LaVerna (Terry) Ricks-Mead

History of LAVERNA TERRY
2nd May 1926 to 28th November 2020

Daughter of:
Franklin Amos Terry
Ellen Anna Goodliffe

Married to:
Howard Lee Ricks
16th September 1947
Sealed 14th September 1956 in Salt Lake Temple

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LAVERNA RICKS

In a little farm town called Enterprise, Utah, on a beautiful spring day, 2nd of May 1926, there came to earth a tiny, fair, baby girl. She had red hair and brown eyes, and was the fifth child of Franklin Amos and Ellen Goodliffe Terry. Life must have been good because I flourished on and on until I came to my life at present. I am now thirty eight years old and I still have my red hair and fair complexion, and I’m spotted with freckles as most red heads are. I am five feet five inches tall.

I now have a husband and four daughters which we enjoy very much. It is for Shauna my oldest, and my mother that I’m writing this autobiography. I know how much something like this can be cherished because I made the same request of my dear mother a few years back. Sitting here trying to put a few thoughts together, there comes to my mind a poem that was written for one of my ancestors which I will change slightly and dedicate to my dear parents.

I’m thinking today of my father and also of my mother dear,

How steady, how faithful and worthy,

How much they accomplished here.

Their posterity means more to me and worth more than silver and gold,

By example they taught me gently, how to find a place in God’s fold.

Father taught me I need God’s help in all that I do and say,

He said to me, “Be prayerful, while I work, grow and play”.

Mother, so sweet and gentle, so full of ambition and work,

Loving and working for all around her, her duty she never shirked.

These are the ones that helped me grow, sometimes carrying such heavy loads,

Always putting in God their trust; they have been treasured day by day.

May I strive to overcome faults, faithful and true, as they taught me to be,

Making them proud of me here on earth and glad to own me in eternity.

No better parents can be found, and I’m sure they will be loved and treasured by me always. I want to say THANKS to them for being my parents and the many other things they have done for me.

About the first thing I remember in my life is when I was four years old and my brother Wendell was born. We had whooping cough at home so my mother gave birth to him at Grandmother Terry’s home, across the street.  Arvetta and Leila, my two oldest sisters, had to stay home and take care of us. I was very excited when mother came home and brought with her the new baby. I remember trying hard to hold my breath so he wouldn’t catch whooping cough the first time I got to see him. I didn’t want him to get sick like I was.

Another thing I remember is the Terry ranch. Our ranch was given to my father by my grandfather, Frank D. Terry which made us next door neighbors. Our homes were about two miles apart, so we had many nice strolls.  This ranch was a homestead from my great grandfather, Thomas Sirls, and as days passed, it was divided among kin. The main homestead of the Terry ranch is still owned and used by the Terry kin but the part that my grandfather and father owned has been sold to other people. I have many memories of this ranch since we spent most of our summers there. We had a house there with four rooms and an attic which I loved. The house didn’t have a foundation, and was above the ground one foot, on props. This was safe enough, but I remember many nights being awakened by our dog Pal, chasing a coyote underneath the house. The evenings were wonderful, always a cool breeze from the canyon close by. About sundown we would hear the wail of coyotes and the croak of frogs from the meadow streams. Often, we would look out and see deer come in the meadow. Sometimes in late summer when it was dark and the chores were finished, we would build a campfire so we could roast the pine nuts we had gathered. We would put the green sticky burrs in the coals and roast them until they popped open, then the feast would begin.

We didn’t have electricity there so we would use coal oil lamps. These lamps had a place for oil and a wick which we could adjust to make the light dim or bright. This lamp had a crystal chimney to keep the flame from being blown out. We would have to wash and shine this chimney every day.

We carried our drinking water from an open spring until we discovered the water snakes liked the spring too, and then dad closed in on another spring which we used from then on.

We invented our own cooler for food. It was made from a big wooden box with a hinged door. To this dad nailed a lot of layers of burlap, place it in the willow tree by the house, and then soaked the burlap. We had to keep the burlap wet. This kept the food good and cold.

In a nearby willow tree we also had a hammock, which we all enjoyed stretching out on, or swinging in. It was always in the shade, and many times we were tipped out when someone would sneak up and give us a complete somersault.

On this ranch we had fifteen or twenty dairy cows that were milked every night and morning by my father and brothers and many times my mother and sister Leila helped. I for one could never conquer the art of milking, but I remember how much I enjoyed going out to the meadow to help round up the cows and bring them in for milking. The milk was then separated from the cream. Every other day we would have ten gallons of cream to take to town and sell for money or goods.

Once every summer, my father and brothers would harvest the wild hay for the stock to eat in the winter months.  During the harvest, two or three of us younger ones would be put on the wagon to tromp down the hay so the wagon could hold bigger loads. This was fine until one day a snake was thrown in with a fork full of hay and landed on one of our legs. This ended tromping hay for me. I never got on the hay wagon again.

We used to like climbing and playing on the hills close by. My brothers, sisters and myself made many play houses among the trees. We had a pond where my older brothers and sisters went swimming. The younger ones played in the shallow water. We always had riding horses that the boys would ride, but they had too much spirit and prancing for me and I never learned to ride. The horses were broncos that my dad and brothers would catch from the range.

When it was time to gather the winter wood, dad would hitch the team to the wagon, mom would pack a lunch, and on the wagon we would go to the hills to cut and load wood. When we had a load, we climbed on top to ride home. This was scary for me. There were no roads and we had to make our own trails. Sometimes it felt like we would tip over and get hurt bad, but this never happened. This wood was hauled to our home in Enterprise or the ranch to be used for cooking and for firewood. We always gathered five to six loads each year.

When we moved to and from the ranch in the spring and fall, it was done in a flat bed wagon pulled by a team of horses. The children enjoyed this because we could jump off the back of the wagon and tag along holding onto the wagon. We would have to maintain a brisk walk to keep up. When we got tired we just jumped back on to ride and rest. One time I was told not to get off the wagon with the older ones, but I didn’t obey. In my excitement to get off unnoticed, I jumped down in front of the back wheel and I was run over, starting at my upper leg, across my body and over my shoulder. My body was very bruised and swollen for a few days, but I was lucky not to have any broken bones.

Our home in Enterprise wasn’t as large as the homes of today but we had a lot of happiness there. We had our bedrooms upstairs, which was a lot of fun. Our home was a nice home and we all had our jobs to do to help keep it clean. We didn’t have automatic heat. We had a wood and coal burning heater in one corner of the room to heat the house with. This heater didn’t burn all night and we all took our turn to get up in the cool crisp morning and make the fires in the heater and black iron cook stove. Every night my sister Leona and I would put on winter attire so we could carry in the wood and kindling for the fires the next day. We also carried the water to the house from the outside tap. These were cold jobs and many times our hands got frost bite.

I remember the day when Enterprise was hooked up with electricity. How excited all the towns people were.  This meant electric lights and we could do away with the coal oil lamps. Just think of all the light in every room, with just the flip of a switch, it seemed miraculous to me. This also gave us the opportunity of having the modern conveniences of electric ranges, refrigerators, washing machines, irons and radios. Prior to electricity, we used flat irons that we would heat on the stove and snap a handle onto. Many times a smudge of black would be ironed on an article of clothing and it would have to be laundered all over again. So you can see why the people were so excited.

I have to tell you about wash day. This was always a hard day for mother. We had two round tubs; one was black which we would put on the fire outside to heat the water in. That water had to be carried in and poured into the other tub that would be setting on chairs. With a wash board, hot water and a bar of soap, we would scrub the clothes by hand. Then we’d take the clothes outside, put them in a tub of fresh hot water to plunge and boil them. Once that was done, we’d take them back inside to rinse and hand wring them out. Following this, we’d put them outside to hang dry on the line. As you can see, this was a hard day’s work for a large family. We could always plan on baked potatoes and beans for dinner on wash night, which I always enjoyed.

Enterprise, where I lived, was a farming community with two tiny stores. Each spring a big garden was planted, with each of us helping. We would all have to help with the planting, weeding, irrigating, and harvesting. Many times we would pick two full tubs of peas, shell and bottle them in one day; we also did this with corn, string beans, beets, tomatoes, spinach and all of our fruit. This was a lot of hard work, but they always looked pretty in the bottles and tasted good in the winter time. We harvested carrots, turnips, squash, parsnips, cabbage and potatoes; then saved them for winter by putting them in a big dirt cellar that was built for this purpose. We also made fifty gallon barrels of dill pickles which we all enjoyed.

Most of our shoes and clothing were purchased from mail order catalogs, also yardage materials that mom would use to sew our clothes. These catalogs would come in the spring and fall. We always looked forward to having them come. Everyone enjoyed looking through them. Eventually they got nicknamed the “wish books” because of all the things we wanted to order out of them, but couldn’t have. After these catalogs were outdated we used them in the outhouses to wipe our bottoms with.

My sister Leona and I were allowed to have a playhouse in the granary. Half of the building was used for storing grain, wheat and meat which we salted to keep for our use. One end had a bed where my brothers slept in the summer time and we got the other end to use as our playhouse. There was a little stove there. We had a little table and cupboard with our little china dishes that Grandma Goodliffe gave us. Many a good time was had by us and our friends cooking, eating and playing. In the summer time Leona, me and our friends would take hikes and cook our meals outside. We had a lot of potato and corn roasts and played games by campfire at night. In 1960, I saw one of my girlfriends from home and we were reminiscing about the good times we’d had and she said she still remembered how she enjoyed sitting at our family table eating and how good the biscuits were that we always had.

One winter morning, about 1934, we woke up and found we were almost snowed in. The snow was four or five feet deep on the level and six to seven feet drifts were all around. These drifts just about covered the windows and doors. Dad had quite a time pushing his way out the door to shovel us out. The school was closed in order to give people time to dig out. When we did go back to school, dad made several trips taking us to and from on the horse since we couldn’t use the wagon. When the streets were cleared I had fun walking on them because they seemed like tunnels, I couldn’t see over on either side. This was a very unusual winter, the only time I remember so much snow falling at once.

The first television in Utah was displayed and demonstrated in the Paris Department store in Salt Lake City in 1939.  In 1942 or 1943, I don’t remember exactly which year; there was talk of television coming to Enterprise and in a town without a theater, this news sounded like a miracle. We did get to see a movie at the church house occasionally but to think of watching a show in your home was a little much and everyone doubted this could ever happen, but with time and progress this dream was actually realized in 1946.

I loved holidays. For Easter, we each had to make our own Easter baskets. These were made from shoe boxes, buckets and anything we could put handles on and decorate. Afterwards, we boiled and colored eggs, packed lunches and had picnics.

July fourth and twenty fourth were always big holidays in our town. The big cannon guns would be fired around four and five o’clock in the morning. The string band rode in the back of a truck, stopped and played on every corner at 7:50 in the morning; I really like that. At 10:00 a.m., there was a nice program. Then we went home for lunch and back to the other activities they had. At 2:00 in the afternoon, we had kids’ races, moms’ races, sack races, greased pig catches and any other fun thing that we could think of. There were always prizes given. We had ball games, rodeos, and deep pit barbecues and then always a dance in the evening. My mom always tried to have all of us a new outfit of clothes on at least one of those days.

On Halloween we always played our pranks, some were bad like tipping the outhouses over. I remember I liked to sketch and I had quite a few. I worked for one of our neighbors helping her with her housework for which I didn’t get paid much. One year, on Halloween, I decided to dirty the outside of her windows, so I got some of my sketches and put paste on the back and covered her windows with them. A couple of days later she was at our house, when I came in, she said, “You’re a good artist but you forgot you had your name signed at the bottom”.  Guess who did the clean up, for free! That was the last time I pulled any pranks.

