Alice Josephine Cluff
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Alice Josephine Cluff Ellsworth was born on December 9, 1929, near Pearce, Arizona. Alice Jo was an only child; her parents wanted more children, but because of Rh incompatibility all subsequent pregnancies ended in stillbirths or miscarriages. Alice Jo felt lonely growing up without siblings, but she cherished the companionship of her pets and her cousins, who she loved the same as if they were her brothers and sisters.
Alice Jo moved a lot during her childhood. Alice Jo’s father was a good worker, but because jobs were scarce during the Great Depression, they moved to wherever he could find work. Until high school, she never went to the same school for more than a year; one year she even went to three different schools in three different towns. When it came time for Alice Jo to start high school, Alice Jo and her mother moved to Mesa so that she could attend a permanent school in a place where the Church was strong. Alice Jo’s father continued to work around the state. Alice Jo met Reed when she was sixteen. They were both helping to set up for a youth activity. Reed helped her reach some silverware that was on a high shelf, and she said her heart “flip flopped.” Alice Jo’s best friend was dating one of Reed’s friends, and so they were set up on their first date to a high school ballgame in Phoenix. Alice Jo graduated from Mesa High in 1947 and enrolled at Arizona State College. She chose to study home economics with a minor in business; her patriarchal blessing said that her purpose on Earth was to be a mother in Zion, and she felt that a home economics degree would help her to magnify her calling as a mother. Reed left on a mission during that time, and Alice Jo wore his senior class ring while he was away. Alice Jo dated other boys, but everyone knew she was waiting for Reed. She and Reed wrote to each other regularly, and she spent a lot of time with his family. Alice Jo graduated from Arizona State College in 1951, and a few months later she and Reed were married in the Mesa Temple on October 12. About her choice to marry Reed, Alice Jo said: “I knew beyond a doubt that I loved Reed and he loved me and that we were to be married. He was just the one.” Alice Jo and Reed spent some time living in California, Idaho, and Colorado while Reed served in the Air Force. He was released from service in September 1955, and they returned to Mesa. While Reed was busy with work and Church responsibilities, Alice Jo stayed busy raising their six kids and running the household. She prepared good meals, sewed clothes, and managed the household finances. Alice Jo loved being a wife and mother, she loved serving in the Church (including full-time missions to Canada and Spain), and she loved doing genealogy work to bless generations past, present, and future. In her own words: “If I could tell my children and grandchildren anything, I would tell them that I have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful to our ancestors, on Reed’s side and mine, that they could hear the message and accept the gospel. I am grateful for what they endured so we could be born in the Church and have the strength of their heritage. . . . It’s a wonderful lineage, a strong lineage. They need to know it and then they need to carry that on and teach it to their children so that they carry it on.” |