Wendell Terry

History of Wendell Terry
23rd of September 1930 to 9th of September 2021

Son of:
Franklin Amos Terry
Ellen Ann Goodliffe

Married to:
Lorna Martindale
6th May 1955

By Wendell Terry, assisted by Sandra (Sandy) Terry Pett

EARLY YEARS

I, Wendell Terry, was born September 23, 1930 to Franklin Amos Terry and Ellen Ann Goodliffe Terry. I was the seventh child of ten children. I was born to parents who belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or (LDS). I believe God knew all things before I was born and he has been watching over me ever since. I was born in my Grandpa’s living room (Frank Durmoth Terry) because my sisters had the measles, in Enterprise, Utah.

I remember receiving a cork gun that I loved very much. I think I was about five. The gun shot corks and it made me feel like I was one of my older brothers who both had real guns.

About six or seven years old, I remember playing over at the wash with a bunch of kids on a wire slide. The wire slide was a piece of pipe connected to a wire hooked to a tree. I would slide down the pipe and the pipe would slide on the wire and it would take me across the big dry wash. (The distance was about a hundred feet.) One day I was playing with this slide and a tree branch broke. I fell about thirty feet to the ground and landed on a fence post that had been broken off and was sticking out of the ground. It knocked me out for a while, but I woke up and somehow got home. At that time, I just healed and went on with life – like it never happened. But later in life, this injury has been discussed by many doctors because it left visible scars internally, the doctors could see this in their machines.

My first big chore was milking the cows. It was my job to milk the cows before I went to school. I had to hobble them, clean them and milk them and watched very close as I went behind to get out of the way so I wouldn’t get kicked down. Once I didn’t watch closely enough and I ended up in a pile of manure. After that, I was very careful. I fed the cows and the horses daily. I washed my hands and then went to school. I walked several blocks to school, and sometimes I arrived late.

School was hard for me. I was very shy. In school, the teacher would ask me a question that I didn’t know how to answer. My silence caused the other children to laugh at me. I have always had difficulty speaking in public because of this situation that happened to me when I was younger.

My dad had a ranch and I went to the ranch house (ten miles out of Enterprise) with my family. I was in the back yard by myself one day. I found a frying pan that was upside-down. I leaned forward to pick up the frying pan when I heard a voice say, “Don’t pick it up.” It startled me, but I decided to listen to the voice. I got a stick to turn the pan over without touching it, because I was still curious. A diamondback rattlesnake about eight feet long crawled out from under the frying pan, that I’m sure would have bitten me if it had gotten a chance. Back in those days, a rattlesnake bite would have been difficult to survive as cures were scarce. So I was sure glad I didn’t have to find out.

When I was eight or nine years old, I got baptized. I was required to learn all of the Articles of Faith 1-13 as we would be quizzed by Duerd Terry, as a requirement of our family. I memorized all thirteen Articles and passed the quiz. I was baptized in a canal in Enterprise, Utah and later confirmed into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I remember feeling the spirit very strong. This baptism has helped to guide me through-out my life. I was ordained a Priest when I was sixteen years old and was taught to pass and bless the sacrament.

Life growing up with four brothers and five sisters was very hard. My parents were good people that worked very hard too. They tried to teach us all to be independent, strong, hard-workers, and to follow the covenants and ways of God. However, I had to learn some things for myself.

YOUTH AND MILITARY LIFE

My friends and I stole a chicken from the Randal place. We killed it, dressed it out to cook it later on in the night and left it to come back to. Even though we planned to come back to cook it we never did. Instead, we decided to take a trip to Cedar. In Cedar we were living it up pretty high (drinking a little beer and learning how to smoke cigarettes) when an officer stopped us and told us that he was going to arrest us if we didn’t straighten up. We were teenagers, so we said “Maybe we should go over and look at that jail and see if we would like to stay there”.  He took us over to the jail and offered us a place to sleep. We took one look at the jail and decided that was NOT where we wanted to stay. When we got home my dad said, “How did you like your stay in jail”, he seemed to know about all of my activities that night including the chicken I stole. I realized then my father knew more than I thought he was capable of knowing.

