Union, Union County, Oregon
Mary Holladay Richins, wife of Osburn Richins, died of uremic poisoning at her home in Union Oregon, Saturday, March 12, 1910, at 9:15 p.m.
The funeral took place Monday at 2 p.m., from the L.D.S. church which was crowded to the doors, not only with people of the Mormon faith but also with business men and the people generally of the city. The service was opened with music by the L.D.S. choir, led by J.W. Baxter,Jr., the meeting being presided over by Bishop W.D. Hanks.
The speakers were: Patriarch James England, of Union, A.S. Geddes, Stake Sunday School Superintendent, Joseph R. Price and George Stoddard, of the Stake Presidency, of La Grande, and Bishop Hanks of Union, each of whom paid a beautiful tribute to the life and character of the departed one.
The service closed with music by the choir, after which Bishop Hanks expressed deep appreciation of the general attendance at the service.
Following the ceremonies at the church, the casket, covered with beautiful flowers, was removed to the undertaking parlors, to await the evening train, at which time the remains were shipped to Salt Lake City, accompanied by Mr. Richins and Mrs. Geo. T. Holladay, Mrs. Richins’ mother, who arrived Sunday.
Final Services and interment took place at Salt Lake City, in the 17th Ward, and it was expected that President Joseph F. Smith of the L.D.S. church, an old friend of Mrs. Richins, would be among the speakers.
Mary Holladay was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Geo. T. Holladay, and was born at Hooper, Utah, September 17, 1880. Her childhood was spent at Hooper, where a portion of her schooling was had.
With her parents she then moved to Salt Lake City, where her studies continued and her education gradually completed. She was a member of the great Salt Lake Tabernacle choir under the direction of Prof. Evan Stevens and was a musician of more than ordinary talent. Later she perfected her musical education in a studio in San Francisco, remaining there a year in this capacity. Afterward she was a salaried singer in the Catholic Cathedral in San Francisco for one and a half years, and after extensive traveling she returned to Salt Lake, remaining with her parents for six months prior to going to Mesa, Arizona, where she was engaged in teaching music.
It was here that she first met Mr. Richins, and after an engagement of some months, they were married in the great Salt Lake Temple June 25th, 1909. This wedding was a very elaborate affair, followed by a reception at the home of the parents of the bride, with nearly 100 guests present.
The wedding tour was a trip to the Alaska-Yukon Exposition, after which Mr. and Mrs. Richins came to Union and have been here since-until the death of Mrs. Richins, which occurred as above noted Saturday, March 12.
Aside from her husband and infant son, at Union, Mrs. Richins leaves a father and mother, two brothers and a sister at Salt Lake City to mourn her loss, all of whom have the sincere sympathy of a large circle of friends in their sad bereavement.
The sudden death of Mrs. Richins was a great shock to the entire community, recognized as she was as a woman of fine education and unusual capacity, as well as of a disposition to do good and extend to others the advantages she had enjoyed.
She will be mised in church and musical circles and her death will be mourned by a large number of friends.
One of the many sad features of the case was the arrival Sunday of Mrs. Richins’ mother, from Salt Lake. She came Sunday and it was then she first heard of her daughters death.
Contributed by: Larry Rader