On Thanksgiving we always had a nice dinner, sometimes we went over to Grandma Terry’s and sometimes we just stayed home. I had a pleasant childhood with lots of fond memories.

When I was seventeen years old, and a junior in High School, I took a high school sewing class. We each learned how to sew a dress. This was the first dress I ever made for myself and I was proud.  I enjoyed modeling it for these pictures!

In 1944, I graduated from High School in Enterprise. I attended at the same building all the way through school. The elementary grades had the half of the bottom floor rooms and the older kids had the other half. There were only ten people in my graduating class, it was very small compared to today’s standards. I graduated wearing a green suit (blazer jacket) and a skirt with a green hat. For the graduation ceremony, each one of us had to stand up and give a talk. My neighbor helped me write my speech but I had a terrible time delivering it.  Somehow, I made it through okay. The next day seven of us got in the car and drove to St. George for a little graduation party. Later that evening, on the way home, I got very sick. They pulled the car over and I hung my head out the door and threw up!   I was very shy at the time and my mother really had to talk to get me to go and then I was so very embarrassed when this happened.

My parents were married in the St. George Temple but not too long after that they became inactive. My father was a smoker and had quit long enough to go to the temple but soon after, he picked it up again. He tried to attend church but he said that every time he went, all they ever talked about was the evils of smoking. One day he got so fed up with it all, he said he’d never go to church again! My mom tried to get us to church when she could, but she had ten kids to look after and it was very difficult for her to get us all ready and off to church, so I didn’t get to go much until later.

As a teenager, I often heard the other kids talking about what they did at church and that’s when I became more interested. Each Sunday I got myself up, got dressed and went off to church. One Sunday I’ll always remember was a lesson on tithing. For some reason, that really peaked my interest and I went home and talked to my mom about it. She helped me get a little box to save my money in and helped me to figure out how much to pay, tithing was ten percent of everything I earned. Ever since then, even when I only paid twenty cents at a time, I’ve always paid a full tithe to the Lord.

Mom and dad did the best they could to teach us the gospel in their home and I learned that this was the true way of life. I’ve held fast to the gospel most of my life and I’m grateful for the true and correct principles I learned in my youth.

The summer after I graduated, I went to work at the cafe and lived in an apartment with a girlfriend, Arvella Bowers, in Cedar City, Utah. Next year I also worked at the telephone company as an operator on the switch board. I stayed with my good sister, Leila and her husband Pete Martin. This was really appreciated and I always tried to treat her and family in the same way. I remember at Christmas time how homesick I was, this being my first Christmas away from home. I made a telephone call home, my parents sensed my homesickness and they made a trip to see us, this was a pleasure I’ll always remember.

The fall of 1946, when I was 20 years old, another friend, Maxine Holt and I decided we would be brave and come to the big city of Salt Lake, Utah to find work and brave it was. After our train fare we had fifty dollars between us. It was right after World War II and there weren’t any seats available to us. We went anyway and traveled in the ladies lounge on the floor until we got to our destination.

We arrived at the Salt Lake City train depot at 7:00 in the morning, checked our luggage and started walking to find work and a place to stay. We were lucky in finding work at J.G. McDonalds Chocolate Company, but lodging was a different story.

This day was snowy and cold and we walked several miles trying to find some place to stay but without success. We finally gave up and went to my uncle Orvin and Aunt Lynne Terry’s apartment. They had three other family guests there but accepted us in and treated us nice. The next day we had more success and found a room that we shared with another girl we didn’t know. Actually this house was shared by the owner and twelve other girls. We all shared the kitchen and the girls shared the same bathroom, that is, if we could stand in line long enough, but we got by. We each paid $16 a month. Our room had been an outside porch that was made into a room by putting windows along the two outside walls. It wasn’t very warm. Many a night snow sifted through onto our beds and faces. We had to go through another girl’s room to get to ours, but this was our room until January 1947. Then we were fortunate enough to find better lodging. We both enjoyed our work at the candy factory.  We met lots of good friends and had a good time in Salt Lake.  It was to Salt Lake we came and here we stayed and made our homes.

I met my husband Howard Lee Ricks or Lee, as he is known, at a dance. We dated a short time and were married on the 16th of September, 1947, in Elko, Nevada.

Our first home was a little two room house on 3029 Highland Drive. It had outside bathroom facilities and we did our heating and cooking with a little two burner monkey stove. We took this place because of the low rent. Lee was going to college and we didn’t have a lot of money with his government payment and my wages. We stayed here until November.

After that, we moved to an apartment with three rooms and shared the bath with two other families. This place was on 390 East 2700 South.

I was working at Purity Biscuit Company and did until our first child Shauna Lee came to us. She was born on the 23rd of April, 1948.  She was precious and a joy to both of us. She was born with a congenital heart problem and was sick a lot. She had open heart surgery when she was five years old and came through it well. When Shauna was three, we moved to a duplex which had more room. It was located at 538 Windsor Street.

On the 6th of November, 1951 Darla Ann was born.  She was a cute little butterball and was also enjoyed by us.

When Darla was ten months old we made another move, this time to our present home 3338 Kenton Drive. We started out for an afternoon drive to get some tomatoes for canning. As we were driving near a subdivision, Lee said, “Let’s just browse through some of the homes”. We ended up buying one and we were excited and went to tell his parents. I stayed with his mom while Lee and his dad went back to work out the paperwork. He was going to work out the down payment by doing furnace work for them, and then we could pay dad back in payments. The home cost $12,500. When they came back to pick me up he had bought another different house that was bigger and said, “let’s move”, so by that night at three o’clock in the morning, we were all moved into that home!  I don’t remember if we ever did get the tomatoes we started out for or not. Two days later, there were two people that really got a big surprise. I was in the kitchen and when I walked out into the front room, I saw a strange man. I asked him what he was doing in my house. He said he was the foreman for the company that was building our house. He had been in the house two days before and they hadn’t told him it was sold. It was quite a shock to both of us.

On the 14th January, 1955 our third child came to us. We named her Vicki Lynn. She also brought much happiness into our home.

I do have a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. This came to me after I was married and had three of my girls. I had always been taught the gospel by my parents but I didn’t try too hard to live up to the teachings until I was put to work teaching in the Primary, Mutual and Sunday School, then it became more important. I worked in the Relief Society as magazine representative and I did welfare work, along the years. I also served on the Relief Society Stake Board for a time. It was at this time in my life that I received a strong desire to read the Book of Mormon. This good book strengthened my testimony and it wasn’t long before I realized a few mistakes in my life that I had made along the way and I wanted to correct them. I decided I wanted to have a Temple Marriage, to be sealed to Lee for time and eternity and have our three sweet daughters sealed to us. After some preparation we realized this dream on the 14th of September, 1956 in the Salt Lake Temple. Since this time we have always been actively engaged in our Heavenly Fathers work.

On the 13th of January, 1957, Lee was called to the stake mission. We were pleased but it didn’t continue on this way. He had to put in a lot of time and with his work hours we didn’t have much time together. The full load of the child care was on me and that was rough. Satan works in diverse ways; I missed him a lot and started thinking he was stepping out on me. He finished his mission in 1958 at that time I had developed some health problems and had a nervous breakdown. Six months later, the doctor told me to go to work; he said that it would help my condition so Lee took me to our business, Ricks Furnace, to replace the secretary I was so jealous of.  Vicki was four years old then and was being cared for by a baby tender. I stayed on this job for three years and learned a lot, and then I went to work at Sperry Rand doing electronic work for more money. By this time, I had learned how to drive and had my own used car.

With some of my wages, we bought a piano and a deep freeze. When I got my two weeks vacation with pay, we decided to take the kids and my widowed mother, Ellen, to Fairoaks, California to see my sister Jean, her husband George and their family. We went to San Francisco and did a lot of other things. We had a nice time and a good visit.

As time marched on we decided we needed more room, so we started on a big project underneath the house, digging out a basement in 1963. We used picks and shovels for this project. Each shovel full of dirt was moved five times; first into the wheel barrow which was emptied by an opening through the foundation, then it was shoveled out that opening onto the lawn, then onto the truck and last but not least, shoveled off the truck when it was hauled away. To start with we only had a crawl space to work in, but underneath the horizontal furnace you could almost stand up straight. This project was shared by all the family even our fathers, mothers and one or two brothers had a turn, which was appreciated immensely. We started this job in the spring, on Memorial Day, and we finished with the digging by October of the same year. During this time I was also tending four additional kids. I took them to the basement with me and gave them little shovels and we played out the seven dwarf’s scene over and over. They loved it and wanted their dads to do the same thing with them. This just goes to show what determination can do. By the latter part of 1963 we had the basement completely dug and had the rooms to the point where they were usable, but because our finances didn’t come as easy as our labors, the rooms weren’t completed quite the way we want them, that came later. We also built a nice patio and landscaped our yard.  We had a very nice home one that we appreciated and were very proud of.

I went back to work but quit again due to Jaena’s birth on the 12th of December, 1963. She was a big surprise to us, but a bundle of joy. There was an eight year span between babies and she was humored and spoiled by all of us. We had two teenagers with Vicki was close behind, so we had built in babysitters, which was nice.

After Jaena was born I stayed at home being a mother once again. When Jaena was eighteen months old times got hard with finances again. I didn’t want to work outside the home again so I opened my home to child care. I tended two five years olds, a four year old and a ten month old baby and another eighteen month besides Jaena. This was five days a week, I also had several drop in children by the hour. This was a full time job, but it helped out and I got to stay home, to care for my family and see Jaena grow.

In May of 1966, when Shauna graduated from high school, she got a job at J.G. McDonalds Chocolate Company. We thought it would be fun to work together so I also got hired. She didn’t like the work and quit her third day, but I stayed on for a year. I worked on an assembly line dipping chocolates.

Darla our second child got married first on the 27th of January, 1967, to Clinton Goodfellow. They were married in our home by Bishop Kay Schwendiman.  They moved to their own little apartment.  It was always good to hear their motorcycle; we knew it was them coming to see us. When spring came they moved to Safford Arizona to help his parents with a motel they had purchased. It was hard on me to have her so far away.

Shauna also got married in our home by the Bishop on the 19th of April, 1967 to Dewey Nolte. We were losing our family fast, and things became much quieter at home.

When Jaena got into school, I worked a lot with Lee at our business, Ricks Furnace and Air Conditioning. By this time, he was the owner, not his dad. His dad retired because of health problems, Lee paid rent to his parents.  It took a few years to get the business earning money again. After awhile, in 1970, he managed to save enough for a down payment for our own property at 56 East Fireclay Avenue, in Murray. We built onto the shop there making three shops. Lee used two shops for his business and rented the other one out. There was a little house in front which we fixed up and rented out. Income from these two rentals paid the property payment for us.

At times I worked for Ostlers then Cummings Candy, starting in October until Christmas, then drew unemployment. It was good to be able help out at this time. Lee was doing much better with the business so he also expanded into real estate, due to his mother’s persistence and over my protests. They each paid $3,000 for an old house on 1203 Roosevelt Avenue in Salt Lake. Lee put the deed in her name and they let me think she bought it since I was so opposed to it. This sale was made in May 1970. They made two units out of the house to rent out. When I found out what they had done I was furious and it almost caused us to divorce. Things did settle down after a while and buying this property proved to be a good investment for us.