Shortly after the chicken incident, my friends decided we should all join the Army at the age of eighteen. We knew we had to be eighteen to sign up because our dads would not agree. So I enlisted, but before I left I called and told my dad. He was not too pleased with my decision. I was the only one of my group that had enough respect for my dad to call and tell him of my decision. My dad started immediately working on getting me out of the service.

Basic training was in Fort Lewis, Washington. I was asked to shoot the weapon to see what kind of a shot I was. I shot the bullseye one after another and gained the title of Marksman. I had been taught while I was young to shoot well. The Army signed me up to be a Lead Scout.

I learned discipline – they taught me the Right Way, the Wrong Way and the Army Way. I peeled a lot of potatoes and pulled a lot of guard duty. After about two years, I received notice of a change. My father had obtained a farm work release that converted me to an inactive reserve and I went home. At the same time, the friends I joined the Army with, went overseas to Korea to fight in the Korean War. My friends all seemed to survive Korea, but I don’t think I would have. I would have been right at the front of the lines at the first point of contact as a scout and marksman. It’s just a feeling I have, and I’m thankful that my dad was able to get me out when he did. After I got home, I was only home for a short time. My inactive Reserve status became active and I went back to Fort Lewis, and then was transferred to North Fort in Fort Lewis. I drove two half ton trucks until I was discharged.

When I got home from the military, I had several jobs trying to find work I enjoyed doing. I was always handy with my hands and fixing things came easy. I bounced around in many areas as I was a bit restless. I went to school and trained to be a mechanic, but after I graduated didn’t seem to like being a mechanic. The best thing about being a mechanic was spending time with my brother Gordon, while he and I fixed vehicles (mostly him). I loved spending time with Gordon in his garage.

I worked for a company called Titanium in Henderson, Nevada after I got home from the military. Frequently, I liked to swim in Lake Mead in my off time. I enjoyed swimming from the bank to an anchored raft sitting about three hundred and fifty to four hundred feet away from the bank. One time I was swimming and the wind was blowing towards me. I got about half way and I got scared because I was really, really tired. I looked up as high as I could and couldn’t see anyone to assist me. I began to panic and again I heard that voice in my head. This time it was saying, “Roll on to your back.” I rolled on to my back and was able to float for a while and regained some strength. I was able to gain enough strength to swim the rest of the way to the raft. I found out after working at Titanium for about six months that working there was really dangerous work. Many people stayed there because it paid well, but I decided it wasn’t worth the risk.

My dad got sick and was in the hospital. I was living in a trailer house in Cedar City. I was very worried about him coming out alive. The worry had me tied-up in knots. I tossed and turned and it was real hard to get to sleep. During the night, I was woke-up to a bright light shining in my room. My grandfather was standing in the door of my trailer house all dressed in white and shining brighter than if it was day-time. He didn’t say anything to me, but immediately I felt calm. In my mind I heard, “Your father will be ok.”  I’ve told this story to many people since it happened and have never denied it. I feel this was a very special experience and was comforted that night in a way I didn’t know was possible.

MARRIED & FAMILY LIFE

I went north to Salt Lake City, Utah and met my dear sweet wife, Lorna Martindale. I met Lorna in Dewey’s Circus Bar. We liked to dance. I remember once my brother Arnold came to get me and had a real laugh at my expense when he caught me doing the bunny-hop. I had my choice of two women and the Lord guided me to the perfect women for me. I was married to Lorna for 60 years before she passed away. I have always called Lorna Mother, so if you see a reference to Mother, I’m usually talking about Lorna.

Age 24: Lorna had a daughter, Robyn Arilynne, from a short previous marriage (age 2) when I married Lorna on May 6th, 1955. I adopted Robyn as my own and started to raise a family with Lorna. We had five children together: Dale Wesley (February 23, 1955), Scott Lee (May 26, 1956), Sandra (Sandy) Joy (January 7, 1959), Lori Ann (June 18, 1962) and Craig Wendell (January 15, 1968). Our life had its ups and downs like any marriage. I worked for myself for many years laying carpet and linoleum. We lived in several locations in the Salt Lake Valley. (Rose Park, Kearns, Taylorsville, Tooele)

We were never poor, but sometimes money got tight. Lorna and I had some bad habits, but we always sent our children to church every Sunday. Even then we both knew it was the right thing to do.

