After the War (1945-1949)

Elwood returned to Cedar City in November 1945 to find that his family and business had weathered the war well under the watchful care of his wife. Not only had Florence managed to sustain the business, but she had been so successful as to pay two or three months ahead on the mortgage. Consequently, in 1946 the family was able to purchase the second half of the house at 246 South 300 West. Up until that time, they had lived in the basement of the house, renting out the larger upstairs first to the Smiths and then to the Howards. The arrangement worked well financially, but Florence tired of the lack of windows, and the rooms were quite small. When the Howards moved to Wyoming shortly after the War, Florence and Elwood moved their family upstairs. For a time, they rented out the basement to the Topham family, but they eventually took over the entire house.

Elwood riding Slim outside the E.M. Corry house

Elwood’s parents continued to live in the Corry family home next door, and behind the two houses stood a big barn with corrals on either side. The barn housed a horse named Slim, some cows and a few chickens. Even though they lived just blocks from campus and downtown, the Corrys enjoyed the natural world close to home. Judy remembers her mother’s love of nature. “Mom knew the names of the mountain flowers and some of the things the early pioneers and Indians used them for. She seemed to know all the little ‘nooks and crannies’ of Parowan Canyon and shared with us the special memories they had for her.” Florence would take her children for walks in the early evening around the college campus, telling stories of college life and pointing out the constellations as the stars came out.

Florence had a particular love for the canyons around Parowan. In addition to the annual Decker family get-togethers at Five-Mile Campground, she took her family up to nearby Brian Head. As a young teenager, Florence had a slight heart murmur resulting from rheumatic fever, and her parents forbade her to hike to the top of the mountain. But Judy remembers her mother taking the kids all the way to the summit, and she remembers looking out for miles and miles over the mountain country.

Around this time, Elwood and Florence went in with two or three other families on a cabin up near Navajo

Work party at the cabin up by Navajo Lake (Florence by ladder)

Lake, where the family stayed for a time each summer. According to Kristine, the other families included the family of Leo Palmer. Leo was a builder by profession and thus directed the work, but the families all gathered to help out (as in the photo here).

The Corrys also took a memorable vacation to Yellowstone in 1946 with the Loran Hirschi family, as well as other vacations to places like Capitol Reef and Mesa Verde.

Church life
As always, Florence and Elwood and family continued active involvement in their church community. Cedar 2nd Ward was growing so much that in 1946 it was divided. The Corry home fell in the boundaries of the College Ward (so named because the ward boundaries encompassed the BAC campus). David Sargent, a close personal friend of the family, was the stake president, and Roscoe Grover became the bishop of the newly created College Ward, Bishop Grover was a radio announcer with a wonderful voice who had recently returned to Cedar City to manage the local KSUB radio station.

Back in those days, wards used a split schedule. Men attended priesthood meeting at 10 a.m., followed by Sunday School at 11:00. Normally, ward members spent the afternoon at home and returned at 6:30 for Sacrament Meeting--except on Fast Sunday, when Fast and Testimony meeting was held at 2:05 p.m., perhaps to keep grumbling stomachs at bay. The women gathered on Monday afternoons for Relief Society meetings, while the youth had MIA on Monday evenings, and the Primary children met on Tuesday afternoons. Thank goodness the Corrys lived within easy walking distance of the chapel!

Florence continued to work with the youth of the church in various capacities. After several years heading up the Girls Coordinating Council, at some point in the late 1940s she served in the Primary organization.

Joy and tears
1947 brought an addition to the Corry family with the birth of Robert (Bob) on March 2, when Florence was 35. Kristine remembers that her parents both took part in a play about Brigham Young around that time, probably a play called “Brigham Young and the Pioneers” that a local group presented for the centennial celebration of the LDS Saints’ arrival in Utah. Florence was a dedicated mother but also apparently understood the value of a balanced life, taking the time to nurture her own creative side and continue an active involvement in the community throughout her life.

The second half of 1947 brought tragedy to the extended family. On July 31, not long after the centennial celebration, Florence’s brother Virgil was driving toward home when a 15-year old boy without a license swerved his borrowed pickup truck and struck Virgil’s car. Virgil never regained consciousness, dying on August 3 at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. He had just passed his 55th birthday and was the third of Florence’s siblings to die in her lifetime.

