Take A Deep Breath and Relax!

Wow! What a whirlwind the last little while has been. Tough business planning a funeral for someone you love. It made me realize that one of the most caring things that we can do for the ones we love is to plan our own funeral. From the songs, to the obituary, life story, etc. Although I must say that it IS somewhat therapeutic to sit down and write an obituary or life story for a loved one. It helps us remember them in their prime, their happier and younger days. It also helps bring some of those held in tears to the surface where they rightly belong.

It was so wonderful to be able to visit with the Dixon clan. I'm grateful to be able to call them my family. Thank you for making a difficult occasion into a joyous reunion. I just wish we could have spent more time together!

Thank you to our wonderful friends and family who expressed their love and condolences either verbally, with a card, with a gift of food, time, service or sharing your talents with us. You helped to lighten our burden and we are grateful for your thoughtfulness. Especially thank you to my four sweet daughters. Speaking for Darvin and I, you are the light of our lives girls and a wonderful blessing to us. We have been and always will be proud of you, but I am especially grateful for your loving service in honoring your grandma at her funeral yesterday. Thank you for being willing to squelch your anguish in order to serve her one more time with your beautiful music and sharing her life with those in attendance!

Thank you to my dear husband who helps me see things in a different (at times much healthier) way! First was the upset feeling when we arrived at the church for the viewing and the funeral home didn't have the room set up. Uh, grandma was late for her own funeral!?! Then my blood pressure rose further as we were following the hearse obviously wandering around the wrong part of the cemetery not even close to Grandma's gravesite. Uh, no, grandma never served in the military, so all those VFW Post men standing around that gravesite probably weren't waiting for grandma! How in the world could the funeral home get the gravesite mixed up? They have to coordinate with the cemetery after all. And of course the funeral escort ditched us as soon as we pulled into the cemetery, so when we had to wander around, get back onto the main road and then turn back into the right part of the cemetery, I was fuming. When we finally arrived at the correct gravesite, Darvin put it all into perspective when he said, "Yeah, Grandma was probably happy for the detour so she could explore the lay of the land. She was probably thinking 'I was wondering what this part of the cemetery looked like'." Yep, grandma, one last 'road trip'!

Until we meet again dear Grandma, Mom, Sister, Aunt, Friend!!

Grandma's life story as told by Lindsey Clement Giles:

Vona Dixon was born on November 9th 1926 in Bryce, Arizona to George William and Nellie Mae Fuller Dixon.

Vona's musical talent became apparent at a very young age. She always loved music and quickly learned the words to songs she heard. At about 3 years of age Vona's mother taught her to play guitar using a steel bar, hawaiian style. She loved to sing as she played. She and her mother learned to sing together a song called "Little Sweetheart of the Mountain" and would take turns singing the alto part. When people in the community found out, there were many invitations to sing at church socials. Vona learned to play the piano and organ by ear and would delight family and friends with private 'concerts' playing songs and singing along-complements of Vona.

Vona became a doting big sister at the age of 3 when her brother Dwight was born. Vona was blessed again as a big sister when her sister Doris was born in 1933 and then again at the age of 14 when her brother Ron was born in 1941.

Vona graduated from Bryce primary school in 1940. For their 8th grade graduation the girls (with their mothers' help) sewed look alike dresses made of beautiful silky white organdy material with puffed sleeves and full flared skirt, a wide white satin ribbon belt tied in a bow in front and they each wore a small artificial bouquet of their favorite color of flowers at the neck line. Her cousin Lulu's Aunt, a professional hairdresser, was visiting from out of town and gave Vona her first professional hairdo.

During her school years the entire Bryce school would let out to go up on the hill north of town and make a big "B". Everybody gathered rocks and placed them to make the letter, then it was whitewashed so it would show up from the valley below.

At the age of 19 Vona married the love of her life, Lee Clement, the same day the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, August 6, 1945.

Throughout their marriage Lee & Vona loved to hop in the car or truck & explore the back country. Their many road trips were documented with pictures and frequently accompanied in a photo book with a beautiful poem written by Vona.

Vona always had a generous heart. One of her nieces Joann told that when she graduated high school Vona sent a package of fabric of white dotted Swiss with double black flocked dots on it which Joann used to make a dress. The fabric was quite an extravagant gift back in those days.