Age 30+: When I was at work one day, patching tile in a JC Penney Store, I moved a table with storage stuff on it and a paper bag dropped off the table. When I opened it, I noticed it was filled with lots of $100 dollar bills. The first thing I thought of was, “How can I get out the back door without anyone noticing”. The second thing I thought of was the State Penn. Ellis Jones was doing woodwork at the same location – Ellis didn’t think the money was real. Then Ellis suggested we hide it and make the owner sweat. The sweat was apparent when the manager came over to where we were working to ask us if we had happened to run into a money sack. He came back a few times, each time asking us the same thing over and over. When he came to us the third time, I said to him, “What would it mean to you if I did know where the money was?” With that question the manager knew, that we knew where the money was and of course we gave it to him. The manager was very relieved.

I was laying a floor tile job for Cannon Papanikolas in a big grocery store. I was spreading different rooms and there was a hot water tank in one of the rooms. I started spreading glue and there must have been fumes exposed because when I spread the glue, the hot water tank lit up and flames ignited and exploded across the floor. They called it cutback from the water heater. I was back behind the flames so they didn’t hurt me, but it was an amazing sight-one I’d never seen before. Once the adhesive dried I was able to finish laying the floor. Someone came up behind me when this happened and said, “You must have been in the Army, because I heard words that you could have only learned from the Army.”

I remember my children enjoying music and several of them learned to play musical instruments. In Taylorsville, we paid for some of our children to travel to Las Vegas with the Junior High Marching Band to perform in a parade. The morning to depart, our alarm didn’t go off and we all overslept. When we got to the school, we were told the buses just left. Lorna and I thought if we hurried we would be able to catch the buses and send our children on their trip. We did just that, but it wasn’t until past Fillmore we caught the first bus. We waved them down and got them to stop, only to find out the bus was full from all of the late comers. So we drove further down the road and finally got the next bus to pull over and our children were able to experience the event.

Age 38-39: One afternoon, I was on the job and out of nowhere – Lorna showed up and stabbed me with a knife in my back. She was beyond angry and was accusing me of sleeping with another woman. I was taken to the hospital immediately and was patched up, but it took a couple of weeks to get out of the hospital. I remember the doctor telling me if the knife blade had moved slightly in either direction I might not have been able to go home alive. At this point in my life, I do believe the knife was guided by God to keep me on my path to becoming who I was meant to be.

I wanted a smoke really bad while I was at the hospital, but the doctor would not permit it, nor would he allow anyone else to bring me any smokes. Since I couldn’t have a smoke, I found the strength to go cold turkey and stop smoking. I went without for two weeks and it seemed really dumb after that long to start the habit back again – so I just shut it out. I knew immediately that there was something wrong with Lorna medically. It was just not like her to be so angry or to act out like that for any reason. The police wanted me to prosecute her and many of my siblings worried about me and wanted me to go back. I thought about this a lot and could not see my family functioning without Lorna in it. I have always been guided in matters of this kind of seriousness and I knew I was doing the right thing by going back.

She immediately looked for a medical solution to help her to get better. She found some assistance with Doctor Vance, a naturalist, in specialized medicine. He was not a medical doctor, but he gave us some of the best medical assistance we have ever gotten. He told us she had extremely high levels of thyroid in her system which caused her behavior. The situation also occurred soon after the birth of my youngest son, and now days many women have post-partum depression at that time in their life. Back then that diagnosis was not something doctors discussed because it hadn’t been discovered yet.

Age 41: It was shortly after all this turmoil in our life that we moved to the east side from the west side to an area called Cottonwood Heights. It was in Cottonwood Heights, Lorna and I turned our lives around and became strong in our faith. This is where I became an Elder and Lorna and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple for time and all eternity. Five of our children were sealed to us at that time. We committed to serving the Lord full-time and did our best to teach our children the gospel with regular family home evenings, attending church regularly and doing our best to serve each other. Lorna loved to sing in the choir and was able to sing at a regional conference with many other stakes involved. She played the piano too and the family enjoyed singing while she played the piano, especially church hymns.

We moved a few times and ended up in Sandy City on Peach Blossom Drive. It was here, a developer helped me develop my skills as a builder. My son Scott and I went to the building site daily and learned the stages of building a home. My son Dale went on a mission to Albuquerque, New Mexico and had a very successful mission. I remember being asked to speak at his farewell, but being too frightened to do so.  Dale got married soon after he got home from his mission.

