March 13th Prompt for Fearless Females

Lisa Alzo from The Accidental Genealogist has once again launched a series of prompts to honor the "Fearless Females" in our Family Trees. The prompt for March 13 is:

Moment of Strength: share a story where a female ancestor showed courage or strength in a difficult situation.

My Great Grandma Ada Steen Parker, seen above with my Great Grandpa Leroy Parker, was a pillar of strength. My maternal grandmother, Doris Wheeler Parker, died on May 6, 1943, when she was only 32 years old. Doris and Steen and their oldest child, Tommy can be seen below in a picture taken about 1928.

Mom told me that Grandma Ada came to their house on Shelby Street on the very day that Grandma Doris passed away. She washed all the bedding in every bedroom, cleaned the house, and made supper for a large gathering of extended family members. Grandma Ada loved her daughter in law Doris, even though Doris and my grandfather had divorced. Doris was a lovely person, and she left three children, ranging in age from 5 to 15.

Grandma Ada's heart was breaking, as she did not want to see her grandchildren left motherless, but she just dove right in, and did what she thought would be most helpful to that hurting family in their time of need. God bless Grandma Ada! She was a wonderful example of love in action, and she passed that trait down to many generations that followed her!