Thelma Elizabeth Utt ^{1 2}

  Death Notes:

Citizens' News, November 21, 1994
Thelma E. (Utt) Howell, 85, of Rochester Hills, MI died October 27 following an extended illness. She was the beloved wife of Denver W. Howell who survives. They were married in 1935.

She was born to Robert H. and Viola A. (Fast) Utt, August 20, 1909 on Crooked Fork of Steer Creek in Braxton County, one of thirteen children now deceased.

Thelma graduated from Gassaway High School in 1928 and completed Glenville State College and taught in one room schools in Braxton County for seven years, and was an employee of General Motors for twenty-two years. She was a member of St. Lukes Methodist Church in Rochester Hills.

Thelma is survived by a host of nieces and nephews.

Aunt Thel gave Helen Gillispie a book of poems in about 1929. Helen loved the book and the poems. She read to her children from the book and passed it on to her daughter Kay Dilley. Kay read to her daughters from the book. When Melinda Nichols' first daughter Paige Lee was born Kay made a computer copy of what had become known as the Blue Book for Paige. She has since made a copy for the raffle at the Utt Reunion. The cover page follows:

This is a copy of what came to be known as "The Blue Book." The original book was a child's poem book. It was a 'just because present' to my mother - Helen Gillispie - by her Aunt Thelma Utt.

Mother always said that it was her favorite book. She read to us from it as we were growing up. The cover wasn't blue then, it hardly had any color at all just kind of a washed out tan, the title no longer visible.

We all had our favorite poem - Mine (Kay Dilley Nichols) was 'Little Orphan Annie', Kyle's was 'The Raggedy Man', Ed's was 'A Song of Sherwood', and John's was 'Jonathan Bing'.
I grew up and had children of my own and begged Mother to let me have the book. After a few years of nightly use it was falling apart - now it becomes the Blue Book - I put a new cover on it using some blue material I had on hand.

April's favorite poem was 'The Animal Store' and Melinda's was 'Animal Crackers'. April and Melinda both loved to have me tell them 'Little Orphan Annie' as their last bedtime story. Mother had read it to me so many times that by the time I was seven years old I had it memorized.

Melinda grew up and had children of her own and not being ready to give up the book I chose this way of passing it on to my granddaughters. I passed it on to Kyle's granddaughters this way and now I pass it on to you.

THANK YOU Aunt Thel for this gift, not just the book itself, but the love of reading and the joy and knowledge to be found in the written word.

  Noted events in her life were:

• She appeared on the 1910 US Census in Gassaway, WV on 26 April 1910. ¹

1910 US Census
Sheet 6A, District 13, Family 103, Roll 1677
Gassaway, Braxton, West Virginia, United States
Crooked Fork of Steer Creek; Farm owned, no mortgage
Thelma E. Utt..Daughter..8m..West Virginia

(Living with parents.)
.

• She appeared on the 1920 US Census in Otter District, Braxton County, WV on 6 January 1920. ²

1920 US Census
Sheet 2A, District 10, Family 23, Roll 1949
Otter District, Braxton, West Virginia, United States
Farm owned
Felma E. Utt..Daughter..10..West Virginia

(Living with widowed mother.)
.

Thelma married Howell on an unknown date. (Howell was born about 1907 and died on an unknown date.)