Elaine Mary Scholl
1925-1960
Elaine Mary Scholl was born on April 28, 1925 in Los Angeles where she grew up with her older sister Audrey and her mother and father. She met James Gardiner when she was 18 and they were married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1943. She bore seven children and was a cheerful person who loved her husband, her children and the gospel of Jesus Christ
She attended all her church meetings, earned awards such as honor Beehive, was married in the temple, took her family to church , collected family history stories, and did temple work for her ancestors and others. Elaine kept her covenants and was a shining light of faith to her children, husband and others.
It was war time when Elaine and Jim were married and Jim was soon drafted into the US Navy. He served in San Francisco as electronics’ instructor. After the war they moved to Providence, Utah for school, then California and in 1950 to 914 N. Isabel in Glendale, California.
Elaine Scholl full history
Elaine is an Honor Bee
Elaine's clothing
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| This is the room Elaine and her first son Kent were born in. |
“I thought to myself, ‘I probably could but it doesn’t seem fair when everyone else made the mess.’ But for some reason the kind tone she took and her gentle nature combine . . . I said, ‘Sure mom.’ I set about to clean and organize all of the toys and put everything in the right place. When I was done, she said, ‘Kent you are my best helper.’”
Elaine was a creative person. She and Jim enjoyed developing black and white photo prints together. They put the children to bed, put a sheet of red plastic over the light in the kitchen, set up the enlarger and chemical trays and went to work. The next morning they would show the children the pictures they had printed and then Elaine put them in each child’s photo album.
She learned to sew in high school and made many of her own clothes including her temple dress and dresses for her girls. She loved to make her home look nice and made pink flowered matching bedspreads for the girls and had her father make headboards for some of the beds.
As Elaine and Jim’s family grew they needed more space so they moved to 1366 Cleveland Road in Glendale in 1969. Elaine was excited to decorate this home. She painted the kitchen cupboards, put prints of children by the seashore in the ‘blue room, and had the black wallpaper in the bathroom removed and the walls painted white. They bought a used dining room set and reupholstered the chairs. Her father built a redwood fence around the back yard and the children have many fond memories of this home.
Elaine’s life was cut short with cancer when she died at 35, but her example of faith, cheerfulness and love of family will always be remembered.
For info on Elaine's only sibling: Audrey
Close up of above photograph:
One of Elaine's favorite receipes with Elaine's daughter in law:
Alice Reeder talks about Elaine:
1929 LtoR Fern, Stanley, Elaine, July 1929, Elaine is 4 years old and these were neighbors when George and Emma lived at 3321 Drew Street, Los Angeles. Love the knees.
Certificate of Baptism:
Christmas Present 1934:
Elaine and St. George:
In 1936 Elaine and Emma lived in St. George, Utah and most likely went to church in the Tabernacle which is dead center St. George.
From Emma's History in her words:
St. George
My health continued to get worse and I had a nervous collapse. I
finally packed all our clothes, rolled up all our blankets and on
November 18th 1936, Elaine and I got round trip tickets on the
bus to Salt lake good for six months. I wished to stop in St.
George to see if I could find the place I saw in my dream. We
went in the Liberty Hotel until daylight, then walked around the
town. Saw the temple but not the granary I saw in my dream.
There were many granaries, so we rented a cabin in Mr. Schultz's
auto court near the post office. Went to church on Sunday in the
west Ward. met Lenora Worthen and told her my dream. She invited
us to her home, said her husband was stake patriarch. I told him
my dream. He advised us to stay in St. George, said that had two
room we could rent for $12 a month. They lived in an old two
story adobe house across from the Tabernacle. Elaine went to
school at Woodard School. Newell R. Frei was Principal. She was
in the 6th grade. She liked it very much. She had Miss Nelson,
Miss Mc Arthur, Mr. Miles and Harold Snow for teacher. Miss
McArthur was a wonderful gum teacher and gave Elaine special
attention. All schools were around the Tabernacle, Dixie College
included and all used the college recreation hall, etc. Dancing
was stressed. It seemed to me Elaine developed mentally and
spiritually more the two years she spent in St. George than in
all her previous school years. She had some of the college
teachers for Art, music, etc. The library was nearby and I read
many books to her besides the Doctrine and Covenants. I read to
her while she ate her meals and other times. I had met Enoch
Branwell and wife from Salt Lake in the auto court. They hired
me to do some endowments for them in the temple.
