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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
YOUR AD COULD BE HERE!
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
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