Mildred "Faye" Jenkins

Mom was greeted at the gates of Heaven on Fri April 10, 2015 by her parents Bill & Ada Rhymer, brother Jimmy , nephew Tommy Risdon & her Granny Sharp.

She was born May 9, 1937 in Cincinnati, Oh & went to school at Oyler Elementary & Central High Schools. She married in 1955 & in 1958 she moved to Arizona where she raised her family. As we grew up she was a Blue Bird leader, a cub scout leader, classroom mom, & PTA President at Madrid Elementary School. If there was an event or a game we participated in, she was there.....just as she was for the rest of our lives.

Over the years she worked at Motorola, a day care then babysat for many years. In the late 70's she went to work at Revlon as a payroll clerk & secretary. Soon she became the editor of the Revlon newsletter & earned the nickname "Lady Bug". She was the party planner - if there was a birthday, wedding, anniversary or holiday, she planned a potluck or a party. Everyone's favorite was her annual Halloween costume party. The house was always packed, food & drink filled the tables & costumed guests danced until the wee hours. it was always fun to see who the costume winners were toward the end of the night. The most unforgettable was when the company nurse came as a homeless lady who pulled a broken little table out of her rickety cart, put a vase with old discolored silk flowers on a wrinkled doilie & sipped out of a paper bag. She didn't speak a work all night until she won the costume contest. No one knew who the lady was under all that grime & layers of old clothes!

Mom loved music of all genres. If she couldn't get up & dance, she would dance quite happily in her chair. If she knew the words she sang along, too. She took pride in her autographed picture of old Country & Western music great Ernest Tubbs, having gone to see in when he came through Phoenix in the 60's. She loved going to Nifty 50's with her friends from Revlon on a Saturday night to dance the night away.

Geneology became a passion for her about 30 yrs ago. She began collecting as much information as possible from every relative she could. It wasn't unusual for Mom to hop on the bus & spend hours at the downtown library or the LDS Temple doing research. She traced her family to the 1600's in Wales & Scotland. A relative she traced down was Paul the Rhymer who was a jester, an entertainer, for royalty. Her dream was to go the castles there one day.

Being an avid sports fan, she watched every Arizona Diamondbacks & Arizona Cardinals games she could. If she knew the Cincinnati Reds or Bengals were playing she watched them, too. As a little girl she lived in downtown Cincinnati at 717 Neave Street. They walked to Crosley Field to watch the Reds.

About ten years ago, Mom's health started declining. She eventually required both a pacemaker & defibrillator....she had suffered with congestive heart disease for some time. Mom's diabetes was also taking a toll on her. After a series of falls in the past few years she was no longer ambulatory. She had been at Desert Blossom Rehab & Nursing Home in Mesa when she left us.

She enjoyed playing Bingo & saving the prizes to give the great-grandkids when they came to visit.

Mom's greatest love & pride in her life was her family. She has left us with a legacy of unconditional love. No matter the problem, the wrongdoing, she always loved us & welcomed us with open arms. She could not have loved us less regardless of what we did. Although she wasn't able to travel "home" to Cincinnati often, she still loved & adored her brothers & their families. She always spoke proudly of them.

Survivors include her children Lynn Cummins, Rick Jenkins, Randy (Karen) Jenkins & Terrie (Willie) McShan; grandchildren (8) Melissa Musgrave, Allyson (Eddie) Armenta, Deena (Gary) Screws, Eric Cummins, Jeremy Whitman, Brandon Whitman, Mathew Jenkins & Christopher Whitman; great-grandchildren (12) Alyssa, Alexis, Eddie, Jr, Ariana, Eric, Analee & Aubriella Armenta, Kylie & Abbie Lowrance, & Shane, Ethan & Eliza Musgrave; brothers Jack (Nancy) Risdon, Donnie (Pat) Rhymer, Larry (Billie) Rhymer, & nieces Marcie, Melinda, Melissa, Jessie, Tracie

Mom raised us with a sense of community, to always give to the less fortunate because no matter how little you have, there is someone who has less. If she knew you needed something & she could help, you could consider it done.

In light of that, instead of sending flowers that are beautiful but fade away, the family is requesting that donations be made to the Arizona Humane Society in her honor. She loved watching Pets on Parade & and dog show competition she could.

The family would like to give thanks to the staff at Desert Blossom Rehab who were kind, patient & paid special attention to mom during her stay there...especially as her condition worsened. She was known to be a bit cantankerous & demanding one minute, then sweet & funny the next. It takes special people to care for those who have to be in that type of facility.