May 1,1997
                                                       ELSIE IRENE
She was the third child of Frank and Elsie Morgan, horn and attended grade school near Studley, Kansas. I am not sure of the location of the home at the time of her birth. It was probahly at the headquarters of the Tom L. Pratt ranch just west of Studley. I believe that it was split up and sold. Not many of the old land holdings are left, however some fair sized farms have been put together in recent years. Times have changed. Most of the old spreads were grass and cattle operations; but now it is almost entirely cropland. I believe she may have attended high school for a short time however she did not graduate. She was probably the sister that I was closer to mainly because we lived close together in our adult life. It would not be honest to speak of a favorite sister because they were all special; each in their own way. I can hardly remember her before her marriage in 1927 at the age of nineteen. She cooked for Dad's dirt moving crew when they built the dam for the Houseworth Lake just north of Tasco. I spent time there (helping) her and I can remember going with Mr. Houseworth on times with a team and wagon to pick popcorn. Her marriage was not well celebrated in the family circle. It happened in this way. She told Mom that she was going to the home of a Mrs. Pierce in Tasco to sew. Mr. Pierce was the Union Pacific depot agent in Tasco. She returned home in the evening and announced that she had married Frank Richards. He was a farmer who had divorced his wife. I believe that he had two children by his first wife. I don't believe that I ever saw her or the children however a preschool grandson of his lived with Frank and Irene for a short time. I believe the surname was Dibble. Frank was an established farmer on the old redline. He made a good living by farming a quarter section and working for neighbors. He was a good hand and well respected by his neighbors. The family rift soon smoothed over and they would stop by our place on the way to or from town where they did their trading. It apparently was a successful marriage because his death ended it in 1967. I considered him a good friend and brother-in-law. He was the kids idol at family gatherings. Irene did a great deal of traveling and visiting the relatives after Frank's death. She died at the home of her daughter, Jo Ann, in Colorado Springs in the fall of 1980,1 believe. The memorial service was at the Mt. Pleasant Church but she is buried beside my mother and my infant son in the Hoxie cemetery. Mary, my wife, is also in that same plot. It may seem a bit strange to outsiders. My father was buried in 1937 when money was very, very short so he was buried in a plot with his father and mother. When Mom died, we kids wanted a plot of our own where we buried her. Now four of my close relatives live there. What does it matter where the body lies. Life is real Life is earnest
And the grave Is not the goal Dust thou art To dust returnest Was not spoken of the soul. Thus wrote the Poet Longfellow in "The Psalm of Life." You will find it inscribed on Mary's headsto