Audrey LaVerne (Sabin) Rickard

Audrey L. Rickard went to be with her Lord and Savior on Monday, July 25, 2016, at her home in Nampa, Idaho.  She was born on October 1, 1924 to Frank and Anna Sabin in Wallowa, Oregon, and raised in numerous towns in Idaho, Oregon and Colorado, graduating from high school in Prineville, Oregon.  She attended Northwest Nazarene College for a year, where she studied business, and met her future husband, LaVerne “Rick” Rickard.  A homemaker while raising her family, Audrey later worked in accounts payable at Northwest Nazarene College for 10 years, and as secretary for College Church of the Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho, for several years. 

She was preceded in death by her husband, LaVerne, of 30 years. 

She is survived by her son Ron; daughter LaRae Helliwell (and husband Kim); son John, all from Nampa, Idaho; son Marly, France; sister Betty Eggebraaten, Boise, Idaho; 4 grandchildren; and 2 great-grandchildren.

A viewing will be held on Friday, July 29, 2016 at the Nampa Funeral Home, Yraguen Chapel from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M.  A Memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 30, 2016 at 11:00 am at Franklin Hall, College Church of the Nazarene, 504 E. Dewey Ave, Nampa, Id. 83686, with dinner following at the same location.  Private interment will be at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. An online guest book is available at www.nampafuneralhome.com 

 

Audrey Rickard

Eulogy

 

Audrey LaVerne was born to Frank and Anna Sabin on October 1, 1924 in Wallowa, Oregon, joining three older siblings, Lyle, Kenneth, and Betty.  Four years later, sister LaRae also joined the family.  The family moved a lot during her childhood, settling in small commuities such as Weiser, Cascade, Tamarack, and Payette, Idaho, while Frank worked in sawmills and Anna washed and packed apples. 

 

LaVerne, as she was called before she was married, often played with a couple of boy cousins who lived across the street.  One day she got into the little red wagon.  She told them to “pull me.”  It was a big game.  After so much of this her cousins said, “The horses have to stop and rest.  Mommies don’t make them drive all the time.”  It wasn‘t fun anymore.  LaVerne replied, “This mommy do.”

 

LaVerne was described as a China doll when she was little. Anna would wash and curl her curly hair. Throw in her rosy cheeks and brown eyes, and she was the picture of health. 

 

She loved her grandma Schaeffer.  When LaVerne was 4 ½ she would curl up in bed with her grandma to take a nap.  Of course grandma never said a cross word to little LaVerne.  One day she was sent to Aunt May’s house for a few hours.  When she got back she learned that her grandpa Schaeffer had passed away.  Upon hearing the news she said, “ I wouldn’t have gone if I had known.” 

 

All the children learned at an early age the value of hard work.  The family would pack up the horses with supplies for an extended stay in the mountains to pick huckleberries.  Picking berries every day, all day, was tiring work, but they didn’t complain.  Each child was expected to pick several gallons of berries and oftentimes, the horses would be unable to carry the load.  The folks would haul what the horses could not and the long hike out of the mountains would begin.  For incentive, the youngest would be bribed with a penny to keep on walking to the next landmark.  One summer, they picked a total of 300 gallons.  At home Anna would can and sell the luscious and hard-earned berries to the local hospital for 50 cents per half gallon.

 

The three sisters always shared the same bed, even well into their teens.  They never got scared at night because they had each other.  Betty would tell stories, highly entertaining the younger sisters, until Anna would put a stop to it.  In the mornings the three sisters made their bed together, ate together, and did the dishes together.  They played together, spending hours playing jacks, and playing hopscotch in their bare feet.  All day they were constant companions.  They were dear friends, almost like a shadow to each other.  Consequently, the three of them became very close. In high school they would walk arm in arm the three or four blocks to school.  Their friends couldn’t believe any sisters could be on such good terms. 

 

At the start of the depression, Frank began work in the orchards, moving his family yet again to Greeley, Colorado.  The family’s furniture was loaded onto his and his partner’s large truck, which also carried a load of apples.  Unfortunately, the partner flipped the truck during the move, and the entire load was scattered in the snow.  The apples froze and most of the furniture was destroyed. 

 

While in Greeley, chicken pox and measles made their rounds with all the children.  All five kids had their tonsils removed at the same time in their dining room.  The doctor, who made house calls back then, gave the family a discount because he only had to make one trip!

 

The family moved again to Prineville, Oregon.  Finding work and a means to support his family was always a priority for Frank.  They were poor, but the children didn’t know it because every other family was in the same situation.

 

Through it all, the family’s faith and trust in God sustained them and Frank and Anna were instrumental in starting the Nazarene church there in Prineville.  Frank contacted the District Superintendent and told him the need for a church.  The DS agreed to hold revival services for seven weeks.  During that time, the DS and his wife lived with the Sabin family, along with several sawmill workers, until the church was established.

 

There were always relatives or boarders living with the Sabin family throughout her childhood and teen years.  Evangelists would often stay with the family when in town for special services.  LaVerne (or Audrey) learned from those experiences the importance of serving others, which her parents had so wonderfully modeled for her.

 

LaVerne attended Northwest Nazarene College for one year, where she studied business, and met her future husband.  His name was also LaVerne.  The story is told that LaVerne Rickard used to practice proposing to his future wife.  Since he didn’t know who that would be, he would look in the mirror and say his own name, “LaVerne, will you marry me?”  This came in quite handy when the actual moment came for the proposal!  Since their marriage, LaVerne Sabin became Audrey Rickard and LaVerne Rickard became Rick Rickard. 