Vona worked as a secretary & bookkeeper. In the 1950's she worked at the University of Arizona Mesa Experiment Farm. Vona was a beautiful woman so she was frequently used as the 'model' for newspaper photos about the Experiment Farm. Vona started working in the office of Four Corners Pipe Line Company in Flagstaff in 1957. She had many responsibilities including operating the switchboard and utilizing her short-hand skills as a stenographer.

Vona experienced many female problems beginning at a very young age, so she was beside herself with joy when in 1962 at age 35 she & Lee were able to adopt their little baby Darvin. Darvin was the light of her life and became the center of her universe and his regular shenanigans kept her constantly on her toes.

Camping continued to be an enjoyable family pastime even with a busy little boy. In fact in the summer of 1965 Vona and Lee took a summer job with the Forest Service on two days notice, manning a fire lookout tower on Bear Mountain in the Apache National Forest. They were brave enough to take 3 year old Darvin on a 3 hour horse ride, packing in 6 weeks of supplies on mules to man the 60 foot lookout tower accessed by steel ladder. They used an outdoor toilet, and water was supplied by bucket attached to a rope lowered into a cistern near the cabin supplied by rain or melted snow. Their refrigerator was a screen-wire cage set out among the trees. Their first day Darvin managed to get to the 2nd landing before he was spotted and promptly returned to ground level! Vona became proficient at cooking on the old wood burning range, even learning to bake yeast bread, biscuits, cookies, pies, etc without consulting a recipe, though she never did get comfortable climbing that 60 foot ladder when it was her turn to serve as a lookout! The joy of camping continued throughout her life and was later enjoyed with Darvin's family as he grew up, got married and brought his own family on the camping trips.

In 1968 Vona, Lee & Darvin moved to a house on 7th Street in Safford, Arizona which Vona and Lee called home for almost 38 years until they moved to Yakima to be near Darvin and his family.

Vona was an amazing cook. She loved to make and share fudge and divinity each Christmas. No family celebration was complete without Vona's fruit salad! An accomplished seamstress, over the years she made many dresses & skirts for herself, suits and many a costume for Darvin and even completed Darvin's high school 'bachelor education' class bathrobe so he wouldn't fail the sewing project portion of the class!

Over her lifetime Vona honorably fulfilled all her church callings including YWMIA (Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association) Secretary, Assistant Ward Clerk, scribe to the Stake Patriarch, and Ward Relief Society President among many others. As Work Director she organized and oversaw the annual Relief Society bazaar. Vona was a great historian, both for the church and her family. She made many wonderful journals and photo albums for the whole family.

In Vona's mind, the only thing better than becoming a mother, was becoming a grandmother! There was no better, more loving, doting, spoiling Grandma than Vona! She would hold and rock and sing to her grandbabies for hours on end. Every time she and Lee would travel to Mesa she would return home with beautiful 'princess' dresses for her granddaughters. She loved to spend time playing piano and singing to them, watching old movies, playing with and spoiling them! Grandma had a candy drawer and it was never off limits and there were always plenty of cookies and sugar cereal in the house as well! Grandma had a ton of old dress up clothes and she always enjoyed watching her granddaughters' and their friends' fashion shows! When the grandkids moved far away, she and Grandpa would 'host' two at a time during the summer. They always looked forward to their turn as they had so much fun when Grandma would take them to the local swimming pool, shopping for new clothes, etc. Her love carried into the next generation and some sparkle was brought back into her life when two of her great grandsons moved to Yakima 6 months ago. Grandma made sure there were trucks and trains and ducks to play with at her house. Alex and Emmett loved going to visit Grandma, and Grandma loved having them!

Vona aspirated at home on January 5th and although she put up a strong fight, she was not able to recover. She passed away at Yakima Regional Medical Center on January 18th 2012.

Vona was a loving, honest, compassionate woman who loved her husband, children, grandchildren and anyone who crossed her path. She was ever present in the moment making sure all who entered her home felt welcome, comfortable and were well fed. Vona loved the Lord and was grateful for every blessing.