While Dale was on him mission, I opened a carpet store in Midvale and worked out of the store doing carpet and linoleum with my son Scott. Scott and I built our first home together at Mary Drive. It was the same floor plan as the house we just watched getting built in Peach Blossom. I was going to hire someone to build the house, but Scott told me “We can do this Dad.” We ended up building a pretty good home. We built another house in Sandy City on Player Drive and two of my girls got married in that house. Scott and Lori also both got married that same year as well. I was pretty much an empty nester and just had Craig left in his teen years.

Age 50: A motorcycle accident crushed my knee and working in carpet and linoleum wasn’t an option for my work career any longer. (Player House) Fortunately, I had launched my career in building homes and started doing a few of those. Eventually we moved to Draper, Utah at 825 East Fort Street, where I built myself another home and we spent many wonderful years there. Mother and I loved it there and the grandchildren visited often. We had over an acre of land and we were able to have a sort of gentleman’s farm. We raised a few gardens, sometimes had horses, had chickens, and even took a hand at raising turkeys. We also enjoyed riding ATV’s in the back lot, camping in our Recreation Vehicle and doing many fun activities together. The grandchildren especially loved all of these activities. Craig was called to serve a mission to Indianapolis, Indiana from our Draper house.

I had to leave Draper and it was difficult for me to find a new direction in my life. The building market was down and I wasn’t sure how to support my family. I went to California for a while working for an apartment complex in San Bernardino. We were only there for about 6-9 months and decided it was time to build another house. This time we went to Heyburn, Idaho and rather than sub-contract everything I did most of the work. I did have family help. Thank you! The grandchildren liked that place too. The place had eight acres of land and access to the Snake River. We built a small wharf and fished on the Snake River, raised pigs and cattle.

Age 55: Impatience has plagued me all of my life. One day I was working on a project with a tool that plugged into an electrical socket. I was done with the job and rather than get up to unplug my tool, I jerked the plug connected from the socket using the chord on the tool. It didn’t seem to want to come out, so I pulled harder. It finally released from whatever was holding it up, but it came quickly and aimed right for my eye. At the hospital, the doctor was able to save the eye and reconnect the retina. But my eyesight in that eye since the accident has only been able to see shadows at best.

REUNITED

Age 44-45: When Lorna and I were in Idaho visiting her parents; Lorna received a telephone call from her son. This was a child Lorna gave birth to prior to meeting me and she hadn’t seen him since he was sent away for adoption about 50 years earlier. We had only come to purchase a pig at the Cassia County Fair, so it was a fluke that Lorna answered the telephone when the call from John was placed. It was a strange and exciting experience to meet and welcome John Gardner as one of our children into our family.

John had inherited a wonderful cabin (more like a 2nd home) at Island Park Idaho and was very generous to invite Lorna and me to spend time in Island Park. He had a boat and sea doo’s and lots of water sports available as his cabin was right on the Island Park Lake. It was really nice just to sit and talk with John and watch the sunset. Lorna and I spent many vacations with many of the Terry family at his Island Park cabin and always appreciated John and the love we felt there. John was also very happy to be part of the Terry clan as well. I remember John saying at my 50^th wedding anniversary how we were the family he never knew he needed until he met us. The love was and is very strong.

Age 77-78: Lorna and I were at Island Park when John suffered an ATV accident while riding with his grandson. John rolled off of the bike and ensured that the little one didn’t get hurt, but he was hurt more than he let on. The next day John went out to ride the ATV another time and had a massive heart attack on the bike and fell off. Craig administered CPR, but John had died (July 2009) as the paramedics said he had died instantly when he hit the ground. It was very difficult watching someone we had gotten so close to, pass away so suddenly.

RETIREMENT and OTHER VARIOUS ACTIVITIES

Age 70-75: One afternoon while I was taking care of Lorna, I was watching television. I liked western movies. I felt a tap on my shoulder. The only two people around were Lorna and I, so I was surprised that I felt a tap. I turned to see who it was that tapped my shoulder, but there wasn’t anyone behind me. At that moment I heard a voice in my head say “Read your patriarchal blessing.”  When I was in my twenties, I got my patriarchal blessing from my stake patriarch, which I put with my special papers – but I didn’t read it or study it. A patriarchal blessing is a written blessing from God through a patriarch who is ordained through the priesthood in the Church of Jesus of Latter Day Saints.