Lee purchased a new dodge truck and used camper which we enjoyed a lot. Our first trip in it was to Renton, Washington. We had my widowed mother, Ellen, Vicki and Jaena with us. This was a nice trip, we stopped anytime we wanted. Having our own beds and cooking saved us lots of money. We visited with my sister Jean, and her husband George and their family, and then all of us decided to go to Victoria, Canada. We took the truck and camper with us on the ferry. Victoria was a tourist trap, but beautiful and fun. I think I enjoyed the wax museum the most. They had live people lying among the fake and it was hard to tell the difference. The gardens and scenery were very pretty. The ferry ride home was interesting. Dense fog came up, we couldn’t see anything, but I was very intrigued by the sound of the fog horn. I had faith we would arrive safely, and we did.

On the 7th of May, 1971, Vicki and Carlos Pinto were married and so our family grew smaller but larger when they all came home to visit with their husbands and children. I had three cute grandchildren now, Troy, Kelly and Bryant.

In July 1971, Lee, myself and Jaena went to Vancouver, Canada. We spent time at Queen Elizabeth Park, which was big and pretty. We also spent time watching the big ships come and go. This was another big city with lots of big sky scrapers and we had a nice time there. We also spent time with Jean, George and family. Another trip we enjoyed in 1977 was to Los Angeles, California. This time we took Lee’s parents with us. There were two beds in the camper. Vicki and Jaena slept on the floor. All went well until one night we were awakened by Vicki’s screams. She had rolled into dad’s artificial leg and thought it was a man. Things finally quieted down when the lights came on and she saw what it was. While in Los Angeles we visited Lee’s brothers, Larry, Ken and his uncle Don Hansen. We went to Knotsberry Farm and Disneyland, it was a big thrill, and so was Sea World. We also went to Tijuana, Mexico. We traveled a lot with the truck and camper. We used it for lots of nice deer hunting trips, and many trips into the mountains. It sure beat those long fast three day trips we took before we got it.

On Memorial Day weekend in 1972, I took Jaena and went south to visit with my family and decorate mom and dads graves. When I got back I was surprised to see Lee all white and three walls missing from the house. We had talked of remodeling and he had gotten a big start on it while I was away. He removed the hall and one bedroom to make a large dining area. We got new carpet all through the area, new cupboards, stove, sink, refrigerator, and dishwasher. We also got a new dining set and T.V. for downstairs. What a nice improvement!  It made much more room and it was enjoyed by all of us. We did all the work ourselves, except the carpet, sprayed ceilings and counter tops.

In the spring of 1974 we found out Lee had the dreaded disease, sugar diabetes, and bad. He had a hard time accepting this. He kept working hard long hours, worrying and not staying on his diet, which did him a lot of harm.

In March of 1976 we purchased a packaged deal, 39 White Place and 337 North 700 West for $19,000. The 700 West house had had a fire and was burned bad so instead of remodeling, we tore it down. It was in a bad neighborhood for renting. We kept the lot which gave us lots of problems until it was sold in 1989 for $10,000. We cleaned, paneled walls, painted and rented 39 White Place. Lee managed to pay cash for this property and saved a lot of interest money. He put all the rent money into the bank for savings.

One night at three o’clock in the morning in July of 1977, Lee was called on a service call to 160 Hawks Court to fix the furnace at a rental. The owner of the house wasn’t happy to be up at this hour and said he would like to get rid of it. Lee bought it and signed the papers the next day for a small amount. We soon found out why he wanted to sell. The renter wouldn’t pay his rent, so a short time later we evicted him and had another dirty place to clean.

This year, 1977, Lee ended up at the Veterans Hospital with a broken leg. He was put in traction and ended up being there for the rest of the year. They didn’t take care of his leg properly and he got infection in his little toe and foot that turned to gangrene. They amputated his leg twice before it would heal. It was hard for me to keep his business going without him there, even with the help of the employees. I also found it necessary to go to the hospital to visit Lee every day. I needed his help to know how to handle the business.

With the help of one of his employees, I cleaned, paneled, and painted to get Hawks Court rented. Jaena was fifteen years old at this time and she was bored with being alone all the time. She wouldn’t come with me to clean and I just had to leave her home unsupervised a lot. While Lee was in the hospital, our freezer went out.  After talking with him about it, he decided the regulator was out. I picked one up, disconnected the old one, and put on the new one from his instructions over the phone. He told me to mark the wires as I undone them so I would know how to hook them back up again. In the process, I dropped the wires and didn’t know where they went but I continued on, hoping and praying I’d done it right. When I was finished, I was hesitant to plug the freezer in, afraid it would blow up, but it purred like a kitten! I was proud of myself, but I also knew I was guided by the Lord. While Lee was in the hospital, his eyes went bad and he had to have lots of laser beam treatments in them which helped his sight a lot. He was declared legally blind in one eye in September of 1977.  It was one happy day when he came home from the hospital!

Due to Lee’s health, we paid Hawkes Court off and sold it to get out from under it. With Lee’s failing eye sight I had to take him everywhere and he continued to work every day so this meant I had take him to all his service calls as well.  This placed quite a burden on me.

On top of that, from 1975 to 1978, all three of my older girls filed for a divorce. This was hard on us to see them alone and trying to raise and support their families. We helped when we thought it was necessary. They were a big worry for us. Shauna remarried on the 19^th of May 1972, to A. Garrick Frazier.

Vicki married Glenn Smith on the 6^th of June 1975.

Darla married on the 28^th of January 1979 to Daryl Fietkau then divorced again on 8th of September 1983. She then married Wallace (Chico) Bowden on 14^th of February 1987.

Jaena married on 21^st July 1980 to J. David Perkins, divorced then remarried Rick L. Percy on 21^st of February 1986.

I was called and set apart for secretary in Relief Society on the 7^th of July 1978 by Lloyd Nelson, First Counselor to Bishop George Caldwell, who was out of the city at the time. Sarah Bayles was president with Gloria Rytting, and Diane Pratt as counselors. I was so blessed to have this choice calling because it helped me a lot during Lee’s illness and after he was gone. I also served under Donna Johnson’s direction. I served in this position for four years and was released on 21^st November 1984 at my request.

In January of 1978, Lee told me he had a chance to buy 47 White Place and an adjacent vacant lot which joined 39 White Place for $22,500. It was zoned for residential and business. We decided this would be a good investment, but we didn’t have the cash to buy them. I suggested we take a loan but instead he went to his mother again, which they both knew I was against. He put her name on the contract just like on the Roosevelt property. Needless to say, I was furious and filed for a divorce again. My lawyer wanted to be paid in full before he would do anything and he was also bought off by Lee’s attorney, so the divorce never materialized, which I’m thankful for. Lee’s mother was good to us but she also caused a lot of friction and problems between us in our lives. I wouldn’t help with 47 White Place so Lee and his mom did all the work to get it ready to rent out. With the rift she had caused, I told her she could also take him to and from work and help him like I had been doing. This didn’t set too well with her and soon after, Lee enlisted the help of Shauna and Darla. Some time afterwards, I simmered down but things were never the same between Lee and me.

In time, I started driving and helping him again because his health continued to get worse. I really felt sorry for him and I still loved him a lot but it was hard to forgive him all the way. We were getting closer to one another but we didn’t have enough time for the deep wounds to completely heal. He passed away in his sleep on the 7^th day of August 1980. He was buried at Holladay Memorial Park on the 11^th of August 1980. This loss hurt a lot, missing him and knowing the problems we’d had. I soon realized what a gem I had lost. The girls and I struggled trying to run and keep his business open but the employees took advantage of us. We lost lots of money and so with protests from the girls I closed the business in early spring of 1981 and rented the buildings out. Lee had good foresight in purchasing the real estate properties for retirement, even if I did get furious at the way he had done two of them, they are what supports me now. Jaena and David lived close by and she and the other girls stayed close to me and gave me good support. They, the gospel and ward members is what helped me through this hard time in my life. The Holy Comforter stayed near me for almost a year which was precious. Lee didn’t leave a will and consequently, everything went into probate. After nine months I found out my attorney hadn’t even graduated from law school so I fired him. The probate drug on for quite a while, I eventually hired another attorney and he finally got things settled.

The first Christmas alone was really hard.  Even though I was around the girls, there were a lot of tears shed when I was home alone. In August of 1981 Pat Martin, my sister Leila’s daughter came to live with me while she taught school. This helped the loneliness, but she was aggressive and demanding which was hard on me. The Christmas of 1981, Leila, Pete and Pat asked me to go to San Diego with them and I did. It was nice and we had a good time. Later on in the spring, Pat and I had big problems and after her school year ended, I asked her to move. Here I am alone again plus a few hard feelings with a special sister, brother in-law and Pat. The feelings were later dissolved. That summer I joined two bowling leagues, to take some of my time. It turned out to have a good effect on my life. One league was a church singles special interest group, and I met some good friends there. My average grew to 133 and 148, which wasn’t real good but not bad. I even bowled a 212 game which gave me a 500 series! I also received two pins and a trophy for this game. I also received other trophies which I was proud of but later threw them away because they were dust catchers.

On New Years Eve, I was sitting home bored and unhappy. I watched 1982 come in by listening to the big bands on TV. I started thinking there must be more to life than sitting at home, being terribly lonely. Then I thought about going to the singles special interest dances and meeting people. It took a lot of convincing to get Marie Landes a bowling friend of mine to go with me but we finally went in the latter part of January. I thought we would have a lot of fun, but it was a rude awakening since we both were asked for one dance only and we left at intermission very disappointed. At this dance I found out they gave free dance lessons prior to the dances and this is what both of us needed to gain some self confidence. I could never get Marie to go again but I went by myself after a couple of weeks, and kept going. Each time I would dance a little more. Early spring 1982, I met John McDaniel. We got along well and had a lot of fun. After three months of dating, he proposed to me. I was on cloud nine and I shocked a few family members with this news. However, after talking with them, I started thinking about the problems this would give me by taking on his five year old daughter, Marianne. After talking to John about this we decided to postpone the marriage and continue to be friends and get better acquainted.

In the latter part of September, Lee’s mom talked me into going to the South Pacific. On November 10th 1983, Lee’s mom and sister, Tressa and Cleo and I met up with Lee’s aunt Thelma and twenty four others at the airport to go on tour to Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti for 20 days. We flew from Salt Lake to Los Angeles, California. There we had a two hour wait so we made prior arrangements and got permission to meet with relatives in California. We stayed at the airport and had dinner and visited. When we went back to board the plane at the proper time, low and behold the group had been ushered onto the plane that had been waiting and we were left behind. We were told to get a room for the night, eat and have a good time sight seeing at Faldmo Tours expense and then the next evening we caught a plane to Sidney. We were in the air for twenty one and a half hours with one short stop in Hawaii. When we reached Sidney Australia we were met and taken to our hotel to wash, change, and eat a sandwich on the way to go sights seeing. That evening we went to the world famous Opera House for a ballet. Tressa had pre-paid our tickets at $35 a piece so we couldn’t miss seeing the Opera House, but we did miss the ballet. We all had jet lag and we couldn’t stay awake. We toured Sidney, Canberra the capitol, Melbourne and other places. We visited the Zoo, Como House where there were lots of dolls and antiques, and the Opal Factory.

At Koala Reserve the koala bears in the trees were interesting and fun to watch providing you didn’t get dropped on. At Phillips Island we watched the penguins come from their all day ocean stay to feed their young which they’d left behind in their nests.  They were frightened of people and knew we were watching, but they also knew they had to care for their young and went merrily by us after lots of hesitating. It was very cold. We also went into a sheep factory, where some of the crowd bought coats to send home.