Some random memories of my grandma that I want to keep remembering: Indian jewelry that she would buy from the stands set up on the Indian reservations in Arizona on our trips to Safford, lemon drops, vienna sausages, the bag of movies she brought with her each time she came and visited us in Idaho, boxes in the mail with decorations for different holidays, and my trip to the Grand Canyon, Zion's National Park and Pipe Springs with just her, myself, and my grandpa when I was eleven years old.

It was hard hearing about and seeing Grandma as she struggled and aged, but I will think of her as she was and as she now is in heaven. Happy and vibrant. My hope is to carry on the legacy of my grandma who was one of those people who thought so much of you that it inspired you to be the kind of person that in her mind you were! There is no doubt in my mind how much my grandma loved me and all of her 4 granddaughters. May I be as gracious, loving, and beautiful inside and out as my Grandma Clement.Alex clowning around with Nana!

Today The World Lost A Wonderful Woman!

Today around 4:05 p.m. the world lost a wonderful woman, as Vona Dixon Clement completed her mortal probation at the age of 85. Even through years of physical pain and depression Vona was known to all for her kind heart and love of children. She had natural musical talent, having a beautiful singing voice and playing the piano by ear. Many admired her beautiful flower gardens. Those who knew Vona admired her physical and inner beauty, she was a gracious, grateful and sweet woman.

I'm grateful that her granddaughters had the opportunity to see her and say their goodbyes this past week. I'm grateful that Briana and her family lived in Yakima for the past 6 months. I know that little Alex and Emmett brought great joy to Grandma's life. Alex for sure will miss his Grandma! For the past 13 days that Grandma was in the hospital every time we'd arrive at Grandma and Grandpa's house, he'd say, as usual, 'Grandma? Grandpa?' I'm grateful that we can teach him and that he'll someday understand that Grandma is in heaven with Jesus. I'm grateful that we got a family picture at Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa in it. I'm grateful for the love of friends and family. I'm grateful that I know and understand the plan of salvation, so that although I mourn our loss, I realize that Grandma has completed this mortal test and that she is now experiencing a sweet reunion with her family and friends that pre-deceased her. I'm grateful that Grandma is no longer in pain.

Here are some tributes from those who knew and loved our Wife/Mom/Grandma/Sister/Aunt/Friend:

Erin Clement Chatwin-I'll miss her sense of humor and how much she loved us. I'll miss hearing her tell about how she used to rock me for hours. I'll miss her beautiful smile and listening to her sing and play the piano. I'll miss watching old movies with her. I'll miss her calling me her sunshine.

Marie Adams Westbrook-I loved visiting with her and Lee. She was a sweet, loving and talented lady!! She will be greatly missed!! She was very proud of her granddaughters and great grandkids!! And loved them very much!!!

Hollie Dixon Thompson-I always thought she was the most beautiful and graceful woman. I remember her teaching me about magnetism with a blue mickey mouse magnet in the dirt in Safford when I was little. She taught me a lot in the short times I ever spent with her.

Jennie Dixon Johnson-I loved her kind heart and love for children. I will always remember her natural talent for music and her beautiful flower gardens! She will be greatly missed by us all!

Denise Larkin Clement-When our children were young Grandma would over the top spoil her granddaughters. I always got a chuckle out of it and never really understood, until I became a grandparent, then she and I both chuckled at how I became the epitomy of her 20ish years before!

Haley Dixon Cardita-Aunt Vona is the real definition of beauty, class and grace. She was a great example to us all.

Justin F Rush-Though I met her only once by phone, and once in the hospital, I knew from those brief moments and the family's stories that she was an awesome lady. Sitting with Ash and looking through Vona's meticulously assembled scrapbooks was a highlight of the trip for me. She reminded me of my grandmother, who was my absolute best friend until I was 4, in all the right ways. Tons of love to you, to Grandpa, and to the whole family.

Gayle Houston Adams-I only met her a few times, but of the handful of times I was with her she was such an easy person to talk to. She was very warm and it was obvious how much she loved you and Darvin and your girls. I am sorry for your loss. We love you guys.

Donna Tonini Larkin-We are very saddened to hear of her loss. We know that she was a special woman, and much loved by all.