I went to my special papers and read my patriarchal blessing and it said “read the scriptures”. I had a very strong feeling that I needed to read the scriptures daily. So I started reading the Book of Mormon. I made a commitment to God that I would do anything he wanted me to do. At that time, I wasn’t a very good reader. I could read, but I was really slow. Mother and I started to read the Book of Mormon daily for about an hour or two. It was shortly thereafter that I was asked to speak in Sacrament. In the past, I had been very timid about speaking in church. My father-in-law worked really hard at getting me to speak at Dale’s farewell as he went on a mission to Albuquerque, New Mexico and I just couldn’t do it. I wanted to – but it was just too hard. I knew I’d make a mess of it. So when I was asked to speak, I remembered what I had committed to God when I got the tap on my shoulder and I responded yes I will. Then I knew I really had gotten myself into trouble.

I turned to my children for help. My son Craig helped me to write a talk and I practiced and practiced. I didn’t just rely on God to do the work, but I knew He would help me. The day of the talk, I practiced again and when I started to speak I said, “Brothers and Sisters, I am happy to be here this day. I am Wendell Terry.  If I had been asked to do this last year, I would have run out the back door.” The spirit was so strong I could not deny what I had told my Father. I did a good talk that day and made a great impression on the ward.

But guess what? It didn’t end there. Shortly thereafter, I was asked to teach the High Priest group on Sunday mornings. I had previously been asked to do teaching assignments, but had always turned them down because I didn’t think that I was capable of doing a good job. So my initial response when asked this time was to say, “I don’t think that I am smart enough to do this.” The stake president who asked me to do the job said to me, “If you will do this job, God will be with you and will help you.”

I taught that class for about three and a half years. It was the best learning experience I could have imagined, with me learning the most. I built relationships with people and looked forward to meeting every Sunday. I never knew I would get to a spot in my life where I really missed not going to church.

Mother and I kept reading scriptures every day, we finished the Book of Mormon and went on to the Bible, both Old and New Testament. My reading was improving.  Then on to the Pearl of Great Price and I gained a strong testimony of Joseph Smith. I was reading three to four hours a day. Mother loved to listen as I read.

I was about 78-79 years old when I was building a home for Paul Terry in Delta, Utah. While driving down the old highway from Milford to Delta, I set back and relaxed with my climate control heater which came on as the evening got colder. The car was set on cruise control at about 70 miles per hour. I must have fallen asleep and I awoke hitting fence posts. I felt helpless about the situation and just kept driving and hitting posts. I figured it would just keep happening and thought I was on my way out. But then, I heard that voice in my head I’ve heard through-out my life that said, “Kick-it off of cruise.”  I was just at the highway going back on the road when I realized that the voice had more to do with the rescue than just telling me information. I knew “He” must have turned the car because I headed for the highway and was able to get back on the highway without rolling the car over – while the car was still going over 70 miles per hour. I was able to hit the brakes at that point and stopped. The motor never stopped, and I just sat there for a little while pondering what had just happened. I thought this was divine assistance and was very appreciative. Shaken and now awake, I was able to drive home.

My eyesight was decreasing, year after year, even in my good eye because of macular degeneration. I was able to drive for a long time just back and forth to church and made sure Mother and I attended. About 2014, I lost my ability to see well enough to drive and gave up my license. That was really hard and still is difficult. I keep hoping my eyesight will return enough to get my license back. Just a few weeks ago (Age 88), I thought my eyes were working better than they have in years. Since I was going to the eye doctor anyway, I asked if he thought I might be able to get my driver’s license back again. He laughed, that’s a good joke he said. I wasn’t joking, but I laughed too.

