Memories of Mildred "Midge" Ann Zeman

In memory of

Mildred "Midge" Ann Zeman

Ridgefield, WA, USA

February 14, 1926 - August 7, 2020

Feb 14, 1926 - Aug 7, 2020

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David Zeman

Thanks Ellie. Your rodeo story reminded me of a story that is a bit humiliating for me to share. But Midge's oldest kid is too old for pride, not to mention what Proverbs 16:18 has to say about the subject. On my 5th birthday I think, when we were still living at 1017 Sherwood Drive, in La Grange Park, Mom threw a spectacular pirate-themed party for me. Costumes and decorations were fantastic. Unfortunately, the maze to find the hidden treasure was so challenging that I broke into tears of frustration. And that's the last part of the party I remember, other than being hugged and comforted in my self-centered childish grief. What a rotten, ungrateful kid I was! Remember, critics, I WAS a child back then. I don't believe I ever thanked Mom for all the effort and creativity she expended on my behalf. So, Thanks Mom!

Now THAT reminds me of one of her favorite song lyrics, "If you get to heaven, before I do, Just drill a hole, and pull me through!"

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Mary Ellen "Ellie" Byrd

One of Mom’s great talents was throwing parties. I remember for my 8th birthday, the party theme was a rodeo. My neighborhood friends and me all had cowboy hats and bandanas, we sang songs about the prairie, there were little cowboy boot party favors and the cake was shaped like a bull. (Photographs helped me remember all these details.) And every year, Mom would come up with another theme and she would arrange games, music, decorations and even food to compliment the theme. Such creativity!

Even after we all grew into adulthood, Mom continued to throw great holiday parties for family and friends. It was her superpower! She was a great cook and a consummate hostess. Thanks, Mom – for all the fun, the delicious food, the great music and the wonderful memories!

I must give an honorable mention to Dad for one of his birthday traditions. The night before my birthday, Dad would always give me his birthday speech – “when you wake up tomorrow morning, you’ll never be 7 years old again!” He could make me so sad about this irrefutable fact that I would end up in tears most years. Of course, then he would chuckle and tickle me until the tears went away. Soon I was thinking about the birthday cake and the presents I would enjoy the next day! I’m not sure when this tradition ended, but I still think about it on the eve of every birthday, all these years later. Thanks, Dad!

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David Zeman

One day when I was about 10 years old, Mom encouraged us to join her in watching a TV show about to be put on by a preacher who had gotten quite popular. I guess he hadn't gotten popular enough for me to have heard of him, at the time. Preachers seemed like an extravagance, in those days when our public school teachers did a fine job of explaining why the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, and why wise men rode camels from afar to worship the baby Jesus. But getting to watch an extra TV show was an offer not to be refused. Our weekly viewing was strictly limited to: Disney's "Wonderful World of Color," "Bonanza," "Lost in Space," "The Adventures of Sir Francis Drake," and the occasional "really big shoe" on Ed Sullivan. The Beatle's first US performance comes to mind.

I was sufficiently young and impressionable that the opening theme music for Sir Francis got me to consider breaking Dad's heart by taking up French horn instead of trumpet. And yet Mom's preacher proved infinitely more influential. Years later I still had the impression that Jesus Himself must have preached the "Sermon on the Mount" with a North Carolina accent (?Aramaic twang?). The preacher I am writing about was Billy Graham, of course. He always made an appeal to his audience watching at home, as part of his televised altar calls. So there I was, sprawled out on the family room carpet, in our Danville, Illinois home, hearing that I ought to make a "decision." I did recognize Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior right then and there.

Months later, Mom drove us to a live Billy Graham Crusade at the U of I Assembly Hall. She waited patiently as I went forward as a public profession of my faith "before men." No mother could have given her son a better, longer lasting, even eternal gift.

As an eternal gift, it lives on actively. Just today, the latest (July/August 2021) edition of "Decision" Magazine arrived in our mail box, from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Go tell 'em, Franklin Graham. This September and October he's preaching in 8 cities on the historic Route 66. Do we not need Jesus right now!

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Mildred "Midge" Ann Zeman

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