Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, May 9, 2020

MVNews this week:  Page 3

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 9, 2020 

REMEMBRANCE

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side 

 by Deanne Davis

EDWARD WILLIAM FIELDS JR.,


Edward William Fields Jr., 86, formerly 
of Dickinson, ND, died Saturday, 
February 15, 2020, in Sierra Madre, CA. 

Bill was born November 3, 1933, in 
Indianapolis, IN, the son of Edward 
and Marguerite Fields. He and his 
sister Janice were raised in West 
Newton, Martinsville, Mars Hill, and 
Mooresville, IN, with deep ties to family 
and the Quaker community. Bill was a 
member of Mooresville Friends Church 
and graduated from Mooresville High 
School in 1951. 

Bill served in the U.S. Navy from 1952 
to 1960. During that time he worked 
on submarine surveillance equipment 
for the NSA and was stationed near 
Washington, DC, and San Francisco. 
In 1958 he moved to Bismarck, ND, 
where he lived with his aunt and uncle, 
Mildred and Arthur Hoadley, his cousin 
David, and his grandmother Mary 
Adaline Christie. There he attended 
Bismarck Junior College and met his 
wife-to-be, Janice Cram. Bill graduated from State Teachers College, Valley City, ND in 1962 and went 
on to receive his Masters in Social Work from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1965.

Bill and Jan were married June 8, 1962, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bismarck. They moved to 
Dickinson in 1965, and their daughter Jennifer was born in 1971. Bill was a Licensed Clinical Social 
Worker for the ND Department of Human Services. He worked at the Badlands Human Service 
Center in Dickinson from 1965 until his retirement in 1995. He and Jan were active members of the 
Dickinson community until her death in 2019. He then moved to Sierra Madre, California to be near 
Jennifer and his beloved grandchildren.

Bill was a pioneer in mental health services in Dickinson and southwest North Dakota. In 1967 he was 
the first mental health clinician hired by the county of social services. The services grew and he began 
to hire additional staff to assist him. As mental health services evolved and expanded, a separate 
mental health center was created. Again services expanded and it was further enlarged to become the 
Badlands Human Service Center. In his three decades of services Bill never wavered in his leadership 
of the mental health/social service division. Bill truly believed that therapeutic services were a right 
and neither economic nor geographic location should prohibit services for those in need. His life’s 
work spanned over three decades, his contribution helped to build the framework and set the standard 
of care available to all members of the Dickinson and southwest North Dakota community.

Bill is survived by his devoted daughter Jennifer (Jimmy) Garcia of Sierra Madre, CA, and three 
grandchildren who meant the world to him: Will, Jake, and Adaline; foster daughter Tina (Kevin) 
DeGree of Minot, ND; sister Janice (Lawrence) Blattner of Peoria, IL; cousin David (Nancy) Hoadley 
of Falls Church, VA; several brothers- and sisters-in-law; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was 
preceded in death by his wife of 56 years and his parents. 

A visitation was held on February 20 at Rose Hills Mortuary in Whittier, CA. 

Bill will be laid to rest in Whitelick Cemetery on April, 27th with a Celebration of Life to take place in 
the future. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Bill Fields are suggested to the USS ALABAMA Battleship 
Foundation for the USS DRUM submarine (www.ussalabama.com/get-involved/foundation) or to 
Mooresville Friends Church, 50 N. Monroe St., Mooresville, IN 46158.

“They carry us beneath 
their hearts,

That’s how every new 
life starts.

The beating of our 
mother’s heart,

The first sound that we 
hear.

Love and peace 
surround us...

And God....is very near.

Your mother, my 
mother,

And Mary....the mother 
of....God.” *

*Lyrics from “Your 
Mother, My Mother” 
– Star of Wonder – A 
Christmas Musical

 Book & Lyrics by 
Deanne Davis, Music by 
David Wheatley.

