Her classes have proven popular both in San Jose, California
and Utah County, where she now lives. She frequently teaches home
organization principles at L.D.S. Church Enrichment Nights and
at other community gatherings. She also does in-home consultations,
i.e. she has seen a lot of dirty laundry, cluttered closets, and
stacks of untidy paperwork, all of which is very exciting to her.
More recently, Marie has been a presenter at B.Y.U.’s Education
Week and has authored and self-published a House of Order Handbook
which contains chapters on many facets of home management plus
numerous worksheets to make running a home easier for any homemaker.
She has also prepared additional printed “home management”
materials to help homemakers, whatever their needs may be. She
has made good use of her personal library which now totals over
300 home management books as she shares valuable and workable
ideas in her classes, presentations, and columns.
Marie was born in Vernal, Utah, a small town in eastern Utah,
but was raised for most of her youth in Mapleton, Utah where her
parents owned a small farm. Her father taught civil engineering
at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah and the family of eight
children, of which she is the oldest, grew and preserved all of
their own food, except flour, sugar, jello and a few other sundries.
It was a life of hard work, long hours, great discipline, and
much love. There were farm animals, an orchard, a berry patch,
and a home built by her parents.
Marie’s mother was talented in organization and taught
the children how to get alot done in a short amount of time. Before
they left for school in the morning, for instance, the indoor
housework was done, the outdoor chores were finished (including
milking the cows and feeding the animals), individual piano practicing
was done, the family had enjoyed a hearty breakfast, and the dishes
for the large family had been done.
When Marie left home to attend B.Y.U. and live on campus, she
was well equipped to make her own way, working twenty hours a
week and going to school full-time. She met her husband that first
year at B.Y.U. and off they went to graduate school in San Diego,
California.
Marie has been happily married to Jim Ricks for 33 years and
together they are the parents of five sons. Tom is in graduate
school at the University of Georgia, David is seeking a biology
degree at Utah Valley State College, Brian is a computer science
major at Brigham Young University, and Tyler is a serving a mission
for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil.
(Evan, their youngest, passed away as a young child from leukemia.)
Marie has interests in many areas. She loves to scrap quilt,
make pressed-flower greeting cards for friends and family, write
personal histories, and most recently has been a radio show host.
The most important decision Marie made and subsequent skill
she learned organizationally was personal discipline. In order
to dedicate her life to her family and be of benefit to others,
she needed, herself, to be balanced and full. Early on, she decided
she would follow a daily regime of exercise, prayer, scripture
study, and journal writing. In order to do this, on most days
she has risen early. Having gained many benefits from this daily
personal routine, she practiced doing her housework, raising five
boys, and serving others with energy and excitement. Having started
right, the rest of the day just always seemed better. And now,
of course, she enjoys sharing her feelings, experiences, and homemaking
skills with others.
Marie and her family live in Highland, Utah where she and her
husband grow a vegetable and fruit garden as their summer hobby
and share woodworking projects together on colder days.