In December of 2014, I had major surgery, a three-way heart by-pass at the age of 84. My biggest concern was how or who would take care of Mother. I did not want her to go to a Nursing Home and stay by herself with people she didn’t know. Her memory was having grave difficulties along with the Parkinson issues. The surgery went well, but I needed to recover. My girls assisted in watching Mother, and I went to a Rehabilitation Center to get better. What a place. It was called Tender Loving Care (TLC). At first I thought they were going to be ok, but then the gestapo came. They told me to stay in bed, but were unable to assist me when I needed them. They tied me into bed and treated me cruelly. When we chose this place, we were told we could leave if someone took custody of me, but then we tried (even when my grandson Dr. Justin Terry called) they were uncooperative. It was Christmas time and no one was ever available with enough authority to grant permission. When Dale came to pick me up on Christmas Day, they were still adamant about not releasing me. But they made a mistake, the Nurse on duty stated “If I could transport myself out of the building without any assistance, I could go.” They didn’t know me very well and didn’t expect my response. I walked down three or four long hallways and out the door to go home. Merry Christmas!!!!

Age 85: It was difficult after the heart surgery. Mother’s health was also having big issues. In June 2015, Mother died. I was there when her spirit left her body. It was the most difficult experience of my life. I so wanted to help her where ever I could and I sat next to her bed as the hospice nurses assisted her. Her Parkinson’s disease was diagnosed over thirty years ago, so life with this disease was not easy. When the time came, I knew she was in a better place. It was still hard to let go.

After her service, I saw Lorna’s spirit standing in the kitchen. She walked around a little bit and then I saw her walk through the wall. I looked up to see her and was concerned there wasn’t anybody with her. Then I thought to myself, her mom and dad were there, they just didn’t show themselves to me. Then she just drifted into the heavens. It was so comforting to me to have seen her. I know she wanted me to see her able to walk without her wheelchair and to know she was ok. It has assured me for the rest of my life.

After Mother passed, I decided to lose weight. My body was tired and it hurt. So with the same conviction I’ve had previous in my life, at 86-88 years old I lost nearly 90 pounds. I love life. I read the scriptures often, sometimes four or five hours during the day. I say my prayers daily. I love to go to lunch with the gentlemen in my stake every Thursday. We are called the ROMEO’s (Really Old Men Eating Out). I love to do my FATHER’S work, by living it with the spirit. Faith and charity and love for all. Recently, I’ve started hearing spiritual music in my ears out of nowhere. It makes me so happy I have the urge to dance.

I love my family and want to be able to help where ever I can. Do the Lord’s work and life will be better for all of you!

  

 Wendell Terry Passed 9/9/21

Wendell Terry, age 90, passed away peacefully in his home Thursday, 9/9/2021. He was born 9/23/1930 in Enterprise Utah to Franklin Amos Terry and Ellen Ann Goodliffe Terry. He married Lorna Martindale at her home in Burley, Idaho on May 6, 1955.

Wendell is known for hard work, drive and a good heart. A self-made family man. He grew up on a farm with 9 siblings – he is the last of his immediate family. He joined the US Army as a young man during the Korean War and was trained as a gunner/sniper. For many years he installed floor coverings, he had his own store (D&S Floor Coverings) in Midvale, Utah.  He graduated to building homes and condos. As CEO of Terico Construction he built through-out Utah, Idaho and Nevada. He loved God and his family. A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints he served faithfully and felt compelled to read the scriptures. He liked camping, hiking, fishing, and hunting. He also really enjoyed trucking across the country with his brother Arnold Terry.

He is survived by Robyn Terry in Cumberland MD, Dale Terry (Debbie) in Henderson NV, Scott Terry (Paula) in Scottsdale AZ, Sandy Terry Pett in West Jordan UT, Lori Terry Burton (Jeff) in St George UT, and Craig Terry (Tammy) Henderson NV, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by wife Lorna Terry and John Gardner.

A viewing will be held on Friday 9/24/2021 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Spilsbury Mortuary, 110 South Bluff Street, St George, UT  84770 where arrangements are being made (435) 673-2454.

Funeral Services will be Saturday, 9/25/2021 at 9:30 a.m. at 303 Cholla St, Henderson, NV  89015 with a viewing prior to services at 8:00-9:00 am. 

Interment will take place in the Town of Enterprise Cemetery @ 4:40 pm (MST) 9/25/2021.

Friends and family are invited to sign Wendell Terry’s online guest book at www.spilsburymortuary.com

 

Talk for Funeral given by Sandy Pett (daughter)

Life Sketch of Wendell Terry

Dad was born in Enterprise Utah, September 23, 1930, in his grandma and grandpa’s house because his sisters had the measles.  He was the 7^th of 10 children, and the last to cross over to the other side.

