Durham 2nd Ward Stories

Memories of My Grandmother      When I reflect on memories of my grandma, my mind goes to small moments shared in her home. Good food and conversations in the kitchen, singing around the piano while she played, and observing her quiet dedication to caring for her parents and my grandpa when their health was poor. Heaven has always felt close when I am in her home.      Peggy Mathews is a loyal, tenderhearted, and devoted woman. She loves God and has dedicated her life to serving Him and His children. My grandma has a gift for connecting with others. When I was serving as a fulltime missionary, she sent me a letter every single week while I was away. In the age of email, receiving an actual letter meant a great deal to me. I felt incredibly special that she set aside time each week to let me know that I was in her thoughts. She has always made an effort to strengthen each individual relationship with all her children and grandchildren.      I ...

Horace Edward Deaver was born in 1925 and drafted in the army before finishing high school. He went to Germany and was shot a couple of times. He worked as a mechanic with his family and met the missionaries in eastern NC in the 1940s. He and my grandma were baptized about 70 years ago. He eventually baptized his father. He was faithful in the gospel his whole life. He is a great example to me. He taught me how to tie with my left hand and baptized me about 30 years ago. He helped pay for me and my brother to go on a mission. He used to tell me the closer I sit to the pulpit, the more likely I am to make it to the celestial kingdom. I still don't understand his logic, but Laura and the kids like to sit close despite me wanting to sit as far back as possible. My youngest child Charlie shares his middle name and even though he died last year, his faithful example will always help me to strive to be a better person.

In Tarboro, North Carolina, live nine valiant women, we’re told whose planning and tireless service have wrought wonders great to behold! They needed a church house so badly, a place that their small branch could meet, but to raise enough money to build one seemed an impossible feat. This fact didn’t daunt their brave spirits. They knew though their members were few, that somehow they’d find a solution. They did! – In a hot Brunswick Stew! These nine valiant women of Tarboro, with labor, ingredients, and skill, stirred up a stew so delicious their customers can’t get their fill. They sold it from doorway to doorway for fifty or twenty-five cents. Since none could resist its aroma, their following soon grew immense. They cooked up one stew, then another, so tasty, they just couldn’t lose. Three thousand, yes, three thousand dollars grew out of those good Brunswick Stews! And now there’s a roof on their chapel, so when people say, “Can’t be done”, just point to those women of Tarboro who...

My mother- Katherine Miriam Burke- was born in 1914 in Jersey City, NJ. Both her parents- Jim & Hannah- were Irish Catholic and she was very proud of her heritage. She was the youngest of three- brother Tom & Sister, Esther who died at age eight of the Spanish Flu Epidemic. My mother was very young at the time and never spoke about her sister's death. Katherine was a sensitive child, good student and especially loved reading, poetry, words. She had a good, quirky sense of humor. I certainly inherited her love of books & reading, resulting in my becoming a book seller/collector/avid reader years later. She had a good heart- was very generous and sensitive to the needs of others. She won a scholarship to attend "Normal School" (aka teachers' college)- "Kay" had always dreamed of being a school teacher. When her mother insisted she attend secretarial school instead, she asked the local (Catholic) priest to intercede and the decision was reversed. Th...

My grandmother Helen Graham met Franklin John Van Buren in Iowa on the steps of the Quaker Church on her first day home from college. It was 14 June 1925 and they went on a blind in his new car, a Chevrolet coupe. Helen's mother asked why she was going with that old (23), bald man. Helen was 18. She also questioned his ability to support her. She told her mother she wasn't marrying him for his money. On 12 Sep 1925 (his birthday) she got her diamond when he proposed while they were sitting in his car. They were married Thanksgiving day sitting in the car with the preacher, Howard Cope, standing by the open door. From that time on Van always gave her a rose for each year they had been married and they celebrated their anniversary on Thanksgiving. In April there was a heavy snow storm and Van said, “I don't have a job and I hate the cold, let's go to Texas", where Helen's folks had just moved to earlier in the month. He traded his coupe for an old Maxwell. They h...