January 1, 1937, I went to the temple. There was snow on the
ground. It was 60 years since that temple was completed. It was
a grand experience to attend the meeting and hear about it. Many
inspiring testimonies were borne in the morning meetings. We
could go upstairs in the temple and see all the upper rooms, not
now in use. It was in some of these rooms where Wilford Woodruff
lived when he was President of the temple. I met Jane Bleak who
cooked for him when he lived in those rooms. The Presidents of
the United States and the signers of the constitution and other
American patriots appeared to him in August 1877 and asked him to
do their temple work. In 1894 Benjamin Franklin appeared to him
again and thanked him for the work he had done and asked him to
do the higher ordinances, which he did. The pictures on walls of
the rooms were very wonderful before the temple was remodeled.
The tree of life had many kinds of fruit on it.
St. George's Most Difficult Winter
The winter of 1936-37 was the hardest winter in St.George's
history, 13 degrees below zero one night, froze our water pipes.
I was very ill during January and February. Elaine kept quite
well. She got a cold once and Brother Worthen administered to
her. She came home at noon for lunch. St. George had the
freshest, best meat she ever tasted. We often got fresh ground
round steak. Carolyn Cottam brought us good milk and butter on
her way to school. We got pears from George Tobler raised in
Santa Clara, the best apples we ever ate, Missouri pippins,
Brother Crawford who worked in the temple, brought from the high
mountains, Brother Worthen raised good carrots, turnips and
asparagus and all kinds of vegetables early in the spring, also
had pomegranates. Rosena Blake gave us buttermilk and canned
fruit. Helen Palmer gave us canned fruit. We sent to Loma Linda
for fruit crackers, large boxes of them and other Loma Linda
foods, soy butter etc. I never met so many kind generous people
before in my life as I met in St. George. I went to the temple
when I was well. Elaine encouraged me to go. We went on
Saturdays and she did baptisms. One day she did 106 all at one
time. Harold S. Snow, her history teacher, confirmed her. He
later became President of Temple after George Whitehead. Martin
Mc Allister was recorder. I told him about Julius Billeter and
he sent for his Lensi and Herzog records from Switzerland. I met
Rosena Blake at the temple, visited her often and saw her Swiss
records. One day I told her my dream. She said she had a
granary on back of her house, had it made into a room and rented
it. I went back to see it and it was the place I saw in my
dream. I wondered why I saw it. I asked her to let me make
pedigree charts from her Swiss records. I soon found out why I
saw her room in the dream. She had a Sidler and Hegetschweiler
line from Ottenbach on her father's side and I found her father
and my mother were cousins, which makes her the only relative of
mother's we have ever known on earth. Three nephews went on
missions to switzerland, found father's relatives, but not
mother's.
One day Jakob Frei came from Santa Clara to meet me. We found
his father's mother and my father's mother were sisters, and his
father had done the temple work in St. George for our great-grandfather
Heinrich Aerny in 1891. I met Jakob's sister, Mary
and she did my grandmother,
when she was only 15
They were glad I had the Aerny record.
me about herbs and I have used them
grape root from Alton.
treatments for a dollar each. She was very kind to us. She told
us about Dr. Gould's compounds and we sent for them for Elaine
and myself, and later for Audrey when we went back to California.
While we were in St. George, George and Audrey moved from 521
Milford March 27, 1937, to 1137 1/2 Orange Grove Avenues.
Elaine went to John Marshall High School, here is a current video of the school in 2009.
Elaine Goes to John Marshall HS from K on Vimeo.
In 1940 Elaine was at John Marshall High School:
1940 census
Notice the cut out symbols on the door. The same symbols are in Elaines's graduation picture at the front door of Marshall High.
2010 SAG on Elaine from K on Vimeo.
JHG on Elaine:
Grandpa Gardiner: Delight some: I remember well the incident Jeff recalls. Elaine had suffered a lot of pain despite the painkillers she had taken. This was in the summer of 1960. We had recently bought a portable lounge and a special mattress for her, to see if we could make her more comfortable. Nothing seemed to help. She preferred to lie in our double bed. One bright summer morning she was resting quite easily and I was on a chair, next to the window, talking to her about what she needed for the day. Jeff, 3 yrs + at the time, came and knelt by the bed on the opposite side from me. He rested his chin in both hands and looked carefully at what was going on. Then Jeff shifted and stirred the bed at which his mother yelled out in pain at the movement and told him to stop. Jeff had a look of surprise and dismay and retreated. I knew Jeff had been hurt and tried to tell him his mother had reacted to a pain. He was shocked because it was not like Elaine to shout.
