Garrett Merrick Memories of Early Years put in other posts

I was born on 15 December 1946, the second of three sons born to Lillian Edith Conley and Charles Aaron Jarvis. Melvin Charles Jarvis Merrick, my older brother, arrived previously on 29 March 1945. My younger brother, Kenneth Ray, came along on 10 November 1948. My very earliest memory is of lying in bed at night, being scared by ghosts in the closet at the end of my bed. I solved the problem by closing the closet door every night.

Another early memory occurred when we lived in the attic across from Grandma Conley’s house at 50 Ohio Street in Akron Ohio. I apparently awoke screaming from a very vivid dream in which I had seen a ‘rat’ running across the floor at the bottom of my bed. I was convinced it was real and would not be persuaded otherwise. In adult retrospect I realize it could not have been real, as at that time I had never seen a rat and didn’t even know what one looked like. This one was yellow and almost as big as a cat!

A year or so later from the window of that same attic (I must have been about six) I witnessed the torching of Grandma’s garage by my brother, Kenny. I was sick and had to stay in, so I was looking out the window when I saw smoke coming from the garage. I knew I should call the fire department, but I didn’t know how, so I decided to just watch and enjoy the show. I saw the fire engines come (too late!), smoke, flames, and people running around. I also seem to remember seeing Kenny sneaking back home across the street. He confessed to me that had been playing with matches in the garage. I was glad that I had been sick and couldn’t be blamed for the fire.

We spent a lot of time at Grandma Conley’s during my early years. She was a tiny, thin woman with white hair. I especially remember how kind and sweet she was. I also remember some really fine Thanksgiving dinners, always with cranberry sauce, which I ate once and never again. We always loved to go to Grandma’s house, a place of love and security.

My other favorite relative was my father’s brother, Uncle Carroll. He would take us for rides in his car. He impressed me with his knowledge of which direction other cars were going to turn; I later learned about turn signals and turning lanes. On one occasion he took us to visit Grandma Jarvis (Bessie) in West Virginia. It was wonderful: the countryside; the steep West Virginia hills, especially in the morning fog; watching someone milk the cow; feeling free and outdoors; Grandma’s garden; and her scrumptious rhubarb pie. Grandma was plump - and also kind and loving. I have no memory of ever seeing her again, though when I was nineteen or twenty, we had some pleasant correspondence.

Our Family - Visits with Grandparents Pearson

 Over the years, we had many visits with our children’s grandparents, Lew and Arlene Pearson. Sometimes they came to our home, and other times we visited them when they lived in Pocatello, Idaho and when they lived in Meadow Vista, California. 

Grandma Arlene Pearson made baby blankets and sweaters for our children. Grandpa Pearson gave us carpet for our home. They also sent Easter boxes, and birthday and Christmas presents. We sent them a family photo each year. 

We especially enjoyed our visit with them in 1995. Laura and Dan and Garrett and I went to see the ocean and the redwoods. 

Our Family - Trip to Dallas

 In May 1990 I was put in charge of starting up and staffing Computerized Forwarding System (CFS) operations in the Provo Post Office. This necessitated two weeks of training in Dallas TX in June. So, we rented a minivan, none of our vehicles being sufficiently sound or suitable for such an excursion, and took the whole family. The trip was challenging, but fun and memorable. We visited a nice mall and had a fun dinner with my CFS instructor at a western restaurant. August and September of 1990 were challenging at work, as I got CFS operations going.

While the kids and I packed, Garrett redid the floor in the kitchen, hall, up bath.  We enjoyed visiting Carlsbad Caverns and Mesa Verde. The kids also loved the long slide at the steak house and visiting a fun mall which had holographic photos. They loved all the room in the rented minivan. At the hotel they spent most of the afternoons in the indoor pool. During the mornings, we cleaned our one room (girls in one double bed, Garrett and I in another, and the boys on the floor). Dan was our “agitator”, because he stomped our clothes in the bathtub, then we hung our things in the bathroom to dry. We went out with Garrett in the evenings. It was a fun trip!

