| Monty Rulon Rigby was born 1 December, 1952 in St. Anthony, Fremont County, Idaho Hospital. First child to Monty Wayment Rigby and Shirley Jean Bowman Rigby. He was a beautiful baby boy with a lot of black curly hair and big brown eyes. He brought a wonderful glow of happiness and joy to his mother and father from the first minute he came into this world. He was special and they knew it right from the very first. He opened their hearts to the kind of love that can never be understood outside of parenthood. But his world was not going to be an easy place to live in. His life not so easy either. He was taken home from the hospital to a house with two rooms and not even a bathroom inside. This was a little rare in 1952. But although life was a struggle to keep a roof over his head and warmth in the house he grew into a chunky baby whose cheeks felt like little rocks they were so firm. He became more beautiful as he grew older. His hair was in quite long dangling curls before his mother allowed it to be cut so that he could look more like a little boy. She cried as she seen the curls drop to the floor of the barber shop. Her little boy was no longer a baby but an adorable little boy. He loved a lot of attention which he had been used to getting from his mother. His father was not home a great deal but his mother was always there for him as he grew day after day until he was walking and then running and talking. His little legs carried him around stiffly as he learned to walk like a little rogot. Not bending his knees as most people do. When He was less than three months old his mother was feeding him some carrot baby food and just as she put the carrots into his mouth he let out a great big goo and the carrots flew into the air and landed directly into his eye. He blinked as if to say what the Heck happened? There were so many of these special moments that are remembered by me, his mother.
After his sister Trisha Dawn was born the 11 of April 1954 he had grown quite a bit and he loved his new little baby sister. He had been almost potty trained and was saying a few things really plain. He had a way of not saying anything until he was sure it would come out right. He watched intently as others moved and acted around him and then when he was ready he would try it and almost always it came out very well. He used to have a few accidents when he was outside playing and didn't want to come into the house and go potty. But he eventually learned that it was a lot more comfortable to have dry pants and so he made the transition.
Ruly, as he was called from the first day of his life, was like most boys, when he came into the room he filled up the house, He was quite boisterous and everything he did was full of energy and fun. He had a wonderful sense of humor even when he was a small child. He laughed a lot and teased his siblings a lot. As he grew older I am sure that he became that bossy brother that most older brothers become. He didn't like to share his toys very much and became quite possessive of them. The other children knew that they were not to play with them. But he loved his brothers and sisters very much.
School was pretty easy for him and he always got good grades. He liked to read and he loved Math. When he was in grade school he got As and Bs and I think he loved the challenge of learning. He used to ask some pretty hard questions and if he wasn't satisfied with the answers he would not accept them. He sometimes thought that I was unfair in my correction of him and the other children. Of course no child thinks the parent is fair when they are being corrected. I am sure that from his point of view that I wasn't always fair. But I loved each of them equally.
Ruly, didn't always have an easy time in school though. Some of the children would tease him and he would sometimes get into fights with them. I remember one day I came out of the LDS Church house and found him and another boy, Val Stoddard fighting. I have never liked fighting and so I pulled Ruly off of Val and told him to go to the car. As Ruly turned his back Val hit him in the back with a hard blow and I know that this really frustrated Ruly. I turned to Val and said, " I pulled him off of you once, I won't do it again." With this he turned and walked away. But from this time on I know that Ruly suffered a lot of abuse at the hands of other boys. He came home one night in tears as he got off of the bus. He said, "I can't stand any more of this, I have had enough." I told him that he had taken enough and that it was now time to stand up for himself. I told him that he didn't need to take anymore. And evidently he didn't. The abuse must have stopped because I never heard anymore about it.
Ruly also suffered a great deal because of the problems that his dad and I were having in our marriage. He tried to make things right for us and of course he couldn't do it. I wish that I could have saved him and my other children the heartache that they felt because of our problems but I just didn't know how.
When Ruly became a teenager his life was pretty mixed up. He did some pretty dumb things and learned a lot of hard lessons. Some of them were just normal things that most teenage boys do not thinking of the consequences of his actions. One time he and some friends decided they were going to steal some sheep and sell them through the ring. This was probably one of his dumbest decisions. But they all thought it was a great idea and proceded to do just that. Much to his surprise he sold the sheep back to the man whom they had stolen them from. Of course they were caught and had to "do their time". Ruly had to stay 30 nights in Jail and go to school during the day. When he told me what had happened I asked him what he did it for. His response was, "for the money". I said, "Did you ever think of earning it like everyone else has to?" Well of course this didn't change anything a lot but it did teach him a lesson. He really didn't enjoy the "cold nights in jail". I know that so many of the young people do not do things because they are bad kids, but merely because they "love excitement", and this seems to be a strong motivation for getting into trouble in many different ways. I was very grateful that they had caught these boys in this crime because if they had not it could have gone on to worse things...Parents who try to "bail" their children out of these situations are only reinforcing their ideas that it is okay to do this. They need to accept the responsibilty for their actions...Ruly did after this.