On the eighth day, we drove into a bit of bush country which was a long ways away and boarded a rickety plane for Queenstown, New Zealand. The next day we went to Milford Sound, it was raining and the scenery was beautiful. When we got on the little ship we saw the high waterfalls. It was a sight to behold to see the brisk water fall into the ocean a long ways below. After our ride through the hole in the rock, which we could touch if we put our hands over the side, we left this spot. On our way back we saw big beautiful ferns and foliage and enjoyed watching the formations of the fluffy white clouds. We saw lots of red deer that were raised on ranches like cattle. Some of the group used their United States railroad passes to travel on the train and met us further down the line. We were welcomed by the L.D.S. Maori people

with a dinner and entertainment at Christ church. At Auckland we saw lots of New Zealand Christmas Trees which were called a Pohutakawa they had big red flowers all over them from October to January, which gave them the name of the Christmas tree, they were very pretty. It was here we met our host families. The four of us had dinner at June Colwill’s home. She was a single girl with a ten year old son; they were very nice to us. We also visited some inactive volcanoes here. Whagarei is where we saw big mountains and farms. On this excursion we saw a wild pig; I don’t ever want to meet one of them on foot. We were welcomed at the Treaty House, served refreshments, and saw a monstrous canoe which was carved out of a tree. It was used to fight with and get away from enemies. We went through the Kauri Forest where we saw a big, old tree, 1,200 years old, 168.99 feet tall and 45 feet in girth. We were also entertained by our second host family, the Dreadons. She cooked mutton that tasted like beef and we had a delicious meal, they were delightful people.

On with our travels to the Glow Worm Cave–it was fascinating to ride around in a boat with the cave being lit up by glow worms on the ceiling and walls. We couldn’t talk or laugh or the glow would go off and we would be in the dark. Later this day we were greeted at the L.D.S. Church College and had a scrumptious American Thanksgiving dinner and good entertainment. I was hungry for our own kind of food and I can’t remember when anything tasted any better than this dinner. Next we saw all different kinds of wood carvings, weavings, geysers, mud pots — nothing like Yellowstone though, kiwi birds, kangaroos, sheep shows and shearing’s and sheep dog demonstrations. We had dinners in nice restaurants, at ranches, in pubs, colleges, chapels and all over. Tahiti was very expensive, pretty and romantic (if you’re with a companion) with delicious fruits. We went on a glass bottom boat ride to see different species of marine life.

This trip was fabulous with many first things for me. A 747 was the biggest plane we went on, then to a four passenger plane. It was the first time out of the United States for me, first time I had been on a plane and we even went on twelve different planes. I had the opportunity to see lots of different animals, birds, fish, and yes, people and scenery. The price was $3,185 plus spending money. Some of the different expressions used in Australia and New Zealand were:

greasy when wet……..means…………..slippery

bloat                                                    man

elevator                                               lift

take away                                            carry out

give way                                             yield

Chemist                                               drug store

sanitarian                                            corn flake factory

pimp                                                    tattle tale

roll-a-matic                                         car wash

keep your pucker up                           so long until next time

And there were many more words that I learned while there. I enjoyed this trip immensely but was glad to get back to the United States soil and have good food again. When I got home, Jaena had my Christmas tree all decorated and I received a big welcome from all my family.

During the 1983 Christmas Holiday, Jaena and David wanted me to go to Kanab with them to spend a few days with Darla and her family. I didn’t trust their car to make it with a new baby so we took my Datsun and left the day before New Years. When we got to Richfield, it was snowing hard, I couldn’t see the sign to turn off and I took a wrong turn. We went around the block to get back on the freeway; we did but didn’t get very far. The engine killed and wouldn’t start again. We coasted down hill and stopped by a Best Western motel to get a room. How lucky we were that the car stopped where it did. I couldn’t find anyone to even look at it. It was after five p.m. on New Years Eve. I did finally find a mechanic that said he would look at it the next morning. He found it to be the alternator and couldn’t locate one so he disconnected it. He told us we could probably make it to Kanab, but we couldn’t use the heater, wiper or lights. In the mountains we got into another blizzard and it was very hard to see to drive. We were happy that Darla and her friend Dave met up with us so we could follow them. We had a nice visit but we still couldn’t get an alternator. When we went home, Dave let us take a battery of his. We drove to Panguitch and charged both batteries. Between the two we got home but I drove the last hour without lights. There was a lot of snow and I worried about parking on the street while I shoveled the driveway, afraid I would get stuck but when I got home my drive was all cleaned. What a pleasant surprise that was because we had one and a half feet of snow. I never did find out who was so thoughtful. I was always having things like this happen for me.

On May 28th, 1983, John, Maryann and I took off for a vacation to Canada with the agreement I would pay for my expenses, eats, and rooms. We stopped at Missoula, Montana to visit his relatives. We went to Baniff National Park in Canada, then on to Salmon Arm, Brittish Columbia. The scenery was beautiful, high rugged mountains with big water falls. The waters were high and lots of them. John ended up buying a nice four bedroom house in Salmon Arm overlooking one arm of Shuswap Lake. It was a beautiful home and view. He bought it for us to live in when we got married, but we used it while we were there. We went to a thrift store and he bought two mattresses, table set, living room set, pots and pans, dishes and everything we needed to set up housekeeping while we were there. I slept downstairs with Maryann. We went to the enchanted forest, ferried across Kootney Bay, did lots of sight seeing, and everything we could think of to do. We stopped at lots of hot springs along the way up and back. The one that intrigued me the most was Ainsworth Hot Springs. It had two huge pools and a cavern where the water came from.  It was lit up and you could go in and explore.  It was indeed a wonderful and fun trip.

The wild flowers were everywhere and colorful and pretty.  A short time after we got back home, John’s ex-wife moved into the apartment in the other side of his house.  This affected our relationship and it went downhill. Instead of marriage we ended up being good friends. At this point, I started branching out meeting other friends.

The latter part of July, I decided to go to Kanab again. This time, Shauna and Jessie went with me. We went through Milford and Cedar City so we could visit with Leila and Jewel on the way. We missed Leila and Pete, also Jewel wasn’t home, but her door was unlocked so we decided to wait for them. We got a blanket from the car, went to the backyard to relax. Shauna was tired and wanted to sleep but couldn’t because of Jessie. I had been dancing Friday and Saturday night with John. I drove to Cedar and was tired too. When Jewel and Meade got home we had a short visit then left so we could get to Kanab before dark. I continued driving through the Cedar Mountains until I started dozing at the wheel then Shauna took over, but didn’t tell me she had been up all night the night before and before long she dozed off. I suddenly woke up and saw her going to the side of the road on the mountain side. I called her name, to no avail, so I took hold of the wheel to put us back on the road.  She came to in a hurry and over corrected. We went for quite a ride from one side of the road to the other then we ended up hitting a cement abutment, flipped end over end and rolled before we stopped. Jessie was asleep on the back seat. He was covered with glass, but slept through it and looked like he had never moved. The windows were all broken, pillows, stuffed animals, and everything including my eyeglasses went out the windows. It was a miracle that we weren’t all killed. The car was totaled. This happened about sixty miles outside of Kanab. I was in shock; I had two fractured ribs and neck vertebras, and was very badly bruised. Shauna was bruised too.  We all ended up riding to the Kanab hospital by ambulance where I spent a painful night. Consequently, we were in Kanab longer than planned. Visiting this place had really been a jinx to me. Darla ended up taking us home. My car was towed and left in Kanab to sell. My insurance agent had advised me to drop collision coverage because of age of the car, so I ended up getting $400 for the car. A month later I bought a new 1983 Lynx.

In April 1984, I left for California with John and Maryann for an Easter vacation with the same expense agreement as before. We drove to San Bernadino and got our rooms. The next morning I tried to call Ken Ricks but couldn’t get him. After I got home I found out why, I didn’t know you had to dial area code before the number even if it is in California. Anyway, we went to Disneyland and had fun there and the next morning we went to Marine Land and saw some good shows there. The next day, we spent a lot of time on the beach as we drove the coastline to Sacramento, it was beautiful. I was fascinated watching the big wave’s splash against the rocks. We really saw some beautiful scenes. The sun going down on the water was like a big ball of fire sitting on the water then suddenly gone. We went on to Sacramento, seeing all the sights along the way. On the way home we stopped and spent time at Lake Tahoe then on to Carson City Nevada. We bought food for a picnic and stopped at Sand Hills and played for a couple of hours. This was another nice trip; John always showed me a good time. It was nice that we could continue to be good friends even though I was dating other men. The last of June 1984, the three of us took off again for Canada. He went up to sell the home he had bought for us. This time I stayed for two weeks and then I took a plane home. I was nervous about going through customs alone, but I got along fine. The plane ride over the snow capped Canadian Rockies was a beautiful picture to see. We also flew over Mount St. Helens in Oregon. We were close enough to see the stream of smoke spouting out. I also saw Mount Raineer Peak in Washington it was very beautiful.

When I got home I decided to learn how to Square Dance and Round Dance. This was a lot of fun. I met Fred Banks and dated him a lot.

He had a nice boat with a top over it and we enjoyed going boating and fishing. Our first trip fishing was at Pineview Reservoir by Ogden, Utah. I was elated to catch four nice fish.

This summer I went to Canyon Lands with him. We almost broke up over my insisting to pay my own way and be in my own room. He finally relented so I would go. We hired our own pilot and plane for $60 each to fly us over the Canyon Lands. It was awesome, breathtaking and well worth the money. We also went to Lake Havasu, Arizona and saw the London Bridge. This bridge was originally in London, England; it was moved and reassembled here. It really gave me a special feeling to walk over it. I felt my grandfather and great grandfathers probably walked over it many times in England. We went on down to Mesa, Phoenix, and Tucson Arizona then back to Las Vegas and then on home. He also took me shooting and taught me how to shoot a pistol. I got pretty good at hitting the bull’s eye. This was the summer I was dancing six nights a week, consisting of Round Dancing on Mondays, Ballroom Dancing on Tuesdays, Square Dancing on Wednesdays, Rounds again on Thursday, and on Fridays I would Square Dance from 7 to 9:30 p.m. then when Fred went home, I would change clothes and go Ballroom Dancing from 9:45 to 12 p.m., then I went Ballroom dancing on Saturday night again. I kept this schedule up for nine months then got burned out and gave up some of it. I still dated Fred and we had lots of fun times together, but I still kept in touch with John also.

Bill Murdock from Mesa Arizona was a big, tall, handsome, fun cowboy.  He could sure dance and I dated him every time he came to Salt Lake. He talked me into going on a Caribbean Cruise that he was going on from February 3^rd to the 10^th in 1985. This was my first time at sea. I met a girl named Eloise Avant from Texas. She was going with Bill’s roommate. The four of us were together a lot. We would dance on the ship until 1 or 2 a.m., get up and ready for the next day. We also went snorkeling; it was a very fun trip.

