Remembering Helen Rice Born 95 Years Ago

I have seen a squirrel scampering near the bunk feeders several times this month. When I see a squirrel, I think of Helen Rice who was the only one I know who had a pet squirrel, but there was so much more to this delightful woman than that as the following blog will show. 

            This January marks the 95th year since the birth of  Helen Ladema Foust Rice. Helen was born on January 11, and spent her early childhood in Fairfax, with her sister, Waunetia, who was 13 years older.

         On September 2, 1950, Helen married Virgil Rice, the nephew of my maternal grandma, Gladys Rainey Smith. They moved to the Big Bend, living near the Arkansas River, a little over one mile south of the Belford School House. It became Grandma’s mission to be sure Helen had entered a relationship with Jesus. Grandma always deemed that most important in the lives of her loved ones.

           Grandma told Helen scriptures such as “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” and “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” and “The soul that sins shall die.” Helen told my mother that Grandma made the truths of scripture come alive as they never had before to her. She told Mother, “I was afraid to drive to town without being saved.” Helen soon received Jesus, trusting Him to forgive her sins, and give her His righteousness.

Maxine Hines Rice, Gladys Rainey Smith, and
Helen Foust Rice at Daisy Rice's home on
Thanksgiving in the 1970s.

            Helen began her walk with Jesus in the early 1950s. It was never a flamboyant one – just a consistent walk with faithful obedience. Helen worked behind the scenes – inviting people to church, encouraging those who had become discouraged in their walk with the Lord, and bringing her joyful spirit to many.
            Helen served faithfully caring for little ones for many years in the church’s Sunday School nursery. Her petite frame never kept her from holding precious babies and loving and teaching the youngest toddlers.
            She prepared and served at scores of dinners for grieving families that she helped host with other women at the church. Her love, compassion and prayers were always stirred into the delicious dishes and desserts she baked for sorrowful people.
            For several of his high school years and beyond, my brother-in-law worked for Virgil, Helen’s husband, and Rick, her son, in their agriculture operation in the Bend. Ben, my brother-in-law, said he hardly ever sat down to one of the many, many meals that Helen prepared for him wihout her making the comment, "I hope it will be fit to eat." Every meal proved to be tasty and nourishing.
           Money management skills are so important in our world today. Helen could have given a proven effective short course in personal finances. She knew how to use each dollar to the max. Yet she kept a beautiful home and dressed impeccably when she went out. Even when working at home, she looked “put together.”
           I have written about planting tomatoes in the flower beds behind Mother’s home. I was inspired partly by Helen. She liked egg plants so planted them in her beds on the north side of her home.
           In Helen’s last years, she battled cancer, requiring many chemotherapy treatments. She faced courageously the side effects of the treatment. Her indomitable spirit led her to bake cakes for neighbors and friends going through difficulty in Fairfax, where she and Virgil had moved prior to his death. She insisted on attending church as often as she could even during her prolonged fight against the vicious disease.

Helen and my parents, Bernyce and Edmund
Gates, posed for a 2002 Christmas photo at the
 home of Angie and Ben Bradley in Oklahoma
City. 

            Helen’s desires for the best for her husband, son, grandsons, and her daughter-in-law determined so many of her day-to-day decisions and activities. Barbara, her daughter-in-law, developed a closeness with Helen after her marriage to Rick. Helen shared all types of tips for caring for a home and loved ones. Barbara and I laughed many times over Helen admonishing her to “press” the jeans of Helen’s grandsons, Tyler and Caleb, because ironed jeans made a young man look so well-kept in Helen's eyes!
           The last time I saw Helen was just days before her passing on March 20, 2005. Rick and Barbara were caring for her in her home at Fairfax. It was so hard for her to be confined to her bed and not able to be the hospitable hostess she always had been. Even in her weakened state, she maintained a spirit of joy, not because of the terminal illness, but because God had blessed her with a family who lovingly cared for her.

In May of 2019, this squirrel
reminded me of Helen. It was at the 
bunk feeders, appearing to pose. This 
was my favorite shot.

          My mother laughs every time she relates this funny incident that occurred when Helen and Virgil were newlyweds in their early 20s. Helen and Virgil had a pet squirrel that they kept indoors in their home. (As a child, I loved that house because it had a spacious wrap-around porch.) Mother said they had a box of chocolates. While Helen and Virgil were away, their pet squirrel took each piece of chocolate and placed them meticulously on the tops of the drapes in their living room. The heat melted the chocolate and redecorated the draperies!

          For this reason, every time I see a squirrel on Mother’s place, I smile and think of Helen. The scampering squirrels remind me of Helen. She never appeared lethargic but was energetic in her endeavors. The squirrels provide for their needs in the harshest of times. Helen’s forward thinking met the needs of her family, home and church. Finally, the squirrels do exactly what God created them to do. Helen's life was lived doing unselfishly what He planned for her.
         Paul wrote, “…If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Helen illustrated this beautifully in her walk with the Lord.

*Sketch of Helen’s Ancestry in the Early 20th Century                 John A. Foust, the grandfather of Helen, his wife and four children including Helen’s father, Lawrence Lee, were counted in the 1900 U.S. Census. Helen’s father had been born in Lamont, Oklahoma in 1896. His father was listed as a farmer around Lamont in Grant County in the census record.                  Ten years later, Lawrence’s family had relocated to Kansas. In the 1910 United States Census, his father, John, and mother, Charlottie, were recorded along with their nine children ranging in age from age 17 down to 6 months old. John rented land and farmed in the extreme northeast corner of Cowley County.                 Lawrence married Helen’s mother, Cora Martin when he was 19, and she was age 15. Their marriage license issued in Noble County of Oklahoma required parental consent by his father, John and Cora’s mother, Julia Hough.