Ruly loved to fish and hunt. He used to go ice fishing in the canal all the time and then cook his own fish. He would have made a great "mountain man" because he could cook and do almost everything necessary to be a great one. He hunted jack rabbits and although I don't think he liked the idea of hurting anything he did love to hunt. He also loved to ride horses. We had a 1/2 Thoroughbred and loved to run. Which he usually did when heading home no matter who was on her. Her name was Pokey, but she was far from pokey…She loved to race cars and I can remember many time when Ruly would come through the gate on a fast run. He and David, his younger brother were riding her in the corral one day and for some reason he was startled and both feel off and Ruly fell right on top of David breaking his elbow. It was a serious injury and required surgery. Ruly felt so bad about this. He was not afraid of too many things but he did have unreasonable fear of Salamanders for some reason..He ran across one in our pump house one day and would not go down there after that…He hit a ball and knocked it down there one day and he sent is "brave" sister Trisha down to get it…I do not ever remember her being afraid of anything. Not even things that could really hurt her badly. She just had no fear. But she and Ruly made a good team in many ways. They kept each other out of serious trouble…Well that is after they learned some pretty good lessons.
When Ruly was 17, because of the draft and his number being almost certain to be called up, he joined the national guard in St. Anthony and was stationed in Fort Ord, California for boot camp. It broke my heart to see him go, but I knew that I couldn't do anymore about it than any other mother has ever been able to do about her sons being called into the service. But I was so glad when I knew that he would never have to go over seas and fight. But he certainly looked great in his uniform. After he returned he married the girl that he had been going with for quite a while before he left. Her name was Brenda Robertson from Ashton, Idaho. She was and is a truly great daughter-in-law. At the time they were married they moved into a fifty foot trailer in St. Anthony, Idaho, and lived there until after Jade Cheyenne, their little boy was born October 6, 1973. In 1974 Monty, his father, and I were divorced and I married Dick Winters and we moved to Kamiah, Idaho where Ruly, Brenda, and Jade also moved to a little later in the year.
After the work ended here we all moved to Republic, Washington where all of the men, Dick, Richard, Ruly, and Carl Larkey logged for William Bangs for a few months. In April of 1976 Dick, Richard, and Ruly and Brenda moved to Forks, Washington and began working for Olsons logging. It was here in October 20, 1976 that Ruly was killed in a logging accident. And part of my heart died with him. A part that I can never get back. Any mother who ever loved a son or daughter and lost them knows exactly what I mean. Until this happens they can never understand the depth of pain that can be felt.
No one ever loved a wife more than Ruly loved Brenda. He was so concerned with her happiness and felt that she was not happy away from her family in Ashton. And I don't think that she was. No man ever loved a son more than he loved Jade either. He used to dance a round the room with him either holding him in his arms or holding hands with him and singing and dancing. he was a wonderful father and I think a wonderful husband. He and Brenda were married in the Idaho Falls, Idaho Temple and he remained faithful to his covenenats until the day he died. I am sure that what ever he has done in his life previous to this was forgiven him. And I know that he would want for everyone that has been harmed by any of his actions to be healed from this. He, in so many ways, was so like his grandfather Bowman. He had strong beliefs and would verbalize them often. He had a great booming laughter that would fill up the room and was so contageous that one couldn't help but laugh with him. he had a good singing voice and played the
guitar in a very special way. He had a great sense of humor and used to do a routine with his sister Trisha about Santa Clause and his raindeer that made us roll on the floor with laughter. He always wanted to make people laugh and he did. Some of my most precious memories are with my family all together and the music they would play and sing and the humorous things they would say and do. All of the family loved and missed him so much when he died. We had a good family life while he was alive in so many ways. We should remember these times and cherish them. I remember the Christmas eve when he and Diane came home all wet and cold because they had run the jeep into the canal. It is a wonder they both didn't drown. The times Ruly would run his car across country and take so many chances. But it wasn't his time yet. He seemed to flaunt death in the face during his teenage years. But he had a lot of wisdom too. He sometimes would amaze me when he would say things to me that were far older than his age. Sometimes I think that he had more wisdom than either his father or me.
I have learned that life is a combination of so many things and I know that although Ruly's life was like this in so many ways that he wanted to do those things that would please his Father in Heaven. It is so difficult for me to write his story because he was so many things to me. How do you separate one from another? In twenty four years so many memories are crowded into my mind and heart. So many day to day experiences that would not mean a lot to someone else but when all put together is the essence of his life for me, his mother. When he was taken away so much beauty in life was taken with him. I still can hear his wonderful laughter and see him as he brought cheer into the room. When I look back on his life I see the whole complete person. All the wonderful qualities and some that needed to be worked on just like all of our Father in heaven's children. These are the things we love in our children…The whole complete person. I miss him so much and I know that someday I will see him again. Without this knowledge I do not know if I could go on from day to day. I have faith that we will all be together in our Father's Kingdom some day soon. I think that if I could attribute to him one great accomplishment in this life it would be his son Jade. There is nothing that he loved more than Jade. He was his pride and his joy. The first thing that always comes to my mind when I think of Ruly was the way he would take Jade by the hands and swing him around and dance with him like the whole world had disappeared but them…Laughing and singing and loving his son. Brenda did not take second place. She was always his wonderful wife and he loved her more than life itself.
We will see you soon Son..I love you…MOM
~*please don't leave before signing my guestbook*~
|