The summer of 1985, I flew to El Paso Texas to spend some time with Eloise. On the way the plane stopped at Phoenix, Arizona. Bill met me and took me to dinner then back on the plane to Texas. The third day Eloise casually said, “Would you like to go for a little ride to see some of Texas?”  I agreed. She cooked a roast and goodies. We packed a few clothes and started out. We saw many sights along the way and stopped at San Antonio. We walked the river walk and took in the zoo, Observatory Point, beautiful gardens and many other things. I liked San Antonio a lot. On the way to Houston the bluebells along the side of the road were a sight to behold, they were thick and went on for miles. I had to get out and have my picture taken among them. We stayed with Eloise’s daughter and family while there. One day we planned a picnic and went to the resort town of Galveston. It was a cute town with a nice beach. On the way home we caught the ferry and took a different route home. When we started driving again I saw lots of homes built four to five feet above the ground on stilts, this was because of the tide. It was very interesting. The next place we spent time in was Dallas. We stayed at Denton and spent the night and time with my niece, Diane and Dale Hoff and their family (my sister, Jewels daughter). They treated us royal. Dallas and Houston had lots of skyscraper buildings. I felt like a little ant walking down the street in Dallas, kind of like everything could close in on me at any time. We started on our way again and ended up at Carlsbad Cavern in New Mexico. We took four hours going through the cave. What a wondrous experience. Next exit was El Paso.  We got a good nights rest and went into Juarez Mexico the next day. This trip took nine days. We covered lots of territory, but it was a fabulous trip. I stayed with Eloise a few more days then caught the plane home.

On the 27th of May 1986, Bill Murdock arrived in Salt Lake with a nice used motor home for a pre-planned two month trip to Alaska.  Eloise was already here, so we packed our clothes and supplies and met Ollie Harris on the morning of May 29th, and we were on our way.  Sleeping arrangements were Eloise and I above the cab with a drawn curtain for privacy, the guys made beds each night and morning below.  A few highlights of this trip were, good companionship, the World Fair at Vancouver, Canada (Expo), wild rivers and beautiful lakes, the best of these being Emerald Lake which was blue green in color and clear.  The color of the fire weed flowers was very pretty.  There were lots of glaciers with white and blue colors.  We did some panning for gold.  There was a forest fire and we got to see lots of wild animals.  We took a ship ride to the Columbia Glacier.  The guys had fun deep sea fishing and we ate delicious halibut all the way home.  At Danali Park we took a beautiful all day bus ride to Mount McKinley.  We took a river boat ride, had a demonstration of the dog sled races.  We saw lots of big waterfalls.  We went to Jasper Park and Baniff Park in Canada.  We ate a lot of good food which put pounds on all of us.  Bill had friends in Calgary that insisted we stay a few days there.  We did a lot of dancing and visited a very big shopping mall.  We stopped to go to the temple in Cardston, but couldn’t go in because of re-modeling.  We also took in Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks.  We all got along real well.  I for one didn’t want the trip to ever end…but it had to.  Bill and I had talked of marriage but things didn’t work out that way which was for the best when looking back.  He was indeed a wonderful friend.

My single life of eight and one half years has had some sorrow and loneliness but lots and lots of fun also.  I have met and had many nice friends.

In December of 1987, my sister Jean and her husband Ken Bingham came home from Mesa, Arizona where they had been staying for the winter.  They asked me to pack up and go back with them.  My first reply was no, but a big snow storm came that night and changed my mind.  I had one day to pack the things I would need for the winter.  I got someone to take care of my rentals and pick up my mail.  I winterized and closed my house.  The next morning at 5:30 a.m. with my car bulging, I met them at their place.  They were on their way with me following.  In places the roads were bad but we kept moving along and arrived at Mesa that evening.  I stayed with them in their fifth wheel trailer for three days.  We then moved to Yuma.  I stayed with them for another day, and then I was lucky enough to find a trailer to rent.  We parked close to one another at the Caravan Oasis R.V. Park and I finally got to unpack my car and set up housekeeping.  It was somewhat different from being lonely at Salt Lake.  There were lots of activities to do, such as dancing every night, dance lessons during the day, exercising classes, shuffleboard, arts and crafts, paint classes, bingo, potluck dinners, swimming and anything else you could think of.  It was a paradise for couples which I wasn’t one at the time.  I finally found a few singles and dated a French man from Pennsylvania.  He was a nice guy and he showed me a nice time.  Several times two of us couples would go out four wheeling and gather lettuce from the lettuce fields.  We went dancing a lot at different R.V. Courts.  The first Sunday I went to church and I really received a surprise to see so many people in attendance, over one thousand people in all, and they were all adults.  The meetings were very spiritual.  After Sacrament Meeting we were leaving and I saw a couple I knew from home, so I talked to them for a while.  The mentioned a friend Theron Yates might come down to spend some time.  I knew Theron well since we both started with single life at the same time and we double dated a lot.  I wrote him a letter letting him know I was there and encouraged him to come.  When he came down with his trailer, Jean and Ken had moved and their space was vacant which Merrill and Helen knew about.  They brought Theron to my court and he got settled in.  He came over to me and said he would buy the food if I would do the cooking.  I agreed to this and we were together a lot.  We found we were compatible and we had lots of fun together.  He had been through an annulment two months before and was lonely as was I.  He proposed to me and I accepted.  I followed him home the first part of March and we dated more and set the marriage date for April 15, 1988.  We were married at the Canyon Rim Ward by my bishop Charles Glover.  We moved into his house and went to Las Vegas for a honeymoon for three days.  When we got back, we both went to my home, painted and cleaned and got it ready and rented out.  We had a good life together and both of us were on cloud nine for four months.  Then Theron started acting like normal I guess and small things started happening like him downgrading me, picking me apart and demanding more things from me.  It got to the point I didn’t want to take anymore so I moved from his house on November 7th, 1988 into a condominium apartment.  Theron and I parted ways but continued to go together on occasion.  We went on a two week trip to Hawaii with other members of his family.  This was a delightful and beautiful trip.  We have continued to date and be good friends even though the annulment was completed on February 15th, 1989.

During the time Theron and I were separated, and I was living in a Condo, on 700 West and 5200 South in Murray when I was called on a two year Temple mission at the Jordan River Temple.  I was living in the Murray 34^th Ward and was called by Bishop Walter Bascom.  I was set apart and given a blessing by a member of the temple presidency Keith L Bergstrom on the 11^th April, 1989.  I enjoyed this calling very much and had some choice experiences.   I was released on the 30^th of April, 1991.

I continued to go dancing and found a friend by name of Melvin Myers who had just went through a divorce.  We started dating and had a lot of good times together.  Things started getting serious, but he wasn’t L.D.S. and I told him I would never marry a non-member.  So he took the missionary lessons and was baptized at the Canyon Rim Stake in June 29th, 1989.  We were married on the 22nd August, 1989 in Elko, Nevada.  We have both found much happiness.  It sure seems good not to be lonely anymore.

Mel and I decided it would be nice to spend the winters in Arizona.   We bought a used 1979 motor home and left for Mesa, Arizona last of November 1989 and spent three months there.

It was a cold winter there and it was either too hot or too cold so I didn’t enjoy it that much.  Mel didn’t care for this life either.  We met up with four couples from home who were also spending the winter in Arizona.  We went dancing a lot and enjoyed their company immensely.  We arrived back home latter part of February 1990 in order to take care of our income taxes.   I went back to doing my temple work the first part of March, doing extra days to make up for the time that I had missed.  Unfortunately, I only worked for three weeks and ended up having surgery on a hernia that developed while I was in Arizona, I had the surgery on the 28^th of March, 1990.   Once I recuperated, I went back once again to my temple assignment in May 1990.  Temple work is so fulfilling and I witnessed many spiritual events that took place there.    I had a great desire for Mel to be able to go with me but he had just joined the church and wasn‘t ready yet.

We continued to go to Arizona in the winter months for four winters then got tired of it so we sold everything and stayed home.  I lost lots of money there but I was glad for the experiences I had there.

Rick and Jaena took out their endowments and sealing on 27th of May, 1990.  This was a very special occasion for me.  She was my first child to accomplish this and I was very proud of them.  I also got to be proxy for Lindsay Rae Percy who was sealed to them.  The tears just had to flow the spirit was so strong and I felt the presence of my husband Lee, Lindsay, my parents and others were there.  Their ward members fixed a nice lunch for the family and friends.  It was choice.  Mel met me there after lunch, and we left for Las Vegas, Nevada for a Frank Durmoth and Rhoda Elizabeth Terry reunion.  It was also nice and special to see a lot of the family members we hadn’t seen for a long time.

Shortly after we got home another long awaited event took place and Shauna and Gary were endowed and sealed with their two youngest children.   This took place on the 18^th of August, 1989.   I would have loved to have the two older boys sealed to them but it wasn’t possible.  We’ll just have to keep working on them and the others in our family.  These blessings have been very special to me and I’m sure the others will follow in time.

Mel and I decided to do some more traveling and paid for a couple of short trips with Donna’s Tours.  On the 30th of July 1990 we left for a week to San Diego, California.  What a trip!!!  The air conditioning on the bus kept breaking and the heat was scorching.  There were three kids on the bus and the guide catered to their every whim which got to be overbearing.  To top it off, when it was time to go to Tijuana, they left us in San Diego.  They finally missed us and came back to pick us later on that evening.  We made them give us some money back which they weren’t too happy about.  I was sure happy to get home from this one.

Our second trip together was on the 11th of August when we left for the Black Hills of South Dakota for a week.  We had the same bus and driver but it went better this time.  We also had a different and better tour guide.  We visited;  Bear Country U.S.A., Reptile Gardens, Boot Hill where wild Bill Hicock and Calamity Jane were buried, the worlds richest gold mine and Deadwood City which was a quaint Old Community that was wide open to gambling.  We went to Mount Rushmore which was an awesome monument depicting the heads of four presidents carved out of granite at the top of high peaks.  We saw lots of beautiful scenery.  On the way home, we stopped at the B-T-5 ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  It was at this ranch we had an old fashioned covered wagon ride, a chuck wagon dinner and excellent entertainment.  I was sitting on the outside row and during the Indian scene two of them came down the isle, picked me up and put me over one shoulder.  I was scared and didn’t know what to expect but they calmed me down and put me in another place where I could continue to see the show.  Mel came looking for me and took me back to our seats.  This was a good trip.

In February of 1991 Mel and I took a two week trip to Mexico with Kimos Tours.  We took the plane to Mexico City, what a scary landing that was.  The runway was short and almost straight down and it looked like we were going right in the ocean.  That evening we went to the world renowned Folklore Festival which I enjoyed a lot.  We saw the bull fights, this took talent but it was cruel to see the bulls tortured like that and I thought it was gory.  We went to the L.D.S. temple but our guide disappointed us when we didn’t get to go through a session.  We saw lots of ruins from different eras of the Book of Mormon.  Some of these pyramids had lots of steps.  They were all out of rock, uneven and different heights.  I climbed up and down two of these and went down inside one of them and saw a tomb.  It was well preserved.  There was lots of church history at these ruins.  We bussed through Mexico to Yucatan and Cancun.  This is the largest city I have ever been to and I witnessed a lot of crazy drivers in Mexico City and they all seemed to be driving VW Bugs.  Throughout Mexico the people are behind the times about one hundred years.  Water is scare so we didn’t drink it; we bought ours from the store.  On the country farms they still use oxen and hand held plows.  Homes were nothing more than shacks with no doors or windows and no modern conveniences.  There were no beds in the homes and people slept on bedrolls rolled out on the floor of their house every night and picked up each morning.  They were accustomed to having extended families all live together in one unit. These homes were open to the animals that went in and out of them at their leisure.  It was an eye opener for me to see a lot of these things.  Even though I was sick a lot (I suffered with one of their parasites for three months after coming home) I still think the trip was worth it, but I wouldn’t go there again.

As of this time, Mel and I found happiness with each other.  He has been active in the church.  He became an Elder on the 1^st of July 1990, and he took his temple endowments out on the 19^th of July 1990. I was proxy for his first wife Margaret, and I felt her presence there with us.  This was a special privilege for me. He became a High Priest on the 13^th of August 1991.