 

Not usually a romantic, Audrey changed when she was in love with Rick.  Betty, now married, went to the farm to visit Audrey once.  She was trying to write a special poem to send to Rick, but she couldn’t make it rhyme.  Betty helped her write it and it was finally sent off.  Audrey would also walk around the farm looking for flowers to press to send to Rick.

 

By the time the wedding came around, Rick was serving in the Navy on the east coast.  Audrey boarded a train alone in Portland and travelled to Boston for their wedding on March 4, 1944.  It was a rather intimidating trip with many service men also traveling on the train with her, and her first time alone so far from home. But she made it and a new chapter in her life began. 

 

Life with Rick was an adventure.  Early in their marriage, Audrey rolled over in bed and accidentally hit Rick in the face.  Rising before Audrey the next morning, Rick went to the coal bin and made up his face to look like he had a black eye.  It was quite shocking to see – before Audrey found out the truth! 

 

Audrey found her greatest joy being a mother and a homemaker.  Ronald Charles was born on December 2, 1946.  Almost three years to the day later, Carol LaRae was born on December 3, 1949.  During nap times, Audrey would go to the apartment upstairs to clean, and arrive back in time to see her children get up from their naps.  What co-operative children they were!

 

Marlyn Kent was born five years later on August 26, 1954.  Taking him around the neighborhood in his baby buggy was a real treat for the proud big sister, LaRae, who joyfully confirmed that there was a real baby in the baby buggy.

 

Two years later, John Alan was born on November 9, 1956.  The family was now complete.  Audrey enjoyed taking care of the kids well.  She was a homemaker at heart.  She would start the day going through the bedrooms, cleaning, changing sheets, making beds, opening the windows, getting the rooms fixed up ready for the next night.  No work was a chore to her.

 

In time she would include making bread two or three times per week into her schedule.  Brownies and chocolate chip cookies were her specialties, as well as mile high strawberry pie, and great home cooked meals.  As the children grew, she became the taxi driver as well, taking them to piano lessons, school, church activities, and other functions. 

 

Life revolved around church and her faith.  On many Sundays she and Rick would invite new people over for dinner after church.  She always cooked enough for impromptu company.  Ron, LaRae, Marly and John loved company because there were usually children to play with in the families that came.  Audrey said the happiest years of her life were when the whole family was going to church together.

 

Audrey was not a flashy person.  She would rather listen when a group was together.  She was always steady, and she kept her head.  She also had a unique sense of humor.  One time someone said all her children got their brains from their dad.  She quipped, “Yah, I still got mine!”  During her time in hospice care, when she was confined to the bed because she could no longer use her legs, she mumbled something.  When LaRae asked her what she said, she replied,” Oh, I’m just silly . . . I said I want to run a foot race.”

 

Audrey did work outside of the home a few times.  She once cared for an elderly blind woman, who insisted on having her hair shortened by lighting a match to it (in its braided form of course).  Mom didn’t hesitate to accommodate her.

 

She worked for Penney’s for a while when Rick was teaching mathematics and computer science at Northwest Nazarene college.  Rick worked there for seven years and passed away in 1974 of myeloma cancer.  Three weeks after that Audrey started working for Northwest Nazarene College as the switchboard operator, and in accounts payable.  For over 10 years she paid all the bills for the college.

 

After retiring from Northwest Nazarene College, Audrey worked for three years as a secretary for College Church in Nampa, Idaho.  After finally retiring for good, she stayed at home with her son, John.  She enjoyed going to yard sales, often with her sister, Betty Eggebraaten, and John as the driver.  Usually hot and tired when finished, a stop would be made on the way home at A & W for a hot fudge Sundae.  In the evening, after John went to bed, Audrey would often walk a half block away to visit Betty, have some tea and maybe some ice cream. 

 

Audrey led a Christ-filled life.  When the neighbors across the street would often play loud music, she did not call the cops, or even threaten them with calling the cops.  Instead, she baked them a yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  The next day when the doorbell rang, there stood a son of the family, about seven years old, with an armload of lilies.  Those neighbors never played loud music again.   Audrey never said a bad word about anyone.  Instead, when someone was disgraced due to bad behavior, she would say, “I wish it didn’t have to be that way.”

 

Audrey was always giving:  homemade bread to someone who stopped by, including her children; food to a shut in; money to someone in need, even if it was her last dollar.   She always stayed close to her two sisters, Betty and LaRae.  They laughed and giggled so much when they were together.  Otherwise they would talk often over the phone.  Their closeness lasted a lifetime.

 

Audrey lived her life for others.  At age 88, she was diagnosed with aortic stenosis.  At age 90, in December, 2015, she lost the strength in her legs and was put on home hospice care, being confined to a bed for the most part.  She never complained, even though she dearly wanted to get up and do the dishes or clean house.  The highlight of her day was Bible reading and prayer shared with LaRae and John, listening to Christian programming or Christian music, and visits from Bill and Connie Russell, Grant Henry, her family and friends.  The family was able to move her to a wheel chair for some outdoor excursions occasionally, but she spent the majority of her time in bed.  On July 25, 2016, she went to be with the Lord, dying peacefully in her sleep.  We will miss her; she was dearly loved.  We look forward to seeing her again where there is no sickness or sorrow – only joy in the presence of Jesus.

 

 

 

 

 

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