History for Anna Pearl Pryor

This is the history that I wrote for my family history class.  Thank you again to all who helped.  

History of Anna Pearl Pryor (Falkner)

Memories taken from Kathryn Henry, Allysa Falkner, Paul Falkner, Liz Cogswell, Denice Schug, Michael Falkner, Rob Poulson, Lynn Falkner, Mark Falkner—all of which are grandchildren. And Don Falkner—her son. Anna Pearl Pryor was born 16 Oct 1901 in Sequatchie, Marion, Tennessee to Edgar Lawrence Pryor and Rickie Ella Wagner. She was the oldest of 7 children. Anna had a fair complexion, brown eyes, and naturally curly hair that she would refer to as wash and wear hair. It was light brown in color until she started to go white in her 40s. There isn't much known of her childhood, although she learn how to clean and keep a neat house. She learned handwork and cooking from her mother, Rickie, and her grandmother Anna Augusta Scheef. She was raised in a loving but strict Christian home. Before she was born – The Wagners (Anna’s mother’s family) got excited about the Mormon Church. The missionary who baptized them came back and married one of their daughters. At that point the Pryor family also became interested in the gospel. In 1904 the Pryor family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In August 1905 the family left their mountain farm to travel to Utah and settled in Salt Lake City. 1910 census she was living in Garfield, Salt Lake, Utah she was age 8 living with her parents Edgar and Rickie, her sisters Ruth age 6 and Bessie age 8 months. Her father was working at a copper mill. Anna Pearl was Baptized 27 April 1911 and confirmed a member 30 Apr 1911 in the 25th Ward, Pioneer Stake. (Baptismal Certificate) 1920 census- The family was living at 841 South 800 West Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah. She is living with her parents Edgar and Rickie along with her brother and 3 sisters; Ruth age 17, Bessie age 10, Lucille age 2 and Lawrence age 3. She is now 18 and working as a seamstress for a tailoring shop. Her father was an iron molder working for an iron and steel company. She was sealed to her parents on 23 Feb 1921 in the Salt Lake Temple. She also took out her endowments that day. February 14 1923, at the age of 21, she married Robert Falkner by Bishop Kershaw N. White and witnessed by Edgar L. Pryor and Rickie W. Pryor. (Marriage certificate) They were sealed together in the Salt Lake Temple on 17 Jan 1924. On March 3 1924 she had her first child, Robert Pryor Falkner. And on 30 December 1925 she had Joyce Ann Falkner. Anna had a hard time getting pregnant. She didn’t know was pregnant with Carol until late in the pregnancy. Carol Jean Falkner was born 8 January 1930; following with Don Veer Falkner on 23 January 1932. 1930 census- The family rented a house 663 South 800 West Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah. Robert was 35 and worked as a salesman for an insurance company, wife Anna 28 and three children, Robert 6, Joyce Ann 4, and Carol 3 months. During the depression she kept a quilt going at all time to give to the needy. Between 1935 and 1940-- Anna, with her family moved to Kaysville, Utah. Robert was working on the grounds of the state capital as a gardener and his boss mentioned that he was sick of country life and would prefer to live in the city. Robert preferred to live in the country so they traded houses. His boss moved to Salt Lake and the Falkner family moved to Kaysville. The house was originally an old inn so Robert switched out the doors and put in windows. It had a good size kitchen—L shape with big table. He built the cabinets in the kitchen. Had 3 bedrooms and a large hallway which Don remembers sleeping there until the oldest son, Robert Pryor, went to war. 1940 census- The Falkner family is living East on Locust street in Kaysville, he owns his home worth $5000. He has no income, and is a shell shocked disabled veteran from the world war. He is the head of the house age 42, Wife is Anna age 38, Children Robert age 16, Joyce 14, Carol 10 and Don 8. The children are all attending school. Robert is in 9th grade, Joyce in 8th, Carol in 4th and Don 2nd grade. Robert had 2 years of college and Anna finished High School. During WWII she made quilts to help others and did her part to help with the war effort. Anna took her future daughter-in law, Edith Blamires, out to Nebraska to marry to Robert Pryor Falkner. Anna was always close with Edith. After 1946 they did not have a car but preferred to