Lonette Dixon Janes-She was a constant. You could always count on her to be there. No matter how far you roamed, Vona was always there in Safford and later in Yakima waiting to hear all about your adventures and to remind you what a wonderful person she knew you to be. I miss her terribly. My thoughts are with you all as you walk this road.

Sharon Buckley-I just read of Vona's passing and thought of all the years we were in the same ward together. One things I especially remember is that she always took notes (in her fabulous shorthand) of blessings and confirmations and wrote them up and gave to the family involved. What a great service!

Debbie Dixon-Vona was a loving, honest, compassionate woman. Who loved her husband, children, grand children and so many other children who could call her mother or grand mother. She was ever present in the moment making sure all who entered her home were welcome, comfortable and fed well. Vona loved the Lord and was grateful for every blessing. ....... I will so miss my wonderful sister-in-law.

Lindsey Clement Giles-Grandma was one of those people who thought so much of you that it inspired you to be the kind of person that in her mind you were. She was so generous (i.e. spoiled us grandkids). Her love and marriage with grandpa have been and always will be an example to me. There was never any doubt in my mind how much she loved me. I hope our sweet baby girl is in heaven right now learning from her sweet great-grandma important life lessons for when she makes it here on how to show love and kindness.

Ayan Dixon-Aunt Vona always made us feel welcome in her home when we visited Safford. She fed us good food and entertained us with her amazing talent on the piano. We loved her, and send our love and prayers for you and your family.

Eileen Larson Jenkins-She always had a smile.

Joann Lamb Hathcock-When I graduated HS she sent me a package of fabric of white dotted Swiss. It had double black flocked dots on it and I made a dress and used black ribbon on it. The fabric had smelled so nice and I will always remember that gift from Aunt Vona and Uncle Lee when I granduated from HS. It was a rather extravagant gift in those days. A nice memory I have of them.

I will attempt to fill in some details of Grandma's hospitalization, since my last post was only the day after she was admitted to the hospital. As I previously mentioned, Grandma had aspirated into her right lung and was intubated as she could not breath on her own. Anytime someone aspirates there is a danger of infection. So Grandma was placed on antibiotics which she responded well to. There is the issue of the lung healing, and also whether or not the patient will maintain enough muscle mass to be able to remove the tube and again be able to breath on their own.

Grandma seemed to be doing well. X-rays were taken over the 13 day period and her lung was healing. However, as they would try to wean her off the ventilator she seemed to get to a certain point and then could not progress. One of Grandma's doctors explained to us that there is about a 2 week window to have the tube removed. Once they are off the ventilator if their muscles are not strong enough to begin breathing on their own then there is the option of having a tracheotomy placed to have a machine permanently do the breathing for the patient. The doctor indicated that he would not recommend a tracheotomy for someone as old as Grandma. Her quality of life would be very poor and as a family we realized that she would definitely NOT want this option. In fact during her somewhat coherent times over the course of her hospitalization as she would look at us her eyes were filled with anguish as if asking why we were letting them do this to her or why didn't we make them stop. For quite some time she has told us that she should have been dead long ago, that her family and friends have all passed away, etc.

So, it was determined that they would remove the ventilator on the 18th (13 days after it had been placed). They would give Grandma oxygen and assistance to a point and if she was not progressing they would switch to comfort measures. Once the tube was removed Grandma made valiant efforts to cough (as this was an important part of the process to clearing her lungs), but she became weaker and weaker until the nurse took Grandpa, Dad and me aside and indicated that with our permission it was time to switch to comfort measures. We consented. I had Dad call Briana who had been at the hospital with us throughout the morning but had left to pick up Alex and Emmett from the Middletons. She rushed back to the hospital and I met her outside and helped her bring the boys in. I waited in the ICU waiting room with the boys (who were sleeping) while she went in with Grandpa and Dad. She came out a little while later to tell me that Grandma had passed away. They had removed the tube around 11 a.m. or noon as I recall and Grandma passed away at 4:05 p.m. I know that we made the decision that Grandma would have wanted. I only wish that we had previously had Grandma complete a Do Not Resuscitate form so that she wouldn't have had to go through that 13 days of being on the ventilator! We HAVE gotten Grandpa's form completed as he feels that his life's work is completed now that Grandma is gone.