Elaine would never insult her children, knowingly and went
to great lengths to protect their feelings.
When Elaine was carrying Jeff (inside) in the summer of
1956, we had just enjoyed an outing with Audrey, Glen & Gerry
at Verdugo Park. The sun
had gone down and cool evening breezes had begun. We packed
up our blankets, food (and the famous tablecloth), and headed across the grass to the cars. I was carrying a basket and blankets and Elaine had a basket and
some of the kid's things.
We were proceeding smoothly until Elaine stepped into a sprinkler hole and pitched forward onto the
grass. She was not hurt but was upset for weeks worrying that she
might have hurt the little one she was carrying. Jeff turned out
fine.
Elaine grew up in a very protected environment. Her mother took charge of most everything and as a result Elaine did not get
to develop some of the skills she later had to work on.
When we moved into our first house, we were ill prepared for
any sort of comfortable living.
I have a vivid memory of Elaine sitting in the twilight the first evening, on a mattress, on the
floor, nursing Kent, looking dismayed. She must have wondered what ever got her into this mess.
However, she rose to the challenge and became a wonderful wife and mother, a great manager, a skillful
teacher and child trainer, a master of keeping the kids healthy and
presentable. She was not a complainer.
She patiently waited for things to get done. She was always ready and willing to get up at all hours of
the night for sick kids or to nurse the baby or to warm a baby's
bottle. (She would have the job done before I had completed walking into
furniture or the walls or a half-open door.)
On the morning of Aug 29, 1960, I helped Elaine to the
bathroom and then she insisted on going to the children's rooms and
inventorying the clothes for the upcoming school year. She found the stock of clothes satisfactory and then went back to bed. A group of women from the ward came to help that day. I took the older kids for a day at Disneyland.
Elaine died about sunup the next morning. Her passing was a shock to all of us, even though we had
been warned that it was going to happen. I have been wrongly accused of taking her passing lightly. My attitude has always been that I would have been grateful for her to continue but let's get
on with current problems. (Like what are we going to have for
dinner.)
Much of what we have written here is on the unpleasant side.
My memories of Elaine are very positive and pleasant. She was and is a very delightsome person and I will include some of
those delights in future letters.
I hope you, who knew Elaine, will remember some other
incidents so we can include them in future letters. I treasure my relationship to her and to all of you. Thanks for your great reports and thoughts.
Kent: One Letter: On August 1959 I was camping with Scout Troop 26. We
had just completed the Silver Moccasin, a 65 mile hike. Mother wrote me the following words.
" Dear Kent, We arrived home at 6:30. Nobody got car
sick but David. I
wanted to send up your jacket, but Reeders and Petites had left. Wear two or
three shirts and two pair of pants mornings and evenings plus your sweatshirt. It is hot here. I do hope your blister is better. Have it
taken care of if not. Glenn and Audrey
got back Friday night. Haven't talked
to them yet. Granddad will start the
fence at end of week. We miss
you. Try to get lots of sleep. Love. Mother"
Kent: Countertop: JHG and Elaine were in the kitchen at 914 N Isabel. The room is long and narrow with cupboards on both sides and a counter with a sink on that faces the driveway. My parents were having a rather heated discussion about what to do about the counter top. Elaine was on one side of the kitchen and JH on the other. They were talking in an intense tone and leaning towards each other. I think they were deciding about how to upgrade the counter. They both had their ideas and it seemed to me that neither was going to back down. I remember thinking, “What is this all about?” I had never seen them disagree. It was an interesting moment because Elaine just hung in there with her opinion and even though JH seemed angry, she just insisted. In the end they went with Elaine’s idea.
Some people have told me Elaine was quiet and weak. I don’t agree. Quiet, yes. Weak, no.
