As our mom, Claudia Proffit, left this earth on Wednesday, Feb. 19, we imagined her being greeted by our dad, who preceded her in death, hand outstretched, inviting her to dance again to this song by Ian Tyson, quoted below, that we consider to be their song.
“Darlin’ we haven’t gone dancin’
For such a long time now
It’s been so long since we’ve twirled around the dance floor,
I’ve almost forgotten how
So gas up the pick-up
I’ll bring the babies–
they’ll stay at the neighbors’ tonight
And if the band at the bar can play waltzes and shuffles
I’m gonna dance with my own heart’s delight”
“We make a good team, my lady and I
I couldn’t ask for anything more
If you don’t believe me
Just catch us tonight,
We’ll be the best dancers out on that floor”
They loved dancing and were truly well-partnered, both in dancing and in life. It is hard to think of one without the other, and there isn’t much more beautiful than the family unit they built and the life they made for themselves and for us, their family.
It was a grand thing they did, raising us on a little ranch, presenting so many unique and priceless opportunities, experiences and adventures, creating a sense of team and belonging, and fostering a little bit of toughness.
Claudia Ellin Hamilton Proffit, 83, was born in Evanston, to John and Lola Hamilton, and grew up on the ranch near Fort Bridger, along with her siblings, Jerry, Chuck, Patty, Richard and Chris.
It wasn’t easy; she recalled living almost hand-to-mouth with winter walks to the outhouse, hauling water for cooking and washing, canning meat in the summer because there wasn’t any refrigeration, sleeping three in a bed, and taking baths in a big tub in the kitchen. She believed that she inherited the “dive in and get it done” attitude from her mother.
She was baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when she was 17 and remained a strongly devoted member thereafter.
She was able to attend the University of Wyoming, where she developed a lifelong loyalty for the Cowboys (she was even a cheerleader). “Ragtime Cowboy Joe” was part of the lullaby rotation for her babies. At UW, she developed lifelong friends, including future sisters-in-law, Pat Mangus Proffit and Lola Proffit Baldwin, and her roommate, Fran Booth Jones, and where she found her partner in life, Don Proffit.
She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and taught college nursing classes for two years afterward. She and Don were married Dec. 26, 1963 (according to family lore, so he would be able to remember their anniversary).
Before settling and ranching south of Evanston, they lived and worked in Owyhee, Nevada, on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, and in Woodruff, Utah, where Don worked on Deseret Land and Livestock for two years. In both places they built friendships that lasted their whole lives.
Adventures, challenges, beauty and joy were the staples of raising kids and ranching in Wyoming with their “gypsy cows” (their cows were well-traveled, which comes from having to lease pasture all around the region). The little place on the Bear River south of town was their home base and where their kids got to be in close proximity to grandparents and cousins with space to roam and play.
Claudia devoted a lot of years to homemaking, mothering and church service, and she loved it and excelled at it.
Mom “resembled” and got a kick out of the joke “behind every successful rancher was a wife that worked in town,” and, in 1986, she went back to work as a nurse, spending most of her career in the operating room. She was fascinated by surgery, and frequently wanted to share some of the gory details, often at dinnertime, which wasn’t always appreciated by her kids.
It wasn’t uncommon for her to get called in during a big ranch job or in the middle of church, and she’d fly into town dressed however she was to the delight of her coworkers. (Once, she was followed all the way to the hospital by a highway patrolman with lights flashing and, when they arrived, the story is that she told him he’d have to wait until after the case if he wanted to give her a ticket, and then left him in the parking lot. Apparently, he left.)
She enjoyed serving people in this capacity, supporting the ranch and her family and building lasting bonds with her “O.R. family.”
She eventually retired from the hospital, but not from the ranch, and she and Don became mostly inseparable in tackling cow jobs in the years after most people retire, both preferring step stools to mount their horses. They could still outlast and outwork their kids, who had always been their ranching help.
Don died in February of 2019, and Claudia waited six more years before joining him. She missed him greatly.
She soldiered on bravely, though, fighting cancer, leading the ranch, keeping up their cow operation, focusing on relationships with her grandkids — all a reflection of her work ethic, ability to face hard things straight on, love of family and her way of just getting on with things.
They raised, and are survived by, six kids: Clint (Veronica) Proffit, Nonie Proffit, Cody (Marty) Linford, Kim (Jill) Proffit, Liberty (David) Day and Tiko (Morgan) Heaps.
Claudia was proud of and loved very much the 18 grandkids and nine great-grandkids that followed.
She is also survived by her siblings, Pat Potter, Richard (Carol) Hamilton and Chris Aimone; her in-laws, Larry (Pat) Proffit, Lola (Mel) Baldwin and Deanne Richins; and cousins, nieces and nephews who were a big part of her life.
Her list of achievements really boils down to these few things:
Along with Dad, she got a lot of joy and satisfaction out of the life that they built together — they found a way to make their vocation and their recreation seamless.
She created and curated (seemingly effortlessly,) beautiful, hard, fun, extraordinary experiences and opportunities for her family. She nurtured and protected, encouraged and challenged.
She had long-time, true friends.
She endured and enjoyed, persisted and played. She was tough and tender, showed grit and grace. She was a force and a friend, stoic and sensitive.
There really was no better mom, no better way to grow up.
Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 3, at the Evanston South Stake Center, with viewings the night before from 6-8 p.m., and just preceding the funeral, from 9:30-10 a.m.
