“Heavenly Wings”
For Barbara Baxter Hettervig
By Valerie J Laidlaw
(Granddaughter of Melvin Johan Hettervig, Daughter of Vivian Jean Hettervig)
Her mom, Irene, was widowed in nineteen thirty-three,
With her toddler sister, Frances, and, Barbara, just a baby.
Irene and Henry were wed, as he took them all under his wing,
Realizing the wondrous love of this threesome to his life they would bring.
As their baby brother, Donald, grew up to learn all about farming,
The girls also helped with the household, the chores, and everything!
The Hettervig families have worked the land up and down this Red River Valley,
In the rich black soil where sunflowers, soybeans, and potatoes grew.
When Henry’s brother, Ellie, had a son named Ernie, Ernie knew,
This treasured lady, Barbara Baxter, as a child became older, attending school,
It was only natural she would eventually become his partner and wife,
A strong, yet soft, spirit he could work with,
Stand and dance alongside with, throughout the remaining years of his life.
Ernest and Barbara were blest with three girls,
Then, a rambunctious, sweet boy arrived in their world.
The legacy lived on in the generations to follow,
Many happy times, intermingled with sorrow.
As Barbara’s spirit rejoins Ernest’s in a new life she’s been given,
One has to believe there’s a grand reunion up there in heaven.
Friends and families of cousins are all dancing up there,
Like birds taking flight on their wings in the air.
grmaval 