ride the bus. Several of the grandchildren remember her taking them dressed in their Sunday best to Salt Lake City to buy new shoes. They would ride on the bus for this trip. Whenever anything new came out Robert purchased it for Anna. She had one of the first automatic washing machines and later a dryer. She gave her old wringer washer to Edith, as many things did when they replaced it with the latest model. Christmas 1951 she got a television, which she really enjoyed. She loved watching soap operas in the afternoon. Her favorites were “The Guiding Light” and “As the World Turns”. She would often say, “Idle hand are of the devil” (taught by her mother) so she would always sew or knit while she watched TV. Both Anna and Robert enjoyed the Friday Night Flights with George George being a favorite. During the 1960’s she enjoyed watching “Star Trek”. In the late 1950’s Robert bought her a freezer and she would freeze anything she could. She would spend her summers canning, freezing, and pickling fruits and vegetables. She would make dill pickles in a big crock pot. She had a years supply of canned foods in the basement. She was impatient about things. She liked to get things done and didn’t wait for you to do it. She also had a hard time waiting for surprised. Every year she put together a large Christmas box for the grandchildren filled candy, new pajamas, popcorn and other goodies. She would also make the grandchildren mitten, slippers, or socks for Christmas. Anna couldn’t wait for the grandkids to open the box, and often the box was opened before Christmas. Her home was full of drama, with Joyce who seem to have a depression problem with many ups and downs. Carol said "she was hard to live with." Carol was married twice and moved back home with her son, Randy, between marriages. Kelly, Joyce’s oldest son, came and lived in her home for a while because Joyce's husband could not live with him. He had Don's old room and at times Kelly would camp out in the back yard. Robert would set up his old WWI army tent that he used for hunting trips. Kelly later got into trouble by stealing a car and was sent away. Anna and Robert always had room for one more. The summer of 1950 Robert Pryor, with his small family, lived in an out building next to the garage. They would sleep in this building and have their meals in the main house. They lived there until November, when theymoved into the little white house own by Edith's uncle . Anna’s sisters and family also lived for short times in their house. At one point her mother, Rickie, was living with her until her death. Rickie fell from the bed and broke her hip; Anna spent much of her time caring for her mother. Kathy remembers Anna telling her, "Remember if you break your hip you are a goner." Her grandmother, Anna Augusta Scheef, also died after falling on the front pouch and breaking her hip. Kathy remembers, “There where time when my dad's (Robert Pryor) pay check didn't make it to the end of the month so he would take us to visit grandma and grandpa. Grandma had a way of making their meals feed extra people. She made the most delish hamburger gravy and there was always fresh vegetables from their garden. There were times when we had bad east winds and would have no power or heat at our house so we went to grandma's house.” In June 1963 she lost her husband Robert. Shortly after going to bed, Anna heard a sigh from Robert and then he was gone. New Year’s 1964, Robert Pryor became very ill with a ruptured appendix. He was in the hospital for months and Anna sat with him often. She was there when he passed on 18 March 1964. It was very hard for her to lose her husband and son less than a year apart. After Robert Pryor died Edith (his widow) got pneumonia. Anna spent a week at the house to help while Edith got better. Denice remembers, “Mom had pneumonia and had to be hospitalized and Grandma Falkner came to take care of us. I was walking home from kindergarten and saw grandma ironing in the front window. Not understanding how sick Mom was, I was excited to have grandma stay with us. Breakfast the next morning was oatmeal, except for myself and Mike; we got toast with peanut butter and honey. It was such a treat and I felt a little spoiled! Liz hated oatmeal and was a bit upset at the treat Mike and I had for breakfast.” After her husband died, she lost 100 pounds. Kathy’s wedding—Anna baked cookies for months and froze them to have at Kathy’s wedding. Anna escorted her to temple. Often went for