Thelma Hankins

[Scott Ross]

Hankins, Thelma A. (Adams)

Thelma A. Hankins, 96, died on Wed., May 8. She was born in Huntington, OR to George and Sarah Adams and lived in Toledo since 1961.

For many years she and her deceased husband Esley, owned and ran the Esso service station at Mary's Corner.

She was one of the first woman fork lift drivers for the Navy Supply Depot in Spokane during WWII.

She is survived by eight children, Dave of Mt. Shasta, Mary of Toledo, Maxine of Denver, Barbara of Kasugai-Shi, Japan, Linda of Lake Forest, CA, Sandra and Rose of Sitka, John of Chehalis; one surviving sister, Marie Bruce of Longview, many grand, great, and great-great grandchildren.

Services were held at Fir Lawn Funeral Home May 13. Donations can be made to the food bank of Chehalis in lieu of flowers.

Please sign the guest book at www.legacy.com/chronline.
Published in The Chronicle on 5/13/2008.

This is the obituary for my Aunt Thelma.

Her service was officiated by relative Betty Draper, worker from Montana. Also the Barbara (Huggins) listed as a daughter is a worker in Japan.

Lots of fond memories of Aunt Thelma.

[degem]

Sincere condolences to you and your family Scott!

[Scott Ross]

Thanks Gem!

I missed out on the family reunion for my mom's side of the family last year. I plan on getting to it this year though. Only one aunt left.... and none of the uncles on mom's side are alive either.

Here is a picture of aunt Thelma taken just a couple of months ago, along with what my brother had to say about her:

Hello family,

I just received this from cousin Allen Bruce. Aunt Thelma had taken quite a downturn recently and had been in the hospital for some time. She had often been there before and had come so close to dying a couple of times that her entire family had come to be by her bedside. Somehow she always popped out of it. Her tough, but weary, 96(?)-year-old body just couldn’t pull through another time.

During MSU’s spring break I had a conference to attend in Portland, and arranged to meet sister LeEllen first to take a trip down memory lane (otherwise known as Interstate 5) to visit our many relatives, only a few of whom from the previous generation are still living. We stopped at Thelma’s place where she lived with her daughter Mary. As usual, Aunt Thelma’s mind was sharp. She could relate stories with clarity that happened when she was still young and at home as well as many that occurred with our own mother, who was the baby in the family. It wasn’t long after that visit that she had this latest bout with the hospital. LeEllen and I are glad we were able to have that last visit with her.

So, with Aunt Thelma another connection to our family history has passed. Each generation has seen startling and dramatic changes in life. Aunt Thelma’s experience, as well as those of her sisters Marie, Nellie, and Dorothy, was one of hand-to-mouth existence when they were young, which generally led to many moves to find whatever work was available. Food was raised, hunted, and preserved through canning, and there was always enough room at the table for the family and anyone who dropped by for a day or a week. Homes were often without indoor plumbing of any kind, and for some periods, a home was a tent. I don’t know about Larry, LeEllen, or Scott, but I can remember living on the fringes of that existence; our own first house had no indoor bathroom.

In any event, we have many good memories of being in and out of all of those homes on both sides of our family. Here is our last picture of Aunt Thelma, which some of you have already seen, taken about two months ago.




Love,
Rocky

[degem]

Thaks for sharing your letter Scott