By the time you read this, my body will be lying next to that of my husband of 68 years in Green Mountain Cemetery in the Silverton Hills, and my spirit will be in heaven with him and my departed family and friends. Those witnessing my burial will have stopped by my little church, the Chapel in the Hills, to sing all the verses of "Jesus Loves Me." That's the only service I asked for. The real celebration of my life was the steady stream of people who came to see me in my final weeks. So many memories, so much laughter, so much fun.

I was born on January 9, 1929, in Hubbard, Oregon, the youngest of W.G. "Bill" and Emma "M" (Troyer) Kenagy's seven children. My sister Maxine passed away unexpectedly when I was only two months old, leaving me as the only girl among five rough-neck brothers. My birth name was Josie Eileen Kenagy, but they all called me "Babe."

I always loved having people around me, probably because of my large Mennonite family of 10 aunts, 10 uncles and 110 first cousins. Throughout my life, it was not unusual to find extra people at our table, sometimes to eat, sometimes to play games. From a young age, I delighted in entertaining small children, and in going to see older people who could no longer get out and about. Throughout my life, I watched for opportunities to connect with my neighbors, often stopping to catch up on local news.

I grew up on a farm at the end of Kenagy Lane east of Hubbard. That farm is still in the family today. I have many happy memories of playing in Rock Creek, where I taught myself to swim and my cousin Joann and I caught crawdads and cooked them in creek water. Before I could go out to play, though, Mom gave me chores I had to finish. That's how I Iearned to work so fast, a skill that served me well later in life, whether canning jars of produce to feed my family or whipping up yet another batch of cinnamon rolls or working in the Silverton Hills nurseries or making thousands of wreaths every Christmas.

My brothers and I walked over a mile every day to Ninety-One School along with other neighborhood kids. We all thought it was great fun. I stopped going to school after eighth grade since there was no law that you had to continue. When I was 16, the law changed. My grade school classmates were already seniors at Canby High School, so I moved in with my aunt Grace and started at Hubbard High as a freshman. I already had my driver's license, so I was popular with other kids who couldn't drive yet. We had many adventures whenever I could borrow my brother's big car.

For my last required school year, I attended the Mennonite high school in Hesston, Kansas. Several other girls from Oregon went to Hesston at the same time. Some of us got matching skirts and checkered jackets and called ourselves the Hesston 5000. These women remained my lifelong friends and one even became my sister-in-law. Four of us married members of the locally popular Peace in the Valley quartet, and four lived past the age of 95.

I met my husband, Homer Rice, in our living room on the Kenagy farm. An Ohio boy, he had attended Hesston with my brother, who brought him home for a visit. Homer and I were married at the farmhouse at 8:00 am on Sunday, July 11, 1948. My wedding flowers were ocean spray, picked wild from the fields, and sweet peas from a friend's garden. After the wedding ceremony, we served breakfast.

After living a few years in the farmhouse and vicinity, we settled in the Silverton Hills on property next to my oldest brother. Homer and I were very involved with the Chapel in the Hills, where we served as leaders, teachers, and hosts until we moved to town. We welcomed many people into our cozy little home, where we raised three sons, all of whom survive: Denny (Ruth) of Vancouver, Washington, Fred (Gloria) of the Silverton Hills, and Pete (Christy) of Silverton. Also surviving are my bonus sons, Ron and David Nelson, both of whom live near Silverton and visited me often.

Carrying on our family are my four grandchildren, Tricia (Tim) King of Silverton, Michele Herman of Hillsboro, Jolene (Jordan) Daniels of Oregon City, and Joel Donley and fiancée Savannah Swartz of Keizer. I also have eight great-grandchildren and two step great-grandchildren, all of whom I enjoyed immensely.

Since Homer passed away in 2016, I have missed the music and goofy humor that used to surround me. Hopefully there are mandolins in heaven, and I'm sure humor is encouraged, even the goofy kind.

Thank you to all who brought me so much joy throughout my lifetime. May your lives be filled with music, laughter, and cinnamon rolls.

A special thank you to Christy. Your calm, tender, competent care during my final days allowed me to die peacefully in my own home. There are no words to express how much that meant to me.

If you'd like to watch a video of my life, send an email to josievideo1@gmail.com and my family will send you the link.