Kent: Black and White TV: I remember another time JH and Elaine were watching TV on an old blonde wood, black and white TV in the family room. The other kids were all in bed and my parents were watching a show in which a Tyrannosaurus Rex was holding people captive in a cave. I was mesmerized by what was happening. Dad wanted me to go to bed and I was hanging out in a doorway that led to the hall holding on to every precious moment. Mom intervened, “Honey he wants to see what happens. Just give him a few minutes.” With that intervention, Dad let me stay up until the fate of the people inside the cave was decided. It seemed to me Elaine was less arbitrary than Dad. I loved her for that.
Kent: Uncomfortable Errand: There was always a lot of drama and activity around the birth of each child. Grandma Scholl would come over and take care of us or we would be sent to 1636 Golden Gate Avenue. There we would stay for a while until Elaine was ready to handle all of us again.
One time Mom was nursing Gayle and needed something from the store. I had never gone by myself. She asked me to come into her room and she gave me a list: Karo syrup, baby bottles, some cream and a nursing bra. My heart skipped a beat. This was not something I volunteered for. She told me how much she appreciated my help and what this meant to her. Of course when she put it that way I was on board. She handed me some money in an envelope and the list and I walked over to Glendale Avenue, which was over a mile away, to pick up her items. When I got back she said, “Kent I really appreciate having a son like you. Thank you very much.” I skipped out to play.
Kent: Talking: At 914 N Isabel the bedrooms were all in the back of the house. I remember my mother sitting on the floor next to my bed talking to me. Her voice was like honey in lemon water. She took the time to explain about why Dad had built a playhouse in the backyard and why Emma was sleeping inside the playhouse and how long she would be staying.
Then at 1366 a couple of years later I remember sitting next to her bed when she had cancer, sharing ideas and talking about the day. I loved spending time with her. I was learning how to talk to a woman, what women were like and I think it was right there in the middle of one of those conversations that I realized how much I loved women. I knew my mother was kind and gentle and it felt good being with her. That feeling has never changed for me. A few minutes later we were interrupted, “It’s time to go Kent,” my dad ordered. “Darn,” I thought.
Kent: Toys: At 914 there were always lots of younger kids underfoot and we had piles of toys with small pieces. Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys were two favorites with everyone and once they got dumped out, there was a huge clutter of toys all over the house. One day I remember Elaine was particularly stressed out and she came right up close to my face, “Kent I really need your help, could you go around and collect all of the toys for me so the room looks perfect.” I thought to myself, “I probably could but it doesn’t seem fair when everyone else made the mess.” But for some reason the kind tone she took and her gentle nature combined to let me know that today something was different. So I said, “Sure mom.”
I set about to clean and organize all of the toys and put everything in the right place. When I was done, she said, “Kent you are my best helper.” From that moment to this day, I have always tried to help the women in my life. I’m sure I’ve cleaned up thousands of mess. It is no big deal, in a way I’m doing it for Elaine.
Memories of Mother Elaine Gardiner
By Sandra Gardiner Blunck
June 26, 2016
A mother’s heart has many
feelings. Mother Elaine’s was gentle and soft, and always touched by the
dandelions and school drawings and pictures her children brought her. It was
cool and calm even with all the children’s demands. And for those things that mattered most to
her, it was sturdy and strong.
In 1951 when Elaine was 26
years old, our family included Mother, Dad and three children. That was the
year we moved to 914 N. Isabel in Glendale, California. The home was a
wonderful 3-bedroom house with hardwood floors on a quiet street with a small
grocery store on the corner. The backyard
was large and fenced with a garage in the back and a big cement area. It was a great location and climate in which
to raise children.
The education of her children
was important to Mother. She would quiz
us on our spelling words before school while she fed the baby in the high
chair. Then we took our lunch boxes and walked to R. D. White Elementary
School. When I was in the second grade I remember having an arithmetic
assignment that I needed help with. On a Sunday evening, Mother took a few
magazines and me and we sat together and cut out pictures and glued them in my
booklet. Then I wrote in what measurement each illustrated.
Mother always made sure we
were dressed neatly and had clean clothes. To keep the laundry under control,
we wore the same outfit each day to school for one week, and changed each day
after school into play clothes. On washday, Mother washed the clothes, hung
them out to dry, brought them in and sprinkled them with water, then put them
in a bag in the refrigerator to wait for ironing day (there was no permanent press
in those days). I was my mother’s faithful helper, folding mounds of diapers,
strolling the babies, and helping my siblings get dressed.