At this time I owned some real estate.  It was a big responsibility to care for the properties and we had to property managers to take care of things while we traveled.  This was very expensive and so I decided to sell the properties.  These properties included a home on 1203 Roosevelt Avenue.  Lee and I had purchased his mother’s portion of the property from her for $20,000 in 1981 and I was able to sell it in April of 1986 for $49,500.  We also owned two houses, 39 and 47 White Place and an adjacent lot that I sold on the 12^th August, 1989 for $49,000.  I also owned another property on 56 East Fireclay Avenue that needed a lot of big repairs.  The man that rented the east side of Lee’s shop had a son who was renting and living in the west side of the shop.   I was having troubles collecting the rent from him and felt they were taking advantage of me so I sold it out from under them on the 6^th of December 1989 for $80,000.  The value of real estate was very low right at the time. The houses needed a lot of repairs and I was very tired trying to keep them up and keeping them rented was a big problem for me.  I felt I lost money on the White Place properties.  The rentals were a big headache, but they gave me a good living.  I feel I made good money on these investments along with a lot of hard work over the years.  Fifteen years later when I look back I can see it was a big mistake to sell the real estate, but we can’t look back.

The 1992 winter was hard on Mel, his health started to fail.  On the 23^rd of April he went to the doctor and found out he had prostate cancer.  What a shock this was to both of us.   I had had a terrible foreboding feeling and depression while we were in Arizona and after I found out he had cancer, I knew this was the reason why I had felt that way.  He ended up having 36 radiation treatments and that took care of the cancer, which we were both thankful for.

In May of 1993, I was hit with terrific pain in my right shoulder and arm. After 8 days and nights of this shooting pain, and my doctor finally got home from his vacation. He diagnosed me with shingles, bursitis and arthritis.  He prescribed medication that cost $100.  It helped, but it sure took time for the healing.  We were unable to get back to dancing because of our health problems, but we did meet with friends on several occasions for pot luck dinners and playing card games.  Thank goodness for friends and their help.

Mel and I spent Thanksgiving Day alone this year because each of my girls wanted us to go to their home and I didn’t want to hurt any of them by going to only one.   I put my Christmas tree up and all the house decorations.  This is the first time I have ever put them up this early.  The following weeks I got all my shopping finished.  Ten days before Christmas I started to do my baking.  Finished my last cake and put it in the oven to bake when I was hit with bad chest pains, it also was in my left arm, with my body tingling. I ended up at St. Mark’s hospital with a heart attack.   This really shocked me because of my activity level and no warning.  When things settled down they performed my first angioplasty on the clogged artery that caused the problem. After a five day stay I went home and could understand why I had completed my Christmas preparations early.

In the spring of 1994 I found that I couldn’t do a lot of hard labor but I was able to do genealogy.  The latter part of April 1994, Mel had a bad temper tantrum.  He had been having more temper problems than usual and he decided to move out, he said it was due to the fact that I wanted to do some compassionate service.  He found an apartment and I helped him move.  Later he was sorry and wanted to move back in, but I was tired of his kid games and I told him no.

After a short time of being alone again, and all the yard work, I decided to sell my home.  It was too big for one person, so I looked around and found a nice mobile home for myself at Winchester estates.  This home is on 6485 South 1090 West in Murray, Utah. The home has three bedrooms, 2 baths and a dining area plus a deck and a small yard.  It was just what I needed and wanted.  The home cost $45,000.  I put money down and listed the Kenton Drive home with my sister Jean who was selling real estate. We had one open house and had three buyers.  The home sold for $140,000. Jean is a good sales person and knows what she is doing.  I moved in May of 1994.  If the mobile home, I had the sprayed ceilings taken off and a nice textured ceiling put on.  They also textured the walls and the painted the house through out.  I wallpapered the kitchen and bath as well.  I had a bigger deck built and the builder enclosed the garage and walk way.  I landscaped the yard with flowers and three tomato plants.  I have been happy here and have a smaller but a lovely home.  I found that I was in a good ward and felt contented here except for the loneliness.   I filed for a divorce from Mel and it was finalized on the 16^th of December 1994.  My health got a lot better.   My single life at this time was much different.  I didn’t want to date but I pushed myself to go to the dances.   It gave me something to do.  After awhile I met Garth Orr who was another good dancer and lots of fun. We dated and I found I could still enjoy male company, however it didn’t last too long and my emotions came to the surface.  I got very depressed and had some hard times.  I kept going to the dances even when I didn’t enjoy them.  I also did lots of temple sessions and joined with friends to do sealing’s each week which I enjoyed.

Jaena, my daughter was also single in October of 1995.  She worked for the L.D.S. church at the time and was asked if she would like to represent Deseret Transportation at a computer convention in Cleveland, Ohio.  They would pay all the expenses for her and a spouse but since she wasn’t married she excitedly asked me if I would like to go.  Now we were two excited people!  We left three days early so we could see some of the churches historical sites before the convention.  We flew to the Chicago O’Hare airport, changed planes and were in Cleveland two days later.  I paid for a rental car; we got a 1994 Ford Escort.  Jaena did all the driving and we were on our way.  We followed the Erie River which gets its water from Niagara Falls.  We traveled highway 90 and went through a few toll stops and bridges in Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.  Our first stop was Kirkland, Ohio to see the first L.D.S. Temple built in our era.  I was built on a corner lot which made a different church on every corner.  I was disappointed with the inside and the way the reorganized church rant it.  There was a cold feeling as one of their male guides showed us around.  He had a long pony tail hair style and did have the proper clothes on to show respect to be a guide.  The temple was small but served the purpose for Joseph Smith to receive different keys needed before the saints were driven on.  We drove through some of Pennsylvania and on into New York to the Joseph Smith Sr. Home.  The home was interesting to see with its original furnishings etc.  WE then crossed the street and strolled through the Sacred Grove.  Lots of tall trees with fall colors made it a beautiful walk, as well as being peaceful.  We knew it to be sacred ground.  Joseph Smith, as a boy went to this grove of trees to pray and seek for the right church.  He wrestled with Satan and later had the first vision of Heavenly Father and Jesus.  This was a special place and I could feel the spirit very strong.  I knew I was walking on hallowed ground.  Next we were on our way to Palmyra, New York where they hold a church pageant each year.  We were there at the wrong time to see the pageant.  We then drove to the top of Hill Cumorah.  I was surprised to see such a small rolling hill but it did have some seclusion with the trees and foliage.  It was a perfect place for the golden plates to be hidden.  This is also the place where Joseph Smith received the plates that he translated into the Book of Mormon.  There was a special feeling here too.  Our next stop was the Martin Harris home.  It was closed and we could only see the outside but we could tell it belonged to a rich person of that day.  We could understand why Heavenly Father instructed him to part with some of his riches to help publish the Book of Mormon.  We then went to the Grandin Hall where the book was printed and saw the work that was involved.  We also saw the first copy of the Book of Mormon that was ever printed.  While in New York, we visited the spectacular Niagara Falls.  These falls were half in United States and half in Canada.  The falls were beautiful and well worth seeing, lots of water falling and they are big.  We drove over the bridge a short distance so that Jaena could say she’d been to Canada.  Going back to Cleveland, we went to the Newell K. Whitney store.  This was like any pioneer store with one exception.  It had a room upstairs where Joseph Smith and the other leaders of the church discussed the activities and problems of the church.  This room was very special and very sacred.  This room was one of the places that my great grandfather Zerah Pulsipher met with Joseph and other leaders.  He was one of the presidents of the seventies.  It was humbling to me to be standing in the same room as he and others had stood.  The spirit was so strong I had to fight to keep the tears under control.  We had great experiences on our two day excursion and wanted more but we had to get back to Cleveland for Jaena to be at the seminar that evening.  I was glad I could stay in the room and reminisce about the previous two days.  The next day during the seminars, the rest of us were given a free tour of a big plantation and a good lunch and then we saw some other sights in Ohio.  In the evening, we all had a nice dinner and a live show which we enjoyed.  Well all good things have to end, our trip was over much too soon.  Next morning we were all on our way back home.  Thank you Jaena for a special trip.

In January 1996, my sister Arvetta Cannon and I wanted to spend a week in St. George.  We packed and were on our way.  We stopped at Milford and spent one night at my other sister Leila and Pete Martin’s home.  We also talked them into going with us.  We all stopped at Cedar to visit sister Jewel and Mead Forsyth.  We all met up at the St. George temple and did two endowment sessions the and also two more before we decided to go back home.  Now Arvetta and I were alone again and we took a trip to Central to see Wayne Cannon and his wife.  We also went to the cemetery to see her baby’s gravesite.  Then we went to Enterprise, our old home town.  We drove around town then on to the ranch site and did a bit of visiting.  The next day we were on our way to Las Vegas for a temple session but we were disappointed when I couldn’t find the temple even after receiving directions.  Las Vegas had grown a lot since I had been there last.  On the way home we drove to the Valley of the Sun, then back to St. George.  We also stopped back at Jewel and Meade’s home in Cedar and had another nice visit.  After that we headed back home to Salt Lake.  We both really enjoyed this trip and had good sister bonding time.

Some time in February of 1996, I met an Englishman named George Brown.  I dated him and we became good friends.  He had been a dance teacher in England and did a lot of International dancing.  I caught on to some of his steps of steps but not all however I kept trying.  He and I were filmed doing different dances for T.V. a couple of times.  We had lots of good times together.  He was my Saturday night dance partner for six and a half years.

I decided to pay for a cruise on the Princess Love Boat and take my four girls and their husbands, except Chico- he wouldn’t go.  We left on June 15^th, 1996 and everyone seemed to have a good time, even if some of us got seasick.  Jaena and Shawn’s luggage got left behind in Seattle but eventually it was delivered to the ship.  Darla and I would have enjoyed the trip more with partners, but so goes life.   This was a seven day cruise.  We flew to Vancouver, Canada to board the ship.  We went to Juneau, Skagway, Sitka and Glacier Bay.  Our ship was new, clean and beautiful.  It held 2,000 passengers and 400 employees.  We had lots of good food and entertainment.  The trip cost me $16,000 for eight of us and it was well worth it to see all of them enjoying themselves so mo much.  We each paid for our own expenses while on land.  Jaena and Shawn missed their luggage and some clothes.  Their luggage caught up with them two days later at another port.  Vicki was chosen from the audience to help perform at one of the shows.  It was fun to see and she was special with her part.  We all put on a few pounds and the week went much to fast.  We were in Vancouver once again, for almost a full day but we couldn’t leave the airport because of luggage arrangements.  Vicki and Glenn did leave and we had a few anxious moments hoping they would be back in time for the flight home.  The barely made it.  I’m ashamed to say I acted like a brat because of the Vancouver arrangement.  My patience grew thin with the delay and they didn’t tell us about it until we got there.  I’m not much for waiting around this long with nothing to do.

Early part of 1996 I was called back to do temple work.  When I went in for the interview and they found out about the divorce with Mel, I wasn’t eligible and I wouldn’t be until December of 1999.  It wasn’t this way when I was called the first time.  At this time, I was still dancing with George on Saturday nights and going stag on Fridays.  I have met lots of friends.  Some times the dances were fun, other times not, but this is life.  We all have to deal with some disappointments as well as good times.

