A Tribute to A Piano Teacher

Sister Lois Dayton, my beloved piano teacher from Cokeville, Wyoming, passed away on Wednesday. She was 101 years old. My first piano lessons were from my Grandma Teichert (I'll bet none of you knew she knew how to play the piano -- she knew the notes but couldn't play much). And then I begged my great-Aunt Lois Murdock to teach me and she taught me the few things she knew. By then, my parents were embarrassed by my persistence in asking everyone in town that could play the piano to teach me. They realized that I was very serious about playing the piano. They bought the piano I have in my house now and gave it to me for my 8th birthday. I was ecstatic! But I was even more ecstatic when they decided to have Lois Dayton teach me how to play. It was a match made in heaven, I'm sure. She was my teacher for 6 years. She had me memorize several pieces and then memorize something about each composer. After a year and a half, she had me give a recital in her home (playing her grand piano) to family and friends. I had 9 pieces memorized along with something memorized about the composers. I had to give a short spill about the composers before playing each piece. My grandparents came from Utah and also my Teichert grandparents came along with a few other family friends and neighbors. It was an exciting thing for me to accomplish. Four years later I gave a second recital by myself, this time held in the Cokeville High School gymnasium. I had about 6 pieces (much harder) memorized. My grandparents came again. I got a new dress for this recital - my first store-bought dress. Grandma and Grandpa Teichert gave me a rose corsage and Grandma and Grandpa Allen gave me a different corsage - I wore both. I remember giving Sister Dayton a pearl necklace with my thanks for her example and teaching. After I had taken for 6 years, Sister Dayton told me she couldn't really teach me anything else and told me I needed to take piano lessons from Betty Beecher, who lived in Logan. That day was one of the saddest days in my life. I left her house heartbroken. I went down to the ranch and wandered in an alfalfa field and cried for hours. I loved Sister Dayton. She always seemed to be so peaceful and loving to everyone. I could feel her great spirit whenever I was around her. She recognized some of my weaknesses with music, but she taught me to love music most of all and that seemed to help me work through the weaknesses. President Reed Dayton, Lois' husband, was our stake president for 27 years. Since the stake center was in Montpelier, Idaho, I think Sister Dayton had to do a lot of raising her 8 children by herself. They raised a spectacular family. Their oldest daughter, Barbara, is married to Tom L. Perry. Their second daughter, Carol, was my 4th grade teacher and all-time favorite school teacher. Their son, Dr. Lynn Dayton, delivered Chelsey when she was born and was my attending OB when I was pregnant with Ammon. I have a lot of ties to this family. President Dayton died many years ago and so I'm sure there must have been a happy reunion between them when Lois was finally able to leave this mortal existence. Her funeral will be on the 16th, I think so late after her death, to allow family members to gather from all over. I will attend the funeral in Cokeville. I think about her every time I play the organ on Sundays. I'm so grateful for her example and ability to teach me to learn to love music.