophesy that these children shall all grow up to be honorable men and women and shall be an honor to their parents’ name and remain true to the principles of the gospel.”
During childbirth, knowing that her days were
numbered, Lizzie asked the woman attending to the birth to make sure the infant
was cared for. Grandma Wright, as this woman was known, thought Lizzie was
giving her little Howard. Meanwhile, Samuel’s employer, Mr. Harris, and his
family believed that the child was their responsibility. Baby Howard was sent back and forth
between the two homes and was well cared for.
In later life, Howard
vividly recalled an experience when he was only a toddler of two or three
years. He was standing on the landing of the stairs and saw his mother. Although
he had never seen her since his birth, he recognized her and ran downstairs,
announcing, "I seen my own dear mommie." Of course, they were
skeptical that such a thing could happen, but he described her and her clothing
in enough detail that they believed him.
Later, as Howard grew, he began
to learn some bad habits from the rough farmhands that he worked among. About
this time, a woman came to speak at his school. Since there wasn't a hotel in
town, she boarded in the home where Howard was living. When she left, she spoke
with Howard and gave him a book called, "Ethics of Success". She
signed the book, Alice Cosgrove. Reading this inspiring book changed the
direction of Howard’s life. He saw the error of his ways and resolved to be a
better person. Howard believed that this event was fulfillment in his behalf of the
prophesy given at his mother’s funeral. He was certain that his mother had sent
Mrs. Cosgrove to him with that powerful book.
Howard summed up his
mother's influence from the spirit world in this way:
"I was
once asked how my mother could affect us more dead than alive, and I said that
others could hide from their parents and do shady things, but I never knew when
my mother was watching me.”
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| Howard Joseph Hurst |