Tomorrow is Mother’s 
Day. Normally, this 
is a joyful time to get 
together with family and 
celebrate all the mothers 
we know. That won’t be 
happening this year as 
we’re all staying home 
and practicing social 
distancing. We’ll send 
cards and my daughter-
in-law, Michon, whose 
own mother changed 
her address to heaven 
last October, has sent me 
goodies from Amazon 
that I am waiting to open till it’s actually Mother’s Day. I’ve done a few Blue Mountain cards and sent 
an Amazon package or two myself. I still have my Mother’s Day cards from last year and these words 
are so encouraging, so loving, so worth repeating…

“To my mother. We all need someone to believe in us...in who we are and in all we can become. 
Someone to cheer, encourage, comfort and guide us...to give us the confidence we need to believe in 
ourselves and in our potential to reach our dreams. Thank you for being my someone. May you know 
how much your love and support mean to me and always will.”

“Family is love and laughter, strength and smiles, hope and happiness. Every Mother’s Day is a gift 
– a chance to go back through the memories of the heart and say thank you. For a home that was 
warm and welcoming and filled with life and laughter – where each day seemed to hold some small 
adventure and something new to learn. For a family that loves being together – that cares for each 
other and helps one another through all the big and little ups and downs of life...for a connection that 
gives meaning and purpose and joy to every day.”

I will miss being with all the mothers in my family, who are numerous, probably just like your family. 
But, dear friends and neighbors, our hearts are always connected. We are never truly apart as the ties 
of love are very strong. God made us that way. And, speaking of God, I think the best essay about 
mothers was written by Erma Bombeck around 1974. I’m sharing it with you as I think it’s just the 
right thing to say just now. 

“When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into His sixth day of “overtime” when the angel 
appeared and said. “You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.” 

And God said, “Have you read the specs on this order?” She has to be completely washable, but not 
plastic. Have 180 moveable parts…all replaceable. Run on black coffee and leftovers. Have a lap that 
disappears when she stands up. A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed 
love affair. And six pairs of hands.” 

The angel shook her head slowly and said. “Six pairs of hands…. no way.” 

“It’s not the hands that are causing me problems,” God remarked, “it’s the three pairs of eyes that 
mothers have to have.” 

“That’s on the standard model?” asked the angel. God nodded. “One pair that sees through closed 
doors when she asks, ‘What are you kids doing in there?’ when she already knows. Another here in 
the back of her head that sees what she shouldn’t but what she has to know, and of course the ones 
here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say. ‘I understand and I love you’ without 
so much as uttering a word.” 

“God,” said the angel touching his sleeve gently, “Get some rest tomorrow….” 

I can’t,” said God, “I’m so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who 
heals herself when she is sick…can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger…and can get a 
nine-year-old to stand under a shower.” 

The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. “It’s too soft,” she sighed. 

“But tough!” said God excitedly. “You can imagine what this mother can do or endure.” 

“Can it think?” 

“Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise,” said the Creator. 

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek. 

“There’s a leak,” she pronounced. “I told You that You were trying to put too much into this model.” 

“It’s not a leak,” said the Lord, “It’s a tear.” 

“What’s it for?” 

“It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride.” 

“You are a genius,” said the angel. 

Somberly, God said, “I didn’t put it there.””

. Erma Bombeck, When God Created Mothers

I’m wishing each of you a Happy Mother’s Day. Make phone calls, send a beautiful bouquet like 
this one in the picture, organize Zoom parties, send texts, and say I love you! Say it a lot! This is the 
toughest time ever for mothers, with the added joy of somehow figuring out how to be a homeschool 
teacher, in addition to trying to find things to keep the family at peace when everyone is on house 
arrest. God bless all the mothers we know!

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Where you’ll find “Sunrises and Sunflowers Speak Hope”

And “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter”

Take a look at both of these books, stuffed with hope and the

Occasional good recipe.

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@playwrightdd


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CALL PATRICIA 626-818-2698

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com