Grandma's in the hospital

Yesterday I got a phone call from Grandpa asking me to come help him wake Grandma up. I was supposed to pick her up for a 1:00 p.m. doctor's appointment. It was around 11 a.m. & he wasn't able to rouse her. I had taken Grandpa to his doctor's appointment the day before and it had taken much longer than usual as we sat in an exam room while the doctor chatted with drug reps! Afterward I dropped Grandpa off at home and picked Grandma up for a trip to the grocery store. It took at least a couple of hours in Safeway as Grandma hadn't been to the store in a while and she loves to go up and down each and every aisle to explore her options. Since I had sacrificed over half my day that previous day, when I got Grandpa's phone call I must admit I was annoyed. I was planning on using that extra hour or so to get some things done around the house.

But it was important to get Grandma up as this was an appointment to see the PA at her psychiatrist's office (Central Washington Comprehensive Mental Health). In December she'd rescheduled so many appointments at the last minute that they had threatened to drop her as a patient if she tried to reschedule again at the last minute. So I headed over to Grandma & Grandpa's! When I arrived Grandpa took me in to Grandma's bedroom. Grandma was laying on her side and it looked like blood was coming out of her mouth! I immediately called 911 and stayed on the phone answering questions until the ambulance and fire truck arrived. We were concerned that Grandma had tried to commit suicide (as she had made attempts in the past). Later we found that this was not the case, but it was horrifying at the time. Grandpa had found a metal nail file that Grandma was holding and I wondered if she'd tried to jam it down her throat and that's where the 'blood' had come from. The paramedics also found marks on her neck. There was also a concern about whether she'd tried to overdose on her medication as she'd tried that in the past. We accounted for all of her medication, but Dad met us in the emergency room at Yakima Regional and when he learned that they were still concerned about that possibility I called Grandpa who checked his medisets and none of his medication was gone either.

Later we learned that Grandma had aspirated, so most likely she was already holding the file and she either tried to use the file to clear her throat or she just couldn't let go of the file. It was a very, very long day in the emergency room. Grandma had been somewhat responsive at home and remained a little responsive at the hospital. After many tests and lots of waiting they found that she had aspirated into her right lung. She was intubated and finally taken to a room in the ICU.

Happy New Year!

What a wonderful evening we had to ring in the new year! Darvin, Lindsey, Thomas, Briana, Ivan, Alex, Emmett and I welcomed the new year by inviting our friends Wendy, Aaron, Mason and Evan Middleton over for a party. We enjoyed chatting with each other, eating tons of yummy food and also played some fun games including 'Scum' and 'Would You Rather?'. Alex and Mason met for the first time last Sunday, but I was pretty sure they'd be fast friends as they are both OBSESSED with monster trucks. And...well...pretty much they were both in heaven! I think we'll be having some pretty regular play dates between those two boys! Funny thing is Mason is a couple of months older than Alex and Emmett is a couple of months older than Evan. So it will be really fun to see all four of them play together in the future.

We celebrated the gift part of Christmas this past Friday as we wanted to wait to open presents until Thomas would be able to attend. We got a tremendous Christmas present on our 'Christmas' day. Ivan had a job interview at Bob Hall's auto dealership and learned that they want to hire him.


They'll be doing the background check on Monday, so he should know for sure if he got the job on Tuesday! Way to ring in the new year with a new job Ivan!! And HOORAY for a job in Yakima where we'll be able to continue to love on our little Pascual brothers!!

We got a White Pass Ski area gift card for Ivan for Christmas, so he and Thomas will be snowboarding at White Pass on Monday. Darvin warned Ivan not to break anything before he starts the job at Bob Hall's! lol I got a really nice Chi hair straightener from Ashley and a cool GPS from Darvin (it has lifetime free updates on it!) The Sesame Street jammies were an 'after Christmas sale' purchase made just for Alex's pleasure. And pleasure it was, he was enthralled with Nana's Elmo, Cookie Monster, Oscar, etc jammies. Yeah, I might just be the coolest grandma around!