I want each of you to know I have a strong testimony of the gospel and without it I would have had a harder time with single life.  I have been helped and guided many times.  I know there is a God that is over us and guides us if we will listen and heed his guidance.  He sent his dearly beloved son Jesus Christ to earth so we could all have the atonement and have our sins forgiven.  Oh what he went through for us – what courage, love, devotion he has for us.  This gift he freely gave to us so we could return home to live with Him, Heavenly Father and family members.  It’s hard for me to comprehend the great love he has for us.  I know Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God, and he was preordained to bring the gospel in its fullness back to us in this dispensation.  I know that each of the presidents of the church have been a true prophets called to guide and direct the church and us.  I have a strong testimony of prayer.  I have been helped and guided many times by the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  I know if we pray each day for guidance, attend our meetings and partake of the sacrament with sincere intent, we will have a strong desire and put forth the effort to live with proper teachings of the gospel.  We will stay on the straight and narrow path back to live with Heavenly Father in his home.  I know that repentance was made possible for each of us by Jesus Christ and He will love each one that repents of their sins and go unto him and the proper authorities and be restored to the gospel.  I would like each of you to know this and those that need to repent will do so, so we can all be a happy family once again on the other side.  Each of you – please listen to my plea before it’s too late.  I love each of you so very much.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

In early winter of 1996 or 97, I braved the computer at the stake library.  I checked the names of ancestors whose temple work wasn’t complete.  I sent in 75 names and got their work completed.  I also took one of the Pulsipher lines back to 87 A.D.  This gave me quite a thrill.  They won’t let you go back that far anymore.

In the spring of 1998 I was called to be the singles leader of 68 adults in the Murray 29^th Ward.  This was quite a challenge and a lot of work.  Lots of them were old and the men didn’t want anything to do with it.  I got 18 or 20 out of the group to join in but the rest didn’t seem interested.  There was a big age variance.  The ones that did come seemed to enjoy it and were always asking “when will we meet again.”  I’m sure it helped ease the pain of an empty life for some seniors.  I held this calling for four and a half years then got released.  I thought I would give others a chance, but no one would take it over so that was the last of the singles leaders.

Through out my single years, I have had special times with each of my girls.  I especially remember campouts at many different places, the work trips I took with Darla to Idaho and Wyoming, trips to Washington to see Vicki and Glenn’s family, Canyon Lands, Flaming Gorge, different family reunions.  One especially fun reunion was when we went to Bear Lake for the Hansen reunion.  All my family camped out in rigs and tents on Bill Robbins property.  Shauna and Gary took their big boat up and took all of us for rides on the lake.  It was here that he dumped some of us in the lake.  I wasn’t afraid until my life jacket kept trying to come off.  I was happy to get back to the boat and be pulled in.  I still had a good time.  These trips will always be remembered.  I have appreciated the many dinners and phone calls from each of you and all that you do for me.  I can truly say I have been blessed very much with a loving family.  You have always been there for me and I LOVE each of you so very much.  For my Christmas present in 1997, Shauna and Gary gave me a trip to Yellowstone Park to go snow mobiling; all expenses paid.  We left in January 1998.  It was a lovely trip with Shauna, Gary, Jesse, Me, Kelly, Theresa and Brendan.  The weather cooperated and we had a nice day for our 8 hour ride on the snow mobiles.  The scenery was beautiful with the snow on the trees and mountains.  They looked like they had silver caps when the sun shined on them.  Brendan went to sleep while riding with Gary and started to slide off.  When Gary tried to hang onto him, it was too much and they both slid off.  The snow mobiles kept going without a driver.  We were lucky no one got hurt and the snow mobiles were okay too.  Some of us got lost on the way back when we missed a turn.  It was getting dark and colder, it was plain scary.  We arrived back at camp after two hours and the rangers were getting ready to come for us.  We had the protection and guidance of our Heavenly Father that night.  We spent time in the hot tubs to get the kinks out of our bodies and had a nice dinner.  The next day we were homeward bound.  This was a nice trip and I really appreciated the generosity of Shauna and Gary, thanks for a great trip!

In the summer of 1998, I decided it would be nice to go on another tour with Beacon Tours out of Provo.  This was a church history and American heritage tour.  It was a week long bus trip.  I told friends about it and soon had seven others sign up to go.  I received $700 for the referrals and only had to pay $800 for my trip which was a good deal.  After flying to Cleveland, Ohio we boarded a bus and started our bus journey to the church sites.  It was fun to see these places again and hear all the church history connected with them.  Some of the new sites I hadn’t seen before were the Liberty and Carthage Jails that Joseph Smith had to suffer in.  Carthage Jail was a horrible place.  It is hard to believe people could be so cruel.  When the saints were evicted, lots of them didn’t have equipment and supplies to be able to leave.  They were given a short time to get them and when they didn’t they were pushed into the big Mississippi river to drown.  We saw a lot of church sites and heard their history.  We had excellent guides.  We went to Niagara Falls, donned rain coats and hats, got on the boat and went close enough to the falls that we could feel the water splashing on us.  We got wet even with the protection we had!  We also went to Palmyra, New York and arrived in time to see the famous pageant which was very special.  One man in our group got half of it recorded on video before they stopped him from filming.  He made copies so each of us could buy a copy cheap.  We took a Mississippi river dinner cruise.  We had good food, entertainment and even some dancing time.  We went to Missouri where Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn lived.  It was HOT here but interesting to see.  The history part took us to the state capitol and we took in a congress session, what a joke and a waste of time.  It was all history inside.  We had a group picture taken on the steps of the capitol with Orrin Hatch which didn’t thrill me at all.  Someone in our group was doing a video when I stated I didn’t like him, well, at least they knew how I felt about him!  We saw Abraham Lincoln’s home, the theater where he was shot and the place they took him after and his grave site.  There was a man dressed like him and he was very good, we couldn’t tell the difference.  We saw the home of George Washington, the plantation and his grave site.  We saw the Civil War site and heard history about this.  We also saw monuments and read lots sayings from veterans of ours and different countries.  We took in a session at the Washington D.C. temple in Maryland.  This was neat.  On the way out, I was tapped on the shoulder and I turned around to see Karen Wursten a girl Jaena’s age from the Canyon Rim ward.  She was married and living there.  You can never go so far away that you don’t see someone you know.  We visited eight states on this trip and saw three rivers; Mississippi, Missouri and the Potomac.  The Missouri river was small and we were told it was the most treacherous.  No boats or ships could use this river for that reason.  We saw the Liberty Bell and passed by the statue of Liberty.  We received a free tour of Kansas City and learned lots of history about it because our bus driver was from there.  I’m sure I’ve left lots of things and places out about this trip, because I’m writing this two years later from memory, I couldn’t find my notes.  It was fun being on a trip with so many friends and we all enjoyed being with each other.  We flew home from Kansas City, Missouri.

In the fall of 1998, my heart was giving me troubles.  When I went to the doctor, they found another plugged artery.  In December I had another stent put in.  I felt better soon and in January I was back into the singles activities.

Darla took out her endowments 25^th of July 2000.

In May, 2003, I met Kenneth Earl Mead at the senior dance. He and a friend came in they were both dressed in Levis instead of dress clothes. I looked at him and thought, oh my what rock did they crawl out under?  I was watching him a little later trying so hard to do the Alley Cat Line dance. He was having a hard time. I went to him took his hand and tried to show him how but I swear he had 10 left feet. He couldn’t get it and to this day he hasn’t got it. After the dance he said Thanks and asked for the next dance.  He wasn’t a bad dancer. He took a liking to me and kept pestering me. I was with another guy, so I told him to get lost.  This hurt his feelings, he told another gal about it and she told him he didn’t have to take this, she would be his partner. After seeing him with her a lot I started feeling a little jealous. All I had to do as we danced by them was give him a big smile. We started dancing together a lot also dating, but he was forever proposing to me whom I didn’t like and I told him so. In June we went to the Manti Pageant, had a perfect day and evening, until we got home, then another proposal. I told him to not bother me anymore.  He was hurt with my outburst and left. When I went in to the house I had mixed emotions and was upset, I needed some answers. I knew I had Vicki living with me to help her with her problems; also I was helping Leila a lot since she was living here in the court.  I couldn’t go to bed, too upset. I decided I needed Heavenly Fathers help, so I fell to my knees, as I was praying I heard a voice loud and clear.  “It’s your turn now, things will work out, and peace came over me. The next morning I called Ken, told him what happened and within a weeks time he had waltzed into my heart. We were married at home by my bishop Scott Sanford on 1^st July 2003. Yes we have had a lot of happiness, along with a lot of adjustments and financial problems, but they have all been worked out. We still go dancing when we can. I was working for W.D.S. at Costco as food demonstrator and enjoyed it, I loved mixing with the people and selling until it got harder and harder for me to stand also getting more tired. I got Ken on and we worked one year together which was nice. , then I quit and he stayed on. The latter part of February 2004, I ended up in the hospital again for my third angioplasty. This one was more painful and left me exhausted, weak, and short of breath. Life goes on and we go on with it. We continued to go dancing once and sometimes twice a week. We continued to work out our differences that all marriages have. I’m so thankful we can communicate with each other. In October 2005 I had some bad pains; I suffered with it for three weeks before going to the doctor. I was told I needed   more tests. They found the upper part of my heart wasn’t getting the blood it needed, the main artery was blocked. They told me if I wanted to go on living I would have to have by-pass surgery. First I said no and had Ken and all the kids upset, I was 79 and too old for this, but I finally agreed.  They took care of the main artery and another one. The third one was so shriveled up they didn’t do anything with it.  I came through the surgery fine and soon felt good as new. This lasted six weeks, then I got the flu, this took along time to get over and I kept catching everything going around. I am very tired and got released of my ward extraction job. I am doing some genealogy, I am taking a computer class and able to check dates of prior sheets I’ve had here at home. I have found quite a few, Baptism, Endowments and sealing dates that I have updated.  I have now turned 80, still tired and chugging along.  2006 still finds Ken working at Costco. We are still dancing and enjoying the companionship we both have.

My sister Jean bought her a little van to go camping. When I seen it, I liked it so much we started looking for one. We found one and with Jean’s help to  talk the guy down, we bought a 1991 Dodge Van for 3000.00 It is equipped with stove,  little refrigerator, running water, flushable toilet, table, bed, micro wave and air condition We went camping twice this year. We had a good time picking pine nuts with Jean, Arnold- Sharon and Jon Forsyth and family down by Cedar City We had a good time but we traveled for miles on a dusty dirt road. When 2007   we were going camping again and found the van heating up, so we canceled this trip. We finally got it fixed and found   the radiator to be plugged from all the dust of the previous trip. We went camping a couple of times this year. Finding confliction with Ken’s work. July 2008 Darla’s family was going camping and asked us to go   with them over the 4^th. We went to the Unita above Kamas   Ken and I decided to go early and save spots for all the family. The next morning, it was a little nippy; Ken put his coat on to go out. The stove is by the door and I had a kettle of hot water on to do dishes. Ken opened the door, swung his arm around, and caught the pan of water. I was by the stove and got the boiling water on my lower leg and foot.  OUCH how that hurt, very painful. We ended up back to Kamas emergency center for help.  With the Doctors help and lots of pain I managed to go back and stay for the weekend. When it was time to go home, Ken couldn’t find the van keys. He ended up going home with Darla and Chico to get another key. I stayed at camp and waited for them to get back so we could get the van home. We still had a good time even with all the problems. I had a miserable 3 weeks with my second degree burns and ended up in the hospital with heart pains. The doctor couldn’t find anything wrong so I went home. He wanted me in his office two days later for more tests and found the main artery to my heart was plugged. This was the same one I had a by-pass on which only lasted two and half years.  The doctor said he could take care of it with a stent. He wasn’t the same doctor I had that couldn’t find anything wrong. I had the stent taken care of once again. He changed my blood pressure medicine. I was allergic to the one he put me on and I developed a bad cough. He changed the medication twice but I still have the bad cough.

