Thadda Estelle Springfield Moody
July 22, 1915 - February 15, 2004
Eulogy given by her great niece, Marnie L. Pehrson  

Thadda Estelle Springfield was born to Thaddeus and Maude Springfield on July 22, 1915 in the little town of Daisy , Tennessee . Thad was a farmer who raised prize winning watermelons and supervised farm hands. It was from her father that Thadda learned to garden and inherited her sense of humor. Thadda was fourteen when the Great Depression hit, but she told me that her family always had everything they needed - except money that is. Being farmers, they were self-sufficient and they learned to make do with what they had. They saved precious buttons in jars and when the collar on a shirt became too worn or dingy, they cut it off, turned it over and sewed it back on, making the shirt last a while longer.  

One time while visiting with Thadda our conversation turned to gardening. Like her father before her, she was an avid gardener and as a child my brother and I spent weeks at a time with her in the summers. She and Paul let us “help” them in the garden. As Thadda and I reminisced she pointed out that each time we came, she had to teach us the difference between the plants and the weeds, and that sometimes we were really more work than we were worth because of the time it took to teach us. I can relate to this as I plant my own gardens. My little ones seem to have homing devices in the soles of their shoes that lead them straight on top of the plants. But Thadda and Paul were always patient with us.  

As I spoke with her, Thadda seemed to be transported back in time to those days when she would arise early and weed her garden in the cool of the morning with the chirping birds as her companions until about 10 a.m. when the sweat bees made their first appearance. She spoke of the peace and tranquility of working with her hands in "Mother Earth" and that it seemed as near to heaven on earth as she would ever get in this life. She told of how much she loved to plant and to weed her garden, and that Paul enjoyed plowing and harvest. Together they made a perfect pair of gardeners.  

Gardening and saving things would remain a theme in my Aunt Thadda’s life throughout the remainder of her days. I believe that every soul that graces this earth is here for a reason – to fulfill a divine destiny – a mission, and it is my opinion that my Aunt Thadda filled the measure of her creation. She never had children of her own, but she left a legacy of salvation to her nieces, nephews and their posterity that spans generations and reaches back to her ancestors who went before her. A verse in Isaiah comes to mind when I think of my Aunt Thadda (and I’ll paraphrase it here):  

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of she who brings good tidings, that publishes peace; that brings good tidings of good, that publishes salvation; that saith unto Zion , Thy God reigneth!” (Isaiah 52:7)  

For you see, Thadda lived her life a lot like one of those old depression-era shirts that wore itself out and the Master turned it around making it new again. Thadda understood the Savior’s power to transform a life. When her sister Lucille returned from California after joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Thadda listened to Lucille talk about the things she’d learned. It seemed to be all Lucille wanted to discuss. Thadda confided that at first she really didn’t want to hear about it. She just wasn’t interested, but because of her love and respect for Lucille and Lucille’s persistence, after a few years, she finally had ears to hear and eyes to see. Thadda joined the Church on September 9, 1967 and from that day forward, she wanted everyone around her – everyone she knew and loved – to have the transforming power of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives.  

She and Lucille introduced my parents to the gospel along with many other people and their influence spans generations. But Thadda’s work of sowing and reaping souls was not limited to the living, it extended backward through time to her ancestors. So many people today feel a compelling need to search out their ancestors, to research their family trees. It’s something they don’t fully understand why they’re doing, but they know they need to do it. Thadda was one of those people who felt this driving need, but she knew why. Thadda was like a gardener who kept a vision of the harvest ever present in her mind. It kept her motivated to keep researching and working.  

When Thadda joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints she learned that Jesus Christ has provided a way for husbands and wives to be married in holy temples for time and all eternity. She learned that we can be together with our spouses and children – in family units throughout the eternities. Thadda also learned that all of us are brothers and sisters – children of our Heavenly Father who loves each and every one of us. Our Heavenly Father is just and fair and He offers equal opportunity for all of His children to hear the gospel, accept or reject it, and be baptized if they so choose.  

Many ask, “But what of those who never have the opportunity to learn of Christ in this life?” In 1 Peter chapters 3 and 4 we learn that after his death, Jesus visited the spirit world (also known as Paradise ) and organized His believers to preach to those who died without knowledge of Him. In this way God shows his love and fairness to all by giving all a chance to hear and accept the gospel message whether in this life or in the hereafter.  

This is why we as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints research our family histories and do so much genealogical research. The apostle Paul asked the compelling question in 1 Corinthians 15:29: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?” This verse along with archaeological evidence confirms that early Christians performed proxy baptisms for their kindred dead – so that all would have the opportunity to be baptized.

This is why Latter-day Saints build temples. We know that our ancestors who didn't have the chance to hear the gospel in this life will hear it in the Spirit world and that as they believe, they will need to be baptized and because they cannot do it for themselves without their physical bodies, we, in holy temples, are baptized in their behalf. It is then up to them to exercise their free will to either accept or reject this ordinance that’s been performed for them.  

This is the work to which Thadda devoted her life and to which thousands beyond the portal of death owe their unending gratitude. She loved the temples. She spent several years serving in them. Like working in her garden, they were a place that she felt as if she could touch heaven. I am grateful for my great aunt Thadda - for her sacrifice, her devotion and her willingness to open her mouth and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others. It is because of her and her sister Lucille that my parents and our family enjoy the blessings provided by the gospel of Jesus Christ and have the knowledge that our family can be together forever.  

There may be no more poignant example of the message that families are forever than in the bond between a husband and wife. On June 27, 1975 , Thadda and Paul went to the Salt Lake City Temple to be sealed for time and eternity. As a result, they have a bond that transcends mortality and will last forever. This was particularly evident when I visited Thadda in the hospital a few weeks ago. She told me that Paul was with her, comforting her and that whatever anyone brought her, she felt they needed to bring two of them – one for her and one for Paul. He was there for her when she needed him – I believe in a very literal way, and they are together again now and forever.

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