Sunday drives. Anna carried a big purse and it was packed with essential things. Gum, Band-Aids, hankies, life-savers, etc. She was a very practical person. Anna had a ruptured appendix with abnormal flu like symptoms. This was after Robert Pryor died of a ruptured appendix earlier and he also did not have the usual symptoms. Thankfully her condition was caught early enough and did not suffer any problems. She also sang with the Kaysville Tabernacle choir; Alto-Tenor parts. Loved to read and do temple work. Travel with Robert Pryor and Edith, Oil painting, cook sweets, and typically always had a project going. She loved to stay busy. Embarrassed later because her hair got thin so she wore wigs. Always said Endure to the end. She lived in Kaysville in her home until Carol's mother-in-law died, then Carol talk her into selling her home and moving into the basement apartment of her house. This was hard for her because she could hear what was going on up stairs. Rob Poulson remembers, “My grandma lived with us until I was about 7 or 8. The best memory I have is that she would play cards with us anytime we wanted. My sister Wendy and I learned several games from her such as go fish and other children's games. I recall she was a short and slender woman with gray hair, glasses and a big smile. Best of all where the cookies that grandma taught mom to make and all the other sweets that a mother can only provide.” Mark Falkner remembers being watched by Anna when she lived at Carol’s. He also remembers, “She was for the most part a reserved woman who was very kind but not prone to seeking attention or recognition. Grandpa was the outgoing one in their relationship and seemed to dominate the room in family gatherings.” Don Falkner, her son, remembers, “My mother was always a very sweet soft spoken person. She had the duty of the home inside which included cleaning, up keeping, cooking etc. Dad’s duty was the outside maintenance, gardening, and anything to do with the exterior of the home. This was a great job because when we moved to Kaysville we I mean mom and dad bought a quarter of a CITY block which took much maintenance.. Mother was always home she never worked, in fact she never owned a SS card. When we returned from school she was always there. In all I was kind of expectant of what she did and never realized how much she really did for me. She was kind and soft spoken but kept us in line. I never remember her getting angry which I am sure she did at me some times.” Lynn Falkner remembers, “I do have some memories of how their home in Kaysville looked, at least from the outside and I remember a culvert running nearby that actually had leaches in it. My strongest and fondest memory was grandfather's workshop. The incredible aroma of the wood and the shavings was overwhelming which I have rarely experienced since. I remember a room or garage full of wood working tools that only a true craftsman would have. I have vague memories of how he looked and less so of grandmother. I do remember Anna living out her last days in a nursing home in Davis County but I don't think I was ever taken there for a visit. I do recall my father sharing his concern that she often complained her "stuff" had been stolen by other residents but he knew it was her dementia.” She died on 2 Aug 1981in Bountiful Utah. She is buried in the Kaysville City Cemetery. Desert News August 4 1981 page B-10 Anna Falkner Kaysville--Anna Pryor Falkner, 79, of 10 South and 2nd West died August 2, 1981. Born October 16, 1901, in Sequatchie, Tennessee, of Edgar Lawrence and Ricki Ella Wagner Pryor Married Robert Falkner February 14 1923 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. He passed away June 30, 1960. She has lived in Salt Lake and Kaysville. She was a member of the LDS 1st ward and had sung in the Tabernacle Choir. She named the Golden Years Senior Citizens Center in Bountiful. She is survived by: son and daughters: Don Falkner, Murray; Mrs John (Joyce) Malloy, Ogden; Mrs. Ray (Carol) Poulson, North Salt Lake; 23 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; brothers: Larry, Salt Lake City; Noel, Houston, Texas; sisters Ruth Scoville, Bountiful; Bessie Murphy and Lucille Noyce, both of Salt Lake City, Janice Howells, Reno Nevada. Funeral service will be held Thursday, 11:00 a.m., in the Lindquist's Kaysville Mortuary, 400 North Main, where friends may call Wednesday, 6-8p.m., and one hour prior to services on Thursday. Interment, Kaysville city Cemetery.