As a child I see Dad as a little one full of energy. He always told us how his first job was to feed the animals (horses and cows) and he also had the responsibility to milk the cows before going to school. This was when he was only seven or eight. I’ve been calling dad on my way work or going home for many years just to check in. Every time I would talk to Dad, if there was a lull in our conversation (which happened a lot more in the last year) and I happened to say “So”- his instant response would be to say “So so, that’s what you say to the cows to get them to give you their milk”.

Dad has told us stories our whole life, and these stories have each taught us different principles to help us to live. All his life, Dad has had occasions when he received promptings to help him. He also had many near-death experiences:

As a child at his dad’s ranch house Wendell found an upside-down frying pan. As he leaned forward to pick up the pan he heard a voice say, “Don’t pick it up.” He decided to listen to the voice – got a stick to turn the pan over without touching it. A diamondback rattlesnake about eight feet long crawled out from under the frying pan.

Wendell joined the military during the Korean war at 18. His dad fought day and night to bring him home. Luckily, he succeeded to do so just before the rest of his friends shipped overseas. He was the only friend that felt the need to call his father headed out of town. Because of this, his father was able to bring him home on a farm hardship and his status changed to inactive reserve. However, this only lasted a few months and the Army brought him back to the base where he spent the rest of his military life driving big trucks and peeling potatoes. He learned real quick there was the right way, the wrong way, and the ARMY way. All of his friends made it back from the war, but he always felt he would not have come home if he went overseas-because he would have been first contact as a scout and marksman.

Dad was in a motorcycle accident in his late 40’s; crushed his knee and shattered the top of his tibia. This was before cell phones. Dad simply got back on the motorcycle and drove home more than a mile away. The doctors fixed his knee and he was told it would only work for a few years like 5-and then he would need to replace it. He is being buried today with the same knee they gave him approx. 45 years ago. It did give him pain, but his will was stronger.

In 1984-5 he was cleaning up a job. As he was putting away his tools he pulled on the extension cord from about 30 feet away. It snapped back and the prong struck his left eye and took his vision. He managed the rest of his life with one eye (including driving until he was about 78). This affected his peripheral vision, but he compensated with extra space and swear words when people cut him off, but he was never in a car accident due to his blind eye.

Dad had a very special relationship with his Grandfather Frank Durmoth Terry. I believe Dad’s mind set to take care of mother started when he visited his Grandpa in a SL care center in his early 20’s. The center’s mediocre accommodations prompted his grandpa’s request to come home. Dad’s soft heart wouldn’t allow him to stay there. But at that young age – he wasn’t prepared to take care of him, so he took him to his Aunt Iola’s house, which was a struggle all on its own. His grandpa passed soon after.

Dad had a very special experience after he came home from the military and before he got married. His father had gotten seriously ill and was in the hospital. Dad was living in a trailer house in Cedar City. The worry had him tied-up in knots. One restless night, he woke-up to a bright light shining in his room. His grandpa was standing in the door of the trailer house all dressed in white and shining brighter than if it was day-time. He didn’t say anything to him, but immediately he felt calm. In his mind he heard, “Your father will be ok.”  He told this story many times to his family and others and never deviated. I think this story shows the relationship between Dad and his grandpa. There was much love on both sides.

He married Lorna Martindale, May 6 1955, after meeting her in Dewey’s Circus Bar. He chose her between two ladies he met at Dewey’s and always thought he was directed to choose the perfect lady for him. She proved to be a true partner in his life as they were married for 60 years.

He has always been a fast learner and a hard worker and has always taught us that if you put those two things together you can succeed. We as a family learned early that we didn’t always need to succeed (it was better if you did) but giving up wasn’t an option. Our family outings centered around camping, trips to Idaho (Burley mostly), Wyoming and California. His favorite place to go was a property he bought called Beaver Creek. He took a trailer to Beaver Creek and left it there for many fun years of camping and hunting.

Dale and Scott worked every day with Dad to help to put food on our table and clothes on our back from a very young age. This was also Dad’s way of helping Mother with taking care of the children. They had 6 children at home during their early years and it was a handful. But our brothers do need to know we are all very grateful for their efforts they did to help all of us survive. It also taught Dale and Scott to work very hard like their father. The girls were responsible for taking care of the home and Craig was a baby.

In the 70’s we moved from the west side to the east side of the Greater SL area. A big shift in our family development happened then. Robyn moved to California for adventures of her own and the family started moving every year. This was fun because that meant cleaning and showing the house constantly!

After a few years of upgrading houses – Dad started building houses and then moving into them. The first house Dad built was in Sandy City (Mary Drive), he didn’t have a contractor’s license – but remember, He was good with his hands. Sometimes he needed some reassurance though. Scott suggested “we can do this on our own, without hiring it out”, this boost helped provide the confidence to build that house together. After that, Dad was a house builder and he built many great homes. He also ran a floor covering store, D & S Interiors in Midvale which later evolved to D & S Construction. When Dale returned from his mission, he obtained a contractor’s license which helped them to create Terico. Together they started building condos and custom homes.

At the Player Road house, all of Dad’s daughters were married. It was a beautiful home with a curved banister and a pool/hot tub in the backyard. Sidebar both the house and pool were built by Dad and his sons. A great place for a wedding. We only lived there a couple of years, but all three of us were married there. I still remember my wedding day in that house and the love my father and mother shared with me on that special day.

Many of you remember the Draper House where the family rode ATV’s, picked berries, and met for Christmas, Easter, and family gatherings. With 13 grandchildren there were many to entertain. With the creation of this house, it allowed them to get out of the city and create a gentlemen’s farm with chickens, turkeys, ducks, pigs, horses, and an occasional steer; and don’t forget the satellite dish! The grandchildren were growing up and the adult children were pursuing family and careers. While Dad lived in this house Craig left on his mission to Indiana. But when Craig came home mom and dad lived in California – literally moving while he was away. 

Craig and dad built the house on Belfast together where mom, dad and Craig have been living for the past 20 years. Dad continued to build houses on the side with his last house being completed at age 80 for Paul Terry. Craig married and then brought more family in their house. Craig supported mom and dad in their later years of life and eventually ended up caring for Wendell.

In my younger years, I remember Mother was always the one that instilled in us the need to learn the gospel and Dad would back her up. Dad had the basics down of right and wrong, but he was a very independent person and sometimes a little rebellious. Dad told me a tale about a ride with his father to SL. His father wanted to hammer in the right way to live (the church way to live) by telling Dad all the blessings he would gain by following gospel principles. Dad’s strong will wasn’t flexible yet and when he got out of the car, he told his father “I shut my ears off the minute we started driving.” He later regretted saying that to his father.

One afternoon, dad was sitting on his lazy chair watching a movie and pondering why he was still alive-when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and no one was there. He heard another voice in his head that said “read your patriarchal blessing” which he did. The focus he got from the blessing was to “read the scriptures”. He felt these instructions strongly in his heart. He went all in!

He started reading scriptures for 5-6 hours a day. Prior to this he read at a 5^th grade reading level, so his comprehension was limited. He and mother would sit at the table with her on one side and him on the other. Her patience seemed unlimited, but she wanted to support dad and really didn’t have much choice, sometimes she just slept. He read the Book the Morman several times, the Bible (both Old and New Testament) to where he could quote stories from memory. He was asked to speak at Sacrament meeting and in his talk that Craig helped to write, he said if he had been asked to speak a year ago, he would have moved to get out of the speaking assignment. But he did speak and was also able to teach the High Priest class where he learned even more.

When mother was nearing end, he sat by her bedside until she passed. He said he felt her spirit leave her body.

A few months ago in the middle of the night, Tammy went into dads room because he was frantic and trying to go outside. He said Lorna is waiting for him in a car and he needed to catch her to get a ride. Well, I think he finally caught a ride in a Cadillac like the one he and mom drove for many years and took a ride through the clouds. He always did like to ride in style.

I firmly believe that from Dad’s prompting to read the scriptures, until his last breath, he was committed and ready to be reunited with his Heavenly Father and his soulmate Lorna. He really wanted his loved ones to know the Savior’s love for each of us and how repentance helped him to change. The change was apparent to me as I saw him choosing his words carefully to avoid conflict and contention.