Biography of Vernecia Markham Document Number: 120
Author Group: Various Children of William Don Carlos Markham and Sarah Ann Markham, as compiled by Beth Ann Markham Richmond, fourth child of George Reynolds Markham (ID#98) and Anna I. Anderson (ID#97). Classification: COMPILED: FamilyHistory Location: USA, Utah, Utah, Spanish Fork Biography of MARKHAM, Vernecia Document Entry Number: 1
Transcription: Vernecia was the twelfth child and eighth daughter born to William Don Carlos Markham and Sarah Ann Warner. She was born October 31, 1901 at the Markham home located in the Leland farm community. Being the youngest in a large family was a position for receiving a great outpouring of love. Nean felt it always, and she always lived worthy of the love she received. Nean's mother was not well after her birth. She suffered always from bouts of bronchial pneumonia during cold weather, and so it was not until the following March that Nean was blessed. Nean's father loved all of his children, and for the short six years he lived after her birth, she felt much of his love. She was sitting on his lap when the news of the birth of Mary's daughter Ida was announced. Nean wanted to go right over to see the new baby. As she ran across the yard, she fell and skinned her knee. Her father went and picked her up and latter he carried her over to see the baby. She was a pretty child and even her brother Joe could not resist her. At Easter time when Nean was eight, she came to her mother and asked for some new shoes, because her shoes were shabby. They were still very short of money and her mother told her they could not afford any shoes, but Joe pulled some money from his pocket and told her mother she should have the new shoes. Her father passed away when Nean was six, and the loss was hard on the family. Nean's mother kept Nean near by during those times. Nean remembers making many sick calls and visits to new babies with her mother. Nean's mother thought she was too immature to begin school at age six, and kept her at home until she was nearly eight. Nean was a very bright child and she was able to catch up with the other children her age. She had a pretty dress with a pinafore which she wore to school one day. Effie braided her hair and secured the braids with pretty rosettes. The art class teacher chose Nean to come and pose for the class. On the day her father died, Nean saw him sag back into bed and a few minutes later Tell told George, and his cousin Gene to take Nean and Ora over to his mother's house. His mother was their Aunt Jesse. Their Aunt Jesse asked them what had happened and they told her their father was bad. The prayer circle room and the temple clothes were kept in Jesse's upstairs room, and later when Tell came up to get temple clothes, Jesse asked her "what for?" Tell said, "Didn't they tell you? Dad died." Jesse fainted. This was the first the children knew of their father's death. Nean attended the first four years of school in Leland, and then she went to town by wagon to attend the Thurber school for the next four years. Her older sisters were very loving to her and the relationships continued all of their lives. When she was in the sixth grade, Tell bought her a violin. She studied on the violin for two years, but she really wanted to learn to play the piano. At 13 she began to take lessons on the piano. After 3 lessons, she was put in as assistant Sunday School Organist. The first Sunday she was to play just one song, and she thought it would be the same for a while, but the regular organist soon quit and Nean was on her own. She was the Ward Organist for many years. She completed her high school years in Spanish Fork, and received her Normal degree from BYU. Following her sister Ora, she finished high school in three years. When Nean and Ora attended BYU, Nean's mother moved into town to accommodate Tell as she was living at home and teaching while Roy was filling his mission. Tell had given birth to Leland and needed to be able to come home and feed him. The girls traveled back and forth on the electric train, or stayed in Provo with Aunt Mame if the school activities kept them over. Effie was also at home and a cousin, Agnes who was a senior in high school lived with them a lot of the time. Another cousin Elsie McKee ran out of money before she finished at BYU, so she also moved in with them. The sisters and cousins became very close during that time. In 1921, Nean started her teaching career in Benjamin. She was always very pleasant and friendly. Nean was respected by her co-workers, and she was loved by her students. She prized very much a quilt her students in Benjamin made for her. Each student had prepared a block. When Roy returned from his mission Nean was the one who drove them back to Vernal because Roy was ill. She had no idea of what kind of a chore that was. There were only narrow dirt roads and though they left at 4 a.m., they didn't arrive there until 6:30 p.m., and a very tired troop they were. Nean stayed for a month and had a great time with the McKee cousins. Nean had lots of friends, and as time went by her attention turned to Francis Beck, a local boy, the son of Antrim and Lula Atwood Beck. Nean had grown up knowing him, but when her interest increased, she found that she had to vie for his attention with Norma Taylor. The Taylors moved to Spanish Fork when the sugar factory was being built. Nean and Norma were both interested in music. Norma played the piano well and it was at this time that Nean began leading music. It was a talent which she excelled in. Nean won out in the romance department also, and in 1924 she and Francis became engaged. During these years Nean drove about in a black open air Ford. She made a great impression on everyone with her skills in music. At school, she organized choirs and musicals of all sorts, and Elinor Stark said, "She stepped right in where Eff left off and took charge. She was determined and outspoken and she helped us to excel and grow." Nean enriched many lives both at her schools and in church with her work with choirs and musicals. She was able to command and get excellence from all those with whom she worked. In the summer of 1924 Nean, Effie, and their Mother were visiting at Ann's home in Salt Lake along with their cousin Agnes. On the spur of the moment, they decided to go to visit Ora. They greatly surprised and delighted Ora, and stayed for a week. It was a special trip for them all. In January of 1925, her mother died, and the house seemed so cold to Nean and Effie, that they could not bear to return there right away. Nean stayed with Joe and Iva so she could continue her teaching and Eff went to Ora in Wyoming. After school was out they both stayed with Ora a month, and then they went back to Leland and cleaned up and returned to their home. In the fall of that year Nean and France went to a stake conference where all the visiting authorities seemed to present the same message, it was, 'if you are sure you have found the right person to spend the rest of eternity with, you should get married. They felt as if everyone was talking to them. France had just started a new job and he could not take much time off, but they decided not to wait, and were married on August 20th, before Nean's school began. Effie was very happy for them and made Nean a new dress for the occasion. France's parents drove them to Salt Lake where they stayed at Nean's sister Ann. They went to the Temple at 7 a.m. in the morning. There was only one sealing room in the temple then, and they were the last of the 32 sealings to be completed. It was 3:30 in the afternoon before they returned to Ann's home to a lovely wedding dinner. They made their home in the old Markham home. Eff returned to stay with Ora and complete her high school education. As with all young couples, they must have looked forward to children, the later events certainly showed them to be very qualified for that role, but it was not to be. They were always glad to enjoy the children of their brothers and sisters, and both France and Nean spread caring and concern wherever they went. They were a great pair, France strong and quiet, with a great sense of fun, and Nean willing to do all of the verbal communication. They greatly loved and admired each other and their years together were very fulfilling. The depression was of great concern to them, but they felt themselves very fortunate in 1931, when France was able to go to work for the Del Monte Company located near by. It had, for forty-two years, a very stabilizing effect on their lives. it made it possible to be supportive to their families, and they were able to use a yearly paid vacation to travel extensively. Over the years they were able to see most of the United States and Canada and some of Mexico. Nean enjoyed Grand Opera, and they often attended the Los Angeles season. They also enjoyed going to visit their relatives. After the long wait for a child, they were able to get Jon in 1933. He arrived early, and they were not quite prepared, so the baby had to sleep his first nights in a dresser drawer. Nean must have felt at little insecure at the time, because of an event which occured in March when Joe's son Lee was born. Effie was away in Oregon, helping at the birth of George's new daughter Beth, so Nean went over to Joe's house to see if she could be of some help. The doctor told her that she could be a great help because the baby was about to be born. Nean felt great panic, and ran to get Myrtle Woufinder out of bed in the middle of the night to go and help the doctor. The panic must have been over the birthing, and not the mothering, because she was a great mother. She had many opportunities to show how long suffering mothers have to be. Effie helped her with Jon, but he had trouble with his feeding and he was not a happy baby until they finally discovered he was fine except they were not feeding him enough. Both France and Nean had love enough to parent many children. They demonstrated it over the years by practicing the role on many a nephew or niece. France's sister Nora had four children, and because of illness, was not able to provide and care for them, so France and Nean took on the task. Mary Lou lived with them until she married, and the other children were often with them also. Beth Marsden tells of staying with them during her high school years when it was hard to participate in activities and get back and forth to the farm. George's Beth used their home as a home away from home when she attended BYU. In the years since, her children have used Aunt Nean's home as a storing place between college years, and a haven in case of an emergency. The year after Jon arrived, they moved into town and were there until 1941. Sometime before they moved, they bought a 32 acre farm that ran right next to France's fathers farm. France and Jon spent Saturdays working on the farm. In December of 1940 France's father became very ill and died on the 23rc. The family all came but hurried away for Christmas with their own families. Nora and Harvey were staying in town with Nean because Nora was expecting her baby at any time. On Christmas her labor began and Mary Lou was born at 8a.m. France couldn't afford to quit his job at Del Monte, so they sold their home in town and moved to the farm with France's mother. It was a hard time for Nean, and for her mother-in-law. It was easier for all of them when during the war years Nean returned to teaching on a full time basis. Real relief came when they were able to get a piece of property on the north which was sold to pay taxes, and they were lucky enough to make the winning bid. In 1946 they were able to move to their own farm house. Cooking was not Nean's greatest talent, but she always made ordinary food taste special. Along with music, she had a great sewing talent. She never used a commercial pattern. She simply took a newspaper and cut out the dress parts and sewed up dresses that fit every time. She sewed a lot for Nora's girls and sometimes for Joe's girls. She was particularly fond of a lot of ruffles, and the little girls always loved them. Over the years Nean did some substitute teaching and had a lot of piano students. She was always very active in church. She served as an MIA councilor and as President of the Primary, but her favorite callings always involved music. She also participated in a local singing group called the Coralettes. For 8 years, she was the director of this civic group. She belonged to the Thalian Club, a music club, after 1950, and was active most of her adult life in the Stephen Markham camp of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. Jon graduated from high school and he went to BYU for some time, but he felt that his father needed him on the farm, so he stopped school and did the farming. In 1951, the Becks purchased a house in town. The farm was to be the home of Jon and his bride to be, Carol Ludlow of Payson. Next to music, Nean loved weddings very much, so this was an exciting time for the Beck family. Jon and Carol were married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1952. Jon's family was a great joy to both France and Nean. They loved watching the six grandchildren grow. The years between 1952 and 1973 were full and happy. In 1973, France retired from Del Monte after 42 years. Not long after his retirement he became ill and six weeks later on August 6th he died of cancer. It was a sad time for Nean, and France was sorely missed. Nean's family and friends rallied around to support her. Nean had suffered for some years from high blood pressure and diabetes, and she also had cataracts which made it unsafe to drive. She had surgery for the cataracts in 1973. After, the surgery, Nean suffered so badly f rom double vision, that it was not safe for her to live alone, so Nean went to live with Jon. It was a hard time for all of them. The following year doctors finally learned that the reason for her double vision was not the surgery, but the fact that her diabetes was out of control and causing the condition. They got her diabetes under control and she was able to return to her little home in Spanish Fork. Nean continued to have some problem with balance, so she could not drive, but she and her good friend Anna Stark became very close, and did lots of things together for the next ten years until her falling made it necessary for her stay at home most of the time. After that the priests faithfully took the sacrament to her home each Sunday. She felt blessed by good home teachers and visiting teachers who watched over her. She was especially proud of her grandsons Bill and Gene who filled missions for the church. She had a strong testimony of the Gospel all of her life and she lived a life which echoed her belief. Her granddaughter Kay ran errands and took care of a great many of her other needs. She had many friends and relatives who never passed that area without stopping to visit. She continued her correspondence with friends and family who lived far away. She was very thankful for TV, which made it possible for her to continue to enjoy great cultural events while she was at home. Tell's Lucille recalls her last visit in January. Lucille had been to a seminar in Provo, and like all of the relatives made a stop to see Nean before going home. "We had a good visit and I caught up on all of the family news. As I was ready to go I asked her if she wanted me to turn the radio back on. Nean said she would rather watch the Super Bowl on TV. We sat together and watched for a while, and I delighted in how alive, vital, and in tune she always was with everyone and everything." She had truly 'cast her bread upon the water', and it came back to fill her homebound years with a great deal of love and companionship in her later life.
Nean died April 11, 1987 after a short illness. The descendants of Nean and Francis Beck are:
1:Jon m. Carol Ludlow A-Lu Ann m. Rhett Gentry a-Judd b-Andrea c-Nicholas B-Kay Lynn m. Garth Ashby a-Amanda Kay b-Chad B c-McCall C-William m. Linda Leifson a-Blake b-Brad D-Eugene m. Lisa Hunt a-Jon R. E-Jan Marie m. Clay Grant a-Brook F-Caroline m. Clay Creer