Wednesday afternoons we
attended Primary. The boys attended cub scouts and we were all expected to do
our best in these activities.
Mother loved flowers and grew
calendulas at our Isabel house between the driveway and the fence (The Duffey
side). They have a bright orange flower
and produce moon-shaped seeds, which she collected for planting the next
season. Mothering in the fifties
included sewing clothes and Mother was a very good seamstress. I remember her making dresses and bedspreads
for the girl’s beds.
After Julie was born, we were
getting a bit crowded in our Isabel home with seven children. In the bedroom
where I slept there were three single beds and a crib. Elaine was 34 when a new home was found and
she was excited to move. She painted the
inside of the kitchen cabinets so they would be ready and in the summer of
1959, before my sixth grade year, we moved to 1366 Cleveland Road in Glendale,
California. I soon was registered at Keppel
Elementary School. Mother didn't think
the teacher I was assigned would be the best for me so she called the school
and changed my teacher. I attended Mrs.
Thompson’s class that year – she was a demanding teacher.
On a Friday evening, Dad and
Mother sometimes enjoyed developing their own photos. They would put all the children to bed, put a
red sheet of plastic over the light in the kitchen and get out their enlarger,
chemical trays and photo developing supplies.
I remember seeing all this interesting activity when I was being put to
bed and wishing I could stay up and watch.
The next morning they would show us the pictures they had printed.
Mother kept a photo album for each child with the photos they printed.
Saturday was the time for
house cleaning. I remember the first time I was asked to vacuum the carpet. When
done I reported to Mother. She patiently pointed out the lint I had left and
demonstrated the proper way to vacuum, by going over the rug many times until
you could no longer see any dirt or lint. Saturdays were also the time when she
baked a cake or made cookies.
Mother loved family picnics, and
trips to the park or zoo. These were family events, which often included Aunt
Audrey and her family. With plenty of food, and Mother’s picnic tablecloth, off
we went to Verdugo Park, Griffith Park, the beach, or the zoo (all free). When we went to the beach, Dad would get out
the umbrella and mother would make tuna fish sandwiches. One time when I was around ten, she carefully
showed me how to cut the celery for the tuna so there wouldn't be any strings.
One year when Jeff was a
toddler we went to Knott’s Berry Farm.
At the Haunted Shack, where water ran uphill and chairs balanced
precariously on walls, the guide asked mother to come forward to demonstrate
something. As she stood up, Jeff held on
tightly and because she did not want to upset him, she declined the
man’s invitation and someone else was chosen.
Elaine loved the gospel of
Jesus Christ and made sure that her family attended Sunday School each Sunday
morning and sacrament meeting in the evening. When we were assigned talks to
give in church, we would memorize the talk and then practiced giving it to her
until she was satisfied we were thoroughly prepared. Sundays often included
roast beef with carrots and potatoes, a green salad and cake for dessert after
church. Sunday was a day for quiet play in the house (it was rarely quiet). I
remember liking Sundays because it was a time that both our parents were home. We often had Sunday dinner at Aunt Audrey’s
home or they came to our home and I enjoyed listening to the adults talk after
the dishes were done.
I remember Mother Elaine as a
person who loved being a mother. In spite of health issues, she kept her standards
high in how she took care of our home and us.
I am thankful she was my mother.
Elaine died of 1. Congestive heart failure and carcinoma, 2weeks 2. Carcinoid deposits on heart valves, 5 months 3. Carcinoid disease, 6 months or put another way the Carcinoid disease caused the deposits on the heart valves causing the heart failure and carcinoma. Carcinoid (also carcinoid tumor) is a slow-growing[1] type of neuroendocrine tumor originating in the cells of the neuroendocrine system. Elaine looked like she was pregnant before she died. Kent
Death certificate:
Valhalla cemetery, Burbank, CA
:https://vimeo.com/127968226
California Death Index, 1940-1997
about Elaine M Gardiner
Name: Elaine M Gardiner
Social Security #: 557344904
Sex: FEMALE
Birth Date: 28 Apr 1925
Birthplace: California
Death Date: 30 Aug 1960
Death Place: Los Angeles
Mother's Maiden Name: Bachman