It was a wonderful Christmas! As I mentioned we didn't open gifts until this past Friday, so on Christmas day we went to church and then had a family day the rest of the day with food and games. It was nice to have a more relaxed day on Christmas day to allow more time to celebrate the birth of the Savior as opposed to getting caught up in opening presents. Of course it was still fun to have the gift giving this past Friday. Between their parents and their grandparents the Pascual brothers made a big haul! It's really hard NOT to spoil the grandkids when they live with you! Alex got a bit overwhelmed with the present opening a few times, so he had to take a bit of a break for a little while. But overall it was a lot of fun.
Sweet little Emmett was quite content to either a) play with the bows from the gifts or b) play with Alex's 'discarded' new toys. So cute! And Emmett is becoming a bit of a monster truck lover himself. He's starting to 'play' with them.

Grandma and Grandpa Clement came over. They didn't make it for Thanksgiving dinner, but they never miss Christmas. They seemed to really enjoy themselves and didn't seem to want to go home.

A family Christmas tradition we have is to play the gift exchange game. We each get a gift that cost $10 or less and wrap it. We draw numbers and the person with number 1 gets to pick a gift first and open it. The person with number 2 either steals from player 1 or picks another gift and unwraps it. We continue in order of number.

A gift can be stolen twice and is considered unstealable on the 2nd steal. If your gift is stolen you can either steal from another person, or get another gift and unwrap it. This is one of the highlights of our Christmas each year. We can get pretty creative with what we are able to purchase for $10!


I fixed a pretty traditional Christmas dinner this year, although I kept it simple with ham, 'funeral' potatoes, brown sugar carrots, a veggie tray and fruit salad. For dessert I'd made M&M cream cheese brownies. They are pretty darn yummy. I also had made oreo truffles, peanut butter balls and cherry, raspberry, rhubarb truffles. If anyone went home hungry it certainly wasn't MY fault! lol

Emmett will be 8 months old on January 4th. It's so hard to believe! But you can sure tell that he's growing up. He's very 'interactive' these days. He doesn't like to be left alone when he's awake. He wants to be in the room where the 'action' is! He likes to hold his own spoon when it's time to eat, so you have to give him one to hold while using another one to feed him. Emmett doesn't crawl yet, but he doesn't really need to as he's perfected the art of rolling where ever he wants to go! He IS getting up on his hands and knees now and rocking back and forth, so he may take off any day now! He FINALLY cut his second tooth. Poor little man has been pretty doggone miserable for the last little while trying to work that tooth through his gum.

It's going to be a fun January. Two weeks from yesterday we'll be attending 'Monster Jam' at the Tacoma Dome with the Pascual's. The Middleton's have tickets as well, so hopefully we'll be able to hook up with them at least for the Pit Party. I can't wait to see the expressions on the boys faces as they get to meet the drivers and get up close and personal with their favorite monster trucks! Then the following weekend we'll celebrate Darvin's birthday by heading back to the western side of the state to attend a couples massage workshop. I purchased a groupon for the workshop and gave it to Darvin for our anniversary. We're attending the workshop the day after his birthday. Do you think I can get 'credit' for it as an anniversary AND birthday present?? Darvin's back problems continue so hopefully I'll be able to learn some good techniques to help alleviate his pain! We plan on meeting up with Mike Park for lunch or dinner while we're over there. I sure hope it works out as we haven't seen him in ages and really miss him. Mike sent us a game (Dominion) for Christmas. We've thoroughly enjoyed playing it over and over and hope he'll come visit us on this side of the state so we can play it with him too!

Actually I have a couple of pretty awesome birthday presents for Darvin's birthday. He tends to order his own present for his birthday. This year is his 50th and I told him NOT to order his own as I already had a present for him. He was pretty cute about it, he said, "You DO realize it's my 50TH birthday?" with the tone of "that's a BIG deal"! Of COURSE I do honey! I think you'll be pleased with my gifts!! OOOOooo, the suspense is killing me! And hmmmm, I wonder if he's been thinking about what to get ME for my 50th birthday, it IS a big deal after all!!! ;^)

Our church time has changed from 9 a.m. on Sundays to 1 p.m. Hip hip hooray!! I'm still not a morning person, even after 4 years of Seminary. It'll be so good to be able to sleep in on Sundays!