About the 15^th of April Shauna told me to keep 3rd of May open for her. I guessed right off it was something to do with my birthday. The 20^th April Shauna was in the hospital with a stroke. It was touch and go for a while and scary. She had a blessing and with Father in Heavens help she pulled through she was in the hospital over a month… The first week of her stroke I told her we were going to cancel the birthday party. She already had invitations sent out and I canceled some of them. When I told her this she let me know in no uncertain terms that it wasn’t going to be called off. And she was upset wanting to know who had told me about it. She was working hard at the hospital with therapy to get better so she could have it and she wasn’t going to not have it. She became very upset about it, so I had to give up. Darla, Jaena, and Honey Ann worked hard to pull it off. Shauna was able to be there in a wheel chair with oxygen. We had over 100 people there It was pot luck, and we had a nice dinner. We had it at her ward amusement hall. It was a very nice 82^nd birthday party. They told everyone to bring a card with memories they had of me and they told them at the party.  My heart was touched to hear the things people said. Things I had forgotten about. Lots of pictures were taken and I have a special memory book of my party. Some people traveled many miles, Cedar, St George. And Texas to spend this special day with me. What a tribute!!!!!! My girls are very special and worked hard to have this party a success and it was a big one. Thanks to all of you.

The next week we met Jewel, Meade Diane, Dale & daughter Jon and some of his kids for a picnic at the Sand Dunes by Delta. Jaena and Brent were there also. Jon had a big sand dune buggy that held four to five people. It had lots of power and he took all of us on some wild scary rides——–YES even me. This was a very enjoyable and fun day.

This summer has been a hard one health wise for me. Since the stent was put in, in August I haven’t bounced back   Very tired all the time.  I have had two bladder infections and this horrible cough. I can’t get over it. In November 2008 I started getting numbness and tingling in my hands. It would go up my arms into my neck and chest. I would feel my heart squeeze and give me pain. I would stop and sit down fast until it went away. This happened three or four different times when I was doing different things. I mentioned it to Shauna, She said, Mom get to the doctor, it is probably the starting of a stroke and you don’t need to go through what I have. This scared me and I did go to the doctor. He ruled out stroke saying they came only on one side at a time. He told me he thought it was my heart, that there were arteries half plugged when he did the last one, but weren’t bad enough to take care of at that time. Maybe the last one he did didn’t take. I go back to the hospital again and sure enough that same artery didn’t take. He put a larger and different kind in this time. This happened 24^th   November. This is the third time for the same artery. Sure hope this one takes. The doctor said I was lucky to be alive with this one.  Ken and I both went in to have our hearing checked and found out we both needed hearing aids. His is worse than mine. We are both up there in age and these things cost so much. Half the time they don’t work so we both decided against them.

Ken’s work at Costco has been unbearable due to his new boss this year. I talked him into quitting.  He was lucky.  Jean found her a new job doing food demonstrations. She found out they needed another one and sent Ken in. He was hired at Wasatch Deli Provision Inc. It is lots better. He has to travel to different stores but gets more money and works the same days. This makes it so we can plan things ahead. He is lots happier here.

Ken and I have found lots of happiness together He is patient, understanding and kind. He is a gentle and loving man and we love each other.

In the spring of 2004 I was asked by Bishop Kamp if I would be interested in extraction work. I was pleased to accept this calling. I was also confused because I hadn’t been set apart for it.  This happened seven weeks later. At this time I was told I needed a computer. This was disturbing news, since I didn’t have one nor did I know enough about one to use it. I was also told it would be Spanish extractions and I knew nothing about Spanish, how could I do this job? I was thinking I needed to go to the bishop and get released. I then had a thought to read my patriarchal blessing. This I did and found I had done lots of genealogy but it was all family and I needed to do for others. The next thing that happened was a telephone call from Jaena, saying she had a used computer for me; the door bell then rang and there she was with it. She set it up and showed me all kinds of things while I took a lot of notes. The next day my stake leader called and brought the program over, also spending time with me. The next day I was called to have a special blessing, and special it was. They told me to be prayerful and diligent and things would go well, that I would receive the help needed. I knew Father in Heaven wanted me to do this work and this was a special calling from him.  When I started I found a lot of smeared names, also names that were so light I couldn’t make them out, what could I do? PRAYER. Afterwards the letters cleared up and I could do them. After a few months I checked 5500 names. When the time came and I needed a new computer the money was there also enough to get a desk and chair. What a spiritual experience this has been.

Other things happened this year too. Ken was re-instated in the gospel. Some time later he got his temple recommend.  It has been special to go to the temple together. He has been able to catch up on his bills also take care of our responsibilities here. He has been called to be a home teacher which he enjoys. In October 2004 he was called to be a councilor in Sunday School Presidency. Yes he has been kept busy and both of us are happy. Heavenly Father brought him into my life. I’m going to always remember that. He accepts and loves each of you as his own.

I have been doing visiting teaching for many years, and have also been called to be a V.T. supervisor. This has been the total of my church work for some time. We continue to go dancing once a week when we can.

May 2009, Ken had to have hip surgery. This was very hard on both of us but we did survive to my surprise. He was down for six weeks. When he tried to go back to work, he could only be on his feet for 4 hours at a time and the company needed more time and he had to quit his job. This has made it hard on us financially. I guess we will have to learn to do without a few things, humble ourselves and get by.

We were in sacrament meeting when the bishop announced they needed Temple Workers. Ken and I talked it over and we both decided to volunteer. We were both accepted and set apart on the 12^th of May 2009 by Melvin Barnes; we both started our jobs on the 27^th May 2009. My job was at the Family Ordinance Pick Up Desk. I sat at a desk, filed cards after the people did their family ordinance work. We also handed the cards out when they came in to do temple work. There were three of us at the same big desk doing this work so you can see we were kept busy. This was an ideal job for me.  Each Wednesday for four hour shifts. I worked a year and half and was released February 2011 because they changed things and discontinued a lot of this job. I thoroughly enjoyed this job. Ken still worked as an ordinance worker each Wednesday afternoon even after I left. He enjoyed this very much up until November 29^th 2012. I used Wednesday afternoon to pick up my sister in law Cleo Boynton, take her to lunch then play games with her. She is homebound and enjoys getting out of the house. I feel this is a good service project for me to do. I also watch over a neighbor lady who is 96 and homebound I also try hard to take temple sessions when I can. This story is complete to December 2012.

One day I noticed the floor in our trailer home was sagging and a few days later there was a hole in the floor, it just broke loose.  Someone was walking and their foot went through the floor.  We called a restoration company to come check it out and they discovered that the hot water pipes under our trailer had broken. The pipes hadn’t ever been insulated and we were just lucky it lasted as long as it did.  We had to have some major, expensive work done to the trailer.  Jaena was concerned about the safety of us living there during the construction while the floor was missing so we moved to her house for three weeks. Then we moved to an extended stay motel where Shauna and Gary were staying while their home was being worked on.  We stayed there for two weeks and finally it was time for us to go back home.  The floor was never the same again, neither was the trailer.

A short time after that, in August of 2016, Ken and I decided it would be easier for us to live at an independent living place for seniors. We made that decision because I had developed macular degeneration which has left me practically blind.  In addition to that, I have been experiencing much pain due to my spinal stenosis. These things have made it hard for me to the household chores and cooking.  Darla and Jaena took us to visit a few places and we finally settled on moving to Olympus Ranch. We clean out my trailer home and we put it up for sale. We only get $36,000 out of it and we got out just in the nick of time before Winchester Estates sold out and changed hands.  The new owners raised the lot rent to such a high price we wouldn’t have ever been able to afford it.  I’ve never been sorry that I sold it.

Ken and I enjoyed living at Olympus Ranch at first.  We ate almost every meal in the community dining room and the food was so good.  They also had some great entertainment and we really enjoyed the ward.  Unfortunately, over time things began to change.  The meals got so they weren’t very good and they served smaller amounts.

Just outside of our apartment door there was a big bushy looking weed. I didn’t like it there and decided one day to try to pull the weed. After a tug o’ war, the weed won and I took a tumble and fell and broke my right arm just below the shoulder.  I went to an orthopedic surgeon who gave me all my options; I could have surgery and a rod put in or I could just leave it be and let it grow and fill in on its own.  My daughter Jaena is a nurse and she worked on an orthopedic floor at the hospital, advised against surgery so that’s it what we did.  My arm still hurts occasionally and I can’t raise it above my head which makes it difficult to do my hair, it will be that way for the rest of my life.

Ken was having problems controlling his temper and this created a few problems with the other residents as well.  He also began flirting with all the other women there and we starting having lost of marital problems.  Later we discovered that he had developed Alzheimer’s and he progressively got worse and worse.

One day as we were walking to breakfast, he tripped on the carpet in the hall and had a bad fall.  The manager called an ambulance for him but never called my family.  We spent the day at Intermountain Medical Center in the Emergency Room.  I was supposed call my family but the numbers I had in my purse were old numbers and I couldn’t reach anyone.  Ken decided that he wanted to have surgery on his broken leg after the doctor told him he could either go home and be lame the rest of his life or have a surgery sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t.  His luck ran out, his leg wouldn’t heal and he never really came out of the anesthesia. He was moved a Skilled Nursing Facility.  This was hard on me because I couldn’t get to him as much as I wanted and when I did go there I felt so bad for him and there nothing I could to help him.  He passed away on January 17^th, 2019.

This tragedy left me needing more help than I was getting at Olympus Ranch and on December 14^th, just before Christmas, I moved to Summit Senior Assisted Living. By some miracle I got the extra services I needed at the same cost as I was paying at Olympus Ranch. I have decided that this is where I want to live out the rest of my days. I like it here, the food is better but the people seem older and more needy and I don’t like the ward as much. I have really appreciated all of my family standing by me and helping me so much, they really take good care of me.

After thinking about this some more, I felt I needed to add some additional thoughts.  Shauna, you have always been very thoughtful, considerate, loving, kind and helpful. You have always been there when I needed you.  I couldn’t ask for any thing more.  It has been nice living close to you and Vicki.

Darla, I’m thankful you found Chico and settled down in your life.  I’m proud of your accomplishments.  I appreciate you coming back and living the gospel the way you have.

Vicki, my precious daughter, you have the ability to see something funny and pass it on to others.  You have brought lots of joy and happiness to others.  I wish you had a spouse that could help you in your life.  You can on the other side if you will get back to the gospel and live its teachings.  It is worth it.  I’m sorry you had to inherit diabetes but I’m glad that you are pretty good at taking care of yourself.

Jaena, I’m happy you and Brent got together.  I feel you were both guided to each other and are perfect soul mates.  I’m happy you can both communicate and love each other enough to work out any problems that arise.  I’m thrilled at the way both of you have grown and live the gospel.  You are living examples and help me so much.

I am so blessed to have all of you in my life and to have three sons.  This life is tough and I would never be where I am without the help and guidance and love you have all given me.  Thank you!  I owe each of you more than any of you will ever know.  I love all of you.

I want to Thank Jaena and Brent for all their help with this project in getting it finished.  I want to say MERRY CHRISTMAS to each of you and hope you will get a little bit of enjoyment from it. I LOVE ALL OF YOU and pray that you will come into the Gospel before it is too late. Remember time is very close.

Love Mom