Our Family - Trip to Bryce Canyon

 In April of 1987, we went on a trip to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.  Since Daniel was too young to climb down the canyon by himself and Julene didn’t like steep inclines, Julene stayed at the top of the canyon and tended Daniel while the rest of us hiked down the canyon. 

We camped in our old van and in tents in the park campground. We had a great time experiencing Bryce Canyon.

Our Family - The Holy Ghost told us

 by Cheryl Merrick

One Saturday afternoon, Garrett and I left to run some errands. We had only gone a few miles when I told Garrett that we needed to stop and explained that I had a strong feeling that we needed to return home right away. A few minutes later, we arrived home just in time to see our oldest son trying to get his three year old brother to jump off the roof of our house.  He intended to catch his younger brother and thought it would be fun. Fortunately, our young son had enough sense not to jump, but he was getting pretty distressed from being stuck on our roof. 

Our older son was amazed that we knew to come home at that moment. We told him that the Holy Ghost was always watching and, as parents, He would warn us if we needed to come home. He was impressed!

Our Family - Summer Activities

 by Cheryl Merrick

We had a lot of fun in the summertime when the kids were out of school. After a couple of weeks, the kids were bored with just playing with friends, so during the summer mornings I did school with each child, then in the afternoons we watched a Disney movie.  I also gave cooking and sewing lessons to our kids and the neighbor kids. Having some structured activities in the day helped the days go quickly. 

In the summer they also had work to do outside. David did mowing. The kids picked fruit and helped dry or can them. They picked and sold our sweet cherries.  The kids each had a little garden where they could grow what they wanted. Usually they planted peas which they sat there and ate when they became ripe. 

Sometimes the kids and I rode our bikes down to the park and had lunch, and some days we went on field trips to museums and other fun places. Everyone liked to go to the library especially in the summer when they had their reading program with prizes. We took our red wagon into the library with us and each of the kids chose the books they wanted to read. Since they all loved to read, and we quickly filled our red wagon up with books.

There were also baseball games, bike rides down to the park for dinner, swimming lessons, backyard tent making and sleep-outs, picnics, bike rides, hikes in the canyons, and rollerblading.  We also made an obstacle course, drew chalk drawings on the driveway, made tree houses in the cherry trees, made the large old kitchen sink into a cooking pit, made bike jumps, had a basketball standard, made a sandbox, and grew gardens. Dan dug a deep hole in the far back which became his fort.  

We painted and did crafts in the backyard. We made a zip-line to ride on, Garrett hung two rope swings from our trees. One was in the small yard with the sandbox and swing set for the little kids, and the other one was hung from the large old walnut tree in the backyard. Garrett also made a tower out of the telephone poles the phone company took out when they moved the lines closer to the house. 

Sometimes we did special things such as going camping in American Fork or Hobble Creek Canyon, at Fish Lake, or at Bryce Canyon. We also loved our yearly day at the Lagoon amusement park in Salt Lake and going to the Folkfest in Springville for Julene’s birthday. 

There was so much to do in the summer, and we loved being outside. We really had a great time in the summer.

Our Family - Spring

 by Cheryl Merrick

By March we were tired of snow and cold and ready for spring to arrive. It was so beautiful when the apricot, cherry, and apple trees blossomed. We waited for our red tulips to blossom and the snow to melt. 

We enjoyed celebrating Easter and going on bike rides again.  David especially liked flying kites in the field behind our house. We planted some vegetables in our garden, and baseball practice began. Sometimes we went to the zoo in the spring so we could see the baby animals. 

We spent hours finishing school projects. Each child had to do a report on a state and make a map to show their state. Each chose to do it on Ohio where their dad was born. Near the end of school, we went to school programs in the evenings. When they were older, we went to many wonderful orchestra concerts. 

Another fun thing we did at the end of spring was go to the Art City Days parade and activities. Garrett and his sons went to the annual father and son’s camp-out in the canyon.  

We often spent the month of May having dinner at the school while we watched baseball games and enjoying being outside again. Spring was always a beautiful and busy time of year for us. 