Weeks later, one evening in early October, the family had gathered in the kitchen to pull honey candy. Steve remembers that his mother could pull better than anyone else. “She would take a great big wad and she was very strong and she would pull it and boy, I’ll tell you, her candy always looked better than that of anyone else.”

Steve, Kris, Judy, Jeff (baby) and Bob in 1950

In the midst of the fun, the phone rang, and the mood of the evening quickly changed. Elwood rushed to the bedroom to pack a bag, and Florence burst into tears. Elwood’s father, E.M. had been suffering from an enlarged heart for some time. He had traveled to Salt Lake City for the LDS Church General Conference, where his condition worsened significantly. He died a few days later, on 10 October 1947.

Two years later, on 30 July 1949, Florence gave birth to Jeffrey. He joined siblings Kristine, Judy, Steve, and Robert, then ranging in ages from nearly 13 to 2.

Loving others as only Florence could do
When Florence received her patriarchal blessing in 1949, the blessing recognized her desire to be useful and to do God’s work on the earth, both within her family circle and beyond. The blessing promised that “outside of your own family, this is your work, helping the wayward and those of little faith…I bless you, dear sister, that your life will be peaceful and successful.” Even before she visited the patriarch to receive her blessing, Florence’s life began to fulfill that promise.

Everyone came to Florence for a listening ear, it seemed. Kris remembers that Alpine and Blanche seemed to spend days, not hours, talking with Florence. Woodrow came by, too, as well as the Adams and Pendleton cousins (children of Florence’s half-sisters Gertrude and Rachel), Alvin’s son Udell, and Fae’s son David. Owen Webb, a mentally challenged boy, used to sell spud nuts door to door. He would often stop by to visit with Florence when he was in the neighborhood, and she always treated him with the highest respect. Kristine remembers Owen coming to the door one day after Florence died, and when he learned she was gone he “turned away sadly as if he had just lost his best friend.” I imagine he was not alone in that feeling.

Judy remembers a springtime hike with her Primary class, probably sometime in the mid to late 1940s. Florence was serving in the Primary organization at the time, and she accompanied the children on their hike. As children often do, the Primary youth had found a classmate who seemed created for their amusement. She struggled in the winter because she had no snow boots, and on this particular occasion she wore a dress ill-suited for the hike. As she climbed over a fence, the dress snagged, and the hem tore out. While the other girls snickered amongst themselves, Florence quietly went to her purse, found a needle and thread, and proceeded to stitch the girl’s dress on the spot. Judy, at least, learned an important lesson that day from her mother’s example.

For all of the love Florence shared with her extended family and community, nothing compared to the love she showed her children. She knew the importance of her role in her children’s lives, and she felt both the love and the responsibility keenly. Steve remembers one particular day when he was in the second or third grade. Florence was sitting in the front room, reading a story to Steve and his siblings. He remembers that the story told of a family that experienced a death of some kind. The story itself made little impression, but Florence’s tears burned themselves into his memory. When her children asked why she broke into tears, Florence replied, “Oh, I’m sorry, children. I’m remembering my own youth when my mother died and how hard it was on our family.”

Those tears would flow again, but not until after much more laughter and love.

Research Notes

• Elwood Corry’s personal history and his history of Florence Decker Corry
• The History of the Cedar City 8th Ward 1946-2001, editor Elva O. Hatch
• Florence Decker Corry (1911-1954)—memories written and compiled for a Decker reunion held July 20, 1985
• Memories recorded by Steven Corry
• Memories recorded by Kristine Corry Davis
• Memories of Florence Decker Corry, by Judy C. Liddle
• Virgil’s death recorded in the Manti Messenger, August 8, 1947 (“Automobile Crash Proves Fatal to Virgil M. Decker”)
• Patriarchal blessing given to Florence Decker Corry on November 12, 1949
• SUU Special Collections, Luella A. Dalton Collection B1, F4, O1 (box, folder, container) gives info on the pay “Brigham Young and the Pioneers.”