REGINA OWENS LYONS

Regina O. Lyons: One of the beautiful Owens women—Dad fell for her when she was 12, but waited. Oldest of 11--the mother said, “I did the work, Regina the worrying.” She suffered from generalized anxiety, looked for specific, finite dangers to explain her anxious feelings.

They had 7 children in 9 years. Gingy died at 11—they never recovered. (At her deathbed, Gingy said, “I see Jesus & Mary coming for me—why are you crying?”
Regina replied, “They’re not coming for me; I have every right to cry.”

Then they had 2 more !

Regina was a woman of unbelievable stamina.
She had a 2-acre garden, canned all the vegs for winter. She also did most of Dad’s office work, while he drank.
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When she was 3d yr in college, her father lost all his wealth in land-collapse in 1925. She went to Kansas to teach. They thought ‘Owens’ was a Welsh-Protestant name.
She was about the same age as the Alta,Ks. seniors. They asked her, “Do nuns wear boxes on head to hide horns?” She said no, but then got thinking: “Why ELSE wear a box on your head?”

She took a train to another town for Sunday Mass. She started 1st graders dancing; Baptist preacher said, ‘They’ll want to dance later!”
She said, “They will anyway.”

She caught preacher’s daughter cheating, wouldn’t back down. Superintendent warned her, “We’ll have to move you; your landlady is threatening to kill you.” One year was enough.