Our Family - Reading Scriptures

 written by Cheryl Merrick in the 1990's

As our youngest asks, "Can we have The Reading now?", we realize that he really enjoys our family scripture reading. We also look forward to reading the scriptures with our children because it gives us a great opportunity to teach them the gospel and assist them in building their testimonies. There are several things which help us to create this atmosphere for learning and closeness.

One thing we attempt to do is set a casual atmosphere where our children feel our love for them. So we try to not push them beyond their attention span, expect them to hold perfectly still, automatically understand Old English, or grasp new concepts on their own. As we relax, our children ask more questions and everyone feels more at ease in sharing personal experiences. One question frequently asked by our youngest is, "What does that mean in other language?" The "other" language is words he knows. As our younger children draw, do a craft, or some other quiet activity, we use questions directed just to them to bring them into the discussion. We gradually increase their involvement as they mature. We begin with simple plot questions of "and then what did Ammon do?" and ease into questions which help them discover basic principles in the stories - such as courage and honesty. Another way we keep our reading time more relaxed and enjoyable is by following our scripture reading with reading from other good books. We are careful, though, to clearly distinguish the "real" scriptures from the "pretend" stories. This gives us more time together as a family, replaces most TV watching, encourages a love of good literature, and gives the children an extra incentive to remind us to have "The Reading", so we are more consistent.

We also attempt to help our children relate to the people in the scriptures, and find the answers to their own problems. Pictures, the Church Scripture Readers and videos all assist us, as does discussing how this person might have felt and how we would feel and act in a similar situation today. Discussion helps our children to internalize the examples and principles we are reading. We ask many questions. We even begin our reading with a review question, like "Where did we leave Nephi?" This reminds us that we are reading about real people and gets everyone instantly involved. Our older children are challenged with difficult questions such as, "Why would the Lord have Nephi kill Laban?" We hope that learning to question and answer questions will strengthen their testimonies and prepare them for future missions.

The ingredient which holds both our attention and our hearts is humor. When my husband reads, he often inserts the child's name into the scripture or says that Paul wrote some advice for one of them. The child catches him, we laugh, and he rereads the scripture correctly. Once he authoritatively delivered Paul's advice to teenagers; "Greet one another with a holy kiss." But besides keeping attention, it helps us all realize that the scriptures are there to help us individually. Tongue in cheek, we see ourselves when we insert a few modern things such as Nintendo games and blow dryers into the list of items that Lehi and his family left behind them in Jerusalem.

It requires a joint effort between my husband and myself to make our reading time go as we would like. We feel that the time we spend questioning, sharing personal experiences and extra information from footnotes, maps, Bible dictionary, Ensign articles and seminary, helps all of our testimonies grow. Since I have more time to read and enjoy doing research, I study ahead so I can add to the discussion. We both bring up questions and explain ideas as we feel impressed. To enable us to cover the important principles and stories in the entire book of scripture, as my husband reads he omits sections which might be of little interest to our children such as the "begats". Some sections, for instance Revelations, he just summarizes, and then we discuss it.

We enjoy reading scriptures as a family because during this special time we share our feelings and experiences. We share our faith, questions, hopes, humor, love and testimonies more fully as we read the scriptures than we do at any other time. Reading scriptures together has strengthened not only our love for the Savior but our love for each other.

Our Family - Projects

 by Cheryl Merrick

Garrett has always had some project going. With all his training he was able to do many things to improve our homes from painting our Mobile Home to fixing up our Mapleton home. David especially loved working with his dad on home projects.

Garrett built furniture, put in drain lines, re-wired our home, repaired our porch, painted the basement floors, and refinished the upstairs oak floors

When our sons were on their own, they returned to help their dad put a new roof on our home and put in a new water heater. Dan helped his dad put new insulation in our attic. David helped Garrett put in a long driveway and build a garage. Garrett and Dan helped David fix up his home, and Garrett helped Theon put in a laminate floor and paint their home. 

Before we moved, Garrett repainted walls and refinished the floors upstairs. He also did a lot of work on our basement. He sealed the basement walls, replaced the moldy studs, put in new drywall, and put in a new bathroom vanity and tiled the bathroom. It looked lovely when he was done.

Our Family - On Their Own

 by Cheryl Merrick

Having a birthday in the fall, David had to wait a year to start school, so he was almost 19 when he graduated from high school. He spent the summer after his graduation getting ready to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Shortly after he turned 19 in the beginning of September 1993, he left to serve in Columbus Ohio for two years.  

At that same time Julene, who just turned 20, decided that she also wanted to be off on her own. We helped her move into an apartment in Provo, Utah. She rode the bus to UVSC (Utah Valley State College - now UVU Utah Valley University) where she took classes and worked at the cafeteria. With the help of a dedicated math teacher, Julene received her Associates Degree. Later, she earned her Massage Therapist Degree. 

David returned from his mission in 1995 and moved into the apartment we had reserved for him in Provo to live with some other young men. His apartment was right across from the old BYU library in the center of town.

Starting in September of 1993, this left just Laura and Dan at home. In January of 1998, we helped Julene and Laura buy a condo in Provo where they could live together. Since Laura was unable to attend Springville High School because of all the construction going on in the buildings, she finished her high school classwork at UVSC. She took the bus from Mapleton to Orem each day to attend classes and graduated a year early at the age of 17. Julene became her guardian for a few months until Laura turned 18.  

In May of 2001, Laura married Theon Laney in the Timpanogos Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They lived in his grandmother’s basement apartment in Springville, then moved to Taylorsville in Salt Lake after they both graduated in Business Management. A few years later, Laura received her MBA (Masters of Business Management) and Theon became a stock broker.  In 2016, they moved to St George, Utah where Laura works from home in business management. They live just a few minutes away from our home.  

When Dan graduated from high school in May of 2002, he moved in with his brother David. They had the opportunity to live together for several months until David and Amy were married in the Timpanogos Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in October. David received his Building Construction Degree a few years later. They bought a home and live in Pleasant Grove, Utah with their four children. David works in construction.

After David married, Dan bought a home in Orem near the mall where he lived and rented out rooms for income. In January of 2017, Dan eloped, marrying an old school friend, Wendy Tingey. They bought a home in Springville, Utah where they live with her three young children, Dan’s teenage son, Bryan, and their own little boy. He works in computer programming and management. 

Our Family - Moans and Groans

 We had all sorts of experiences raising our children. They had bumps, bruises, splinters, cuts, stitches, colds and flus, infections, burns, blisters, heatstroke, a broken toes, falls from trees and bikes, stitches, wisdom teeth pulled, chickenpox, bead in nose, fainting in a pool, got in stinging nettle, had bug bites, contacts at seven years old, trouble with depth perception, trouble with knees and bones in legs, and everyone had to have glasses and braces. Because of their allergies and chemical sensitivities, they fainted, had hives, trouble breathing, fatigue, shock, puffy lips, skin rashes, special diets, vomiting, and headaches and stomachaches. We also experienced many heartaches as our children were hurt emotionally, family members passed on, and our animals died. 

Garrett added excitement to our lives when he fell off a ladder and sprained both wrists which he didn’t notice for a couple of hours. He also nailed his fingers together with a nail gun, dropped a heavy ladder on his head, and had hernia and TURP surgeries. Besides this, he also has skin cancer which has to be removed every few months, and a few cancers have even had to be removed surgically.

I found out that I have a severely damaged jaw shortly after Laura was born. Later, I learned that I have a compressed vertebra in my neck (a birth injury), a dislocated rib, and a dysfunctional hip. I have multiple allergies and chemical sensitivities, need a special diet, have a heart murmur, a damaged finger, and have trouble with blood sugar, adrenal glands, blood pressure, and extreme fatigue. I’ve spent a great deal of the last fifty years in bed and in a wheelchair and have experienced a lot of pain. I had a cesarean delivery, cataract surgery, and was on complete cortisone support for my adrenal glands for fourteen years. 

Our children and their children have also had many experiences. Our daughter and granddaughter had to have hip surgeries, our son was attacked by a fleeing murderer, a granddaughter needed to be force fed every two hours and had to wear a helmet to shape her head, all had allergic reactions, and some lost jobs. There were three car accidents, a broken rib, nose, and toe, a damaged back and knee, dental surgery, hernia, sprained back, and a lot of trauma. 

Though at times it has been scary, painful, and heart wrenching, this is why we came here. We needed to learn about consequences, and to show that we would choose the right even when we are not immediately rewarded. We needed to develop faith in our Heavenly Father. We had to show that we are willing to trust Him and His wisdom even when we don’t get what we want when we want it. We needed to learn how to love. We needed to develop compassion through the things we suffer and by watching the suffering of those we love. We couldn’t expect a world created to train God’s to be easy, just worth it. 

Our Family - Winter

 Skiing by Garrett Merrick

In December 1990 I bought some skis and boots at the pawn shop for me and David. We began ungracefully skiing on the south Mapleton hills. Laura and Daniel brought their sleds; Julene came occasionally; and Sherry skied once with us. In February 1992 I got brave enough to drive the old yellow van up to Sundance and try skiing on a real slope. I had little skill, but I loved it! I took David with me the next season after I was sure that he could perform a snowplow stop. We also continued skiing and sledding on the south Mapleton hills. By the next season Laura was ready to accompany me to Sundance, David being on his mission. I had Daniel take the Mapleton school ski class in January 1994, so he began skiing with me and Laura that year. I switched to smaller skis (to match my ability!) on 4 January 1997 and was able to ski much better than previously; I almost looked like a real skier! We three had an awesome ski day: twenty runs, and we all did very well.

By Cheryl Merrick

As soon as it got down below freezing for a few days, Garrett put black plastic over part of the driveway with boards along the sides. He filled this area with water and it froze overnight. Laura especially loved to ice skate. Once David made a snow slide from the tower onto the ice rink. They had a great time going down it.

The kids liked to make snowmen, go sledding on the hills in south Mapleton, build snow forts, and chase each other in the snow. Garrett and the kids also shoveled snow. David worked hard and spent many hours moving snow off our walks. 

Later, Laura and Dan went skiing with their Dad at Sundance ski resort in Provo Canyon. Afterwards, they had hot coco. 

Sometimes we went bowling at BYU, to an indoor amusement park, to the children’s museum, or Temple Square in Salt Lake. Julene’s favorite thing to do was to go to see the Nutcracker ballet at BYU. 

Garrett and the kids liked to bake on cold winter days. They had fun making donuts, cookies, and gingerbread houses. Sometimes they all went down to Dad’s shop and made things out of wood. 

Of course, the main event in winter was Christmas. The other holidays such as New Years with the Rose Parade, and Valentine’s Day when shoe boxes transformed into Valentine boxes to hold cards and candy, helped to make this a fun time of year.

After the kids were on their own, I enjoyed watching the birds come to the feeder Dan gave me for Mother’s day. Garrett continued to go skiing at Sundance ski resort in Provo, Canyon. 

Our Family - 1976+ Giving Up Farming

 Howard and Stella Stevens, who had built our home and lived there for thirty years, called their land in Mapleton “The Farm”. They also owned several acres of land behind us where they had pasture for their sheep, and a large orchard. On a corner of their property they had built their home and planted many fruit and nut trees and berry bushes, grape vines, and a very large garden on the third of an acre which they sold to us. 

 

They lived next door to us in a smaller duplex which they also had built. Though they were very kind, especially to our children, and very supportive to us as we struggled to learn how to care for their old home, we quickly decided that we never would sell our home and then live next door to the new owners. Though they were in their 70’s and had experienced many trials, I think we were a major one. They worried when we didn’t water the lawn, or when we heavily pruned an overgrown bush, and I thought Sister Stevens was going to cry when she saw that I had changed her contact paper on the kitchen backsplash and by the stove.

We tried many of the things they suggested such as using a hand grinder to make plum/pineapple jam (took all day) and using a fence post they stored in their sheep shed after we scrubbed it clean, of course, to pound apples into pulp to make apple juice. It took me the rest of the day to clean all the splattered apple juice off the walls and cupboards. It never occurred to us to do this outside like they probably had done. What amazed me was that we did all this again the next day and all for a few cents worth of apple juice! 

At first we even planted most of the back yard in garden as the Steven’s had done. When our broccoli had yellow flowers all over it, we realized that we had no idea when to pick vegetables. I even remember when Garrett was still working evenings, having to put on big rubber boots and get a babysitter so I could stand out in our backyard late at night. I waited and waited for our turn at irrigation only to find out hours later that the water had run out before it got to us, the last house.  

For a short time we even followed all the instructions to spray the garden and trees every couple of weeks. Our acceptance of how things “had to be done” only lasted until an early summer day. Garrett had put poison on the strawberries as we had been instructed. I was concerned about our two young children eating the poison. Garrett assured me that they would never eat green strawberries. Remembering  eating my grandmother’s green strawberries when I was a kid, I wasn’t so sure. The next day Julene was ill from eating green, sprayed strawberries. That ended our time of using poisons in our yard or home. 

We weren’t sure what to do about bugs though. One day I looked up at our apple tree and saw these small caterpillars up in the tree. What could we do?!!  After looking at them for a few minutes I realized that not only am I smarter than a bug, I’m a whole lot larger. I reached up and picked the three leaves which had tiny caterpillars on them and stepped on them. Problem solved! That’s how we became Organic Gardeners. 

Though we tried for several years and did have some fun having “grasshopper roundups” where we “herded” the grasshoppers onto a sticky board, and the kids enjoyed earning money by picking our sweet Lambert cherries, we soon gave up farming. We quickly tired of weeding, picking raspberries, and all the cherries, peaches, apples, grapes, apricots, and plumcots.  Then there was all the canning, juice making, fruit drying, peach and apple pie making then freezing the pies, and all the vegetable freezing. Though it was satisfying to have our two freezers full and to see the rows of grape juice lining our pantry under the stairs, it was too much!  

Garrett was not only going to school full time at BYU, but he was also working full time commuting two hours each day to the post  office in Salt Lake. My health wasn’t good, and I had two children under the age of three. Yes, it didn’t take us long to realize that farming and canning definitely weren’t for us. 

Soon, most of the garden was planted in grass giving a large yard for the kids to play in with only space left just enough for small kid gardens where they grew peas, and for them to dig large pit forts. Harvesting consisted of the kids sitting there and eating their peas as they picked them. Slowly, the fruit trees grew old and were removed as the land morphed from a farm to a suburban backyard for our children. We also changed from blindly following other people’s advice, to prayerfully making our own decisions. Garrett and I finally knew that what we wanted and it was a home, not a farm. 

Our Family - 2008

 By Garrett

2008 I got in three ski trips to Sundance during the winter, which was nice after having missed last ski season because I was away so much. In January I began studying real estate in earnest in preparation for my post-retirement career. We listed the land for sale, but the economy, especially real estate, is down; so, the chances of its selling are poor. I registered our PINC Property Investment Company LLC with the state so that we can transfer the house title into it.

Our Family - Celebrating Thanksgiving

 By Cheryl Merrick

By Thanksgiving the leaves had fallen and the walnuts were gathered in, leaving only bare branches reaching into a cold sky. Inside, it was warm in the kitchen as we each worked together making our fall feast. Garrett wrestled the turkey into the roaster and stuffed it. David was our potato peeler and masher. Laura liked to make the mild pumpkin pies we liked. I pureed the sweet potato and pineapple together and got a green vegetable ready. Julene made the fruit salad, and Dan got the rolls on. We put on our best tablecloth and got out our china and stemware. Finally, we were ready!

Before we ate, Garrett said a prayer and asked each of us what we were thankful for. That was my favorite part. Token amounts of the sides were eaten, but the turkey wasn’t touched. Then they got seriously into their main course, pie! We always had several types of pie such as pumpkin, chocolate, and apple.  

By the time our kids grew up, I didn’t want to cook a turkey anymore just so it could be a traditional Thanksgiving decoration. I also soon realized that making an entire large Thanksgiving dinner by myself wasn’t very fun. So when our children and their families came for Thanksgiving, we asked them each to bring a side dish. 

We have had a few Thanksgiving dinners with our daughter’s family, but usually it is just Garrett and me.  Since I have so many food allergies that I can’t eat out, Garrett and I usually just go somewhere on Thanksgiving such as the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. We enjoy just being together and have a wonderful day remembering all we are thankful for.

Our Family - 1990 business trip to Dallas, Texas

 By Garrett

In May 1990 I was put in charge of starting up and staffing Computerized Forwarding System (CFS) operations in the Provo Post Office. This necessitated two weeks of training in Dallas TX in June. So, we rented a minivan, none of our vehicles being sufficiently sound or suitable for such an excursion, and took the whole family. The trip was challenging, but fun and memorable. We visited a nice mall and had a fun dinner with my CFS instructor at a western restaurant. August and September of 1990 were challenging at work, as I got CFS operations going

Our Family - Laura Marries Theon

 Wedding Day

by Cheryl Merrick

On a spring day

bright with new beginnings,

a mother and daughter stand

in the soft light of stained glass windows,

and speak of faith.

As buttons on the wedding gown are fastened,

an era is closed.

A woman emerges

radiant in her love

to kneel at the altar of the Lord.

In a mirrored room,

Fathers witness

words of commitment spoken,

while mothers watch through misty eyes,

as a new family is formed,

created by love,

and forged by

Priesthood power.

by Cheryl

Laura’s engagement and wedding were busy times. There were so many arrangements to make, meetings to hold, things to get, and decisions to make. Though it was fun, it was exhausting for me. Laura hardly had a spare minute to help with the preparations since she was trying to finish her classes so she could graduate three days before her wedding. Though she didn’t have the time to do things such as choose invitations, she still wanted to manage everything herself. I tried to give her all the support I could, but there was so much I couldn’t do for her.

After the wedding, the Laney family had a lovely dinner for family members at Magleby’s restaurant in Provo, then Laura and Theon left on their honeymoon. They would return a week later just a few hours before their reception at our church in Mapleton. Since my health was weak, I was depending on our other children to help us set up the reception, but when they were all unable to help, we knew we needed to ask the Laneys for assistance. Laura and Theon and many of his extended family members showed up that morning and spent the day decorating the cultural hall. That night, Laura and Theon had a lovely wedding reception.  

Our Family - Activities of kids

 Julene

Julene began dancing to music before she could even walk. She loved music. We moved to Mapleton when she was three and she was able to take community school dance classes at the old high school in Springville. She continued taking dance classes and later took dance and gave dance performances through a dance teacher in Mapleton.  She especially enjoyed modern dance.

Julene also loved art. She made anything she found (including trash) into art. We made an art room downstairs and supplied it with paint, colored pencils and pens, glue, and different types of paper. She was always creating something beautiful. 

Julene, who had always been interested in learning about Jesus, decided that she wanted to be baptized when she was eight years old. She enjoyed going to girls camp and later earned her Young Womanhood Award (at least equivalent to a scout Eagle award). 

Julene took speech classes when she was in elementary school.  She played “Ma” in a school program and loved reading the Lord of the Ring books when she was in third grade. When Julene was 15 years old, she became the manager of her High School Freshman volleyball team.

She was also in the first orchestra group that was started at Springville High. She learned to play the viola and played in several concerts. When Julene was 16, she had a job cleaning the classrooms at Mapleton Elementary school in the afternoons. 

Julene graduated from both from The Church of Jesus Christ Seminary and from Springville High School. After she graduated, she rode the bus to UVSC (Utah Valley State College) in Orem each day. She enrolled in the graphics program, was on the Institute programs committee, and worked at the campus cafeteria. When David was leaving on his mission, Julene decided that it was time for her to move into a student apartment in Provo. When Laura was ready to be on her own, we helped them get a condo in Provo. They enjoyed living together for a few years until Laura got married. Julene didn’t want to live there without Laura, or find another roommate, so she moved to another apartment, and we sold the condo.

A few years later, Julene, with help from a very kind and patient math teacher, received her Associate’s degree. She worked at the deli in Allan’s market in Provo for several years until it closed. Tiring of living with far younger students, Julene decided to live with a friend who was about her age in an apartment in Provo. 

Julene, realizing that she had a gift for healing, decided that she wanted to go back to school and graduated from Utah College of Massage Therapy in March, 2017. She now lives in an  apartment in Orem which is close to her Hansen Chiropractic in Orem Utah where she works full time as a massage therapist.

We have always felt Julene’s great strength. She knows what is right and will stand up for it. She has an incredable ability to accept people and love them. I’ve always thought of Julene as my jewel. She is a person that you can trust with your heart.  

David

David is very competitive and enjoys playing on sports teams. He played T ball (the baseball is set on a rubber pole and you hit the ball off of it), played baseball, and was on a soccer team. He also liked to lift weights, and ride his bike off jumps. 

David also liked to help his Dad with construction projects around our home. He built lego buildings, a small red scooter, a desk (which he still has), boxes, and a Nativity stable. 

In his teens, David helped a neighbor build their home and was given the man’s old Fiat sports car in return for his work. David wasn’t very happy when he learned that he was going to have to pay for his own car insurance, but a couple of years later,  he realized that this was a good thing for him to do, because it helped him take responsibility for his own life. 

David decided that he wanted to be baptized when he was eight years old. He accepted Priesthood responsibilities and put a lot of energy into serving others.

David loved Scouts. He started out as a Cub Scout and received his Eagle Scout award just before he left on his mission. He loved earning badges, camping out, and hiking. He thrived being a part of Scouts. As an adult, he became a Boy Scout leader in his ward (neighborhood).

When David was 14 years old, he took an advanced science class and got to go on a two week science trip during the summer. David also joined the newly organized Springville High School Orchestra. He decided that we wanted to learn to play the Bass (the school loaned one to him). For a time he left the orchestra, but then he returned and enjoyed the summer tours and concerts.

When David was 15, he towered over his father from his lofty height of 6 feet. Later, he grew another three inches. We were certainly surprised to have a son so tall. David’s other great accomplishment at this age was to be a self declared “expert” on the "Mario" nintendo game.

David enjoyed high school and went to the prom with his girlfriend and his friend, Ryan and his date. David received the Commended Student Award in the 1993 National Merit Scholarship Program. Also, due to his amazing photographic memory, David scored very high on the SAT college entrance exam and received a scholarship to BYU. 

After graduation from the Seminary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and from Springville High School, David spent the rest of the summer preparing to serve a mission for the Church. The beginning of September 1993, David left to serve a mission in Columbus, Ohio. When he learned where he was going, he knew it was the right place for him, because that is where his Dad’s family is from. 

The last evening before he left, we all spent together with our friends, the Deckers. David played one last basketball game with Dan and sadly moved his car behind the garage and covered it, before leaving to serve the Lord for two years. He limped into the MTC (missionary training center) in Provo with his bags and in sandals since he had broken his toe the day before. 

While on his mission, David taught many people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At first he was in a black ghetto where people ran from him thinking the big white man in a suit was a “Fed”  (from the federal government). Later, he served in the countryside where he was astounded to meet people who lived in squalor doing nothing for themselves except to receive Welfare money just as their family had for generations before them. 

After his return, David was looking for a strong woman who would stand up to him, and he found her. Her name was Amy White. They bought a “fixer upper” home where David lived until their marriage. Garrett worked with David and Amy to get their home ready to live in. They completed the project the day before their wedding. David and Amy White married on October 3, 2002 in the Timpanogos Temple in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

During the next few years, they had four children: Becca, Logan, Lexie, and Ryker. We spent time helping them with their home, celebrating holidays together, and sharing picnics and zoo trips.

David, with a lot of support from Amy, graduated from BYU with a degree in Building Construction. He worked for a construction company for a while, then he and Amy decided that they wanted to be a part of our FixIt Fellow business. Garrett loved having a business with his son, but after a year, we knew that they needed to be on their own. David continues to work in the building field.

We have always been impressed by David’s determination to accomplish a task, his perseverance, and his hard work. He has a good heart, is a good husband and father, and tries to do what is right.

Laura

Laura showed an interest in business from a young age. She loved to put things in order and count money, over and over again. She took dance with her older sister for a while, but it really wasn’t what she wanted to do. Laura also took gymnastics during the summer through the community school system. She enjoyed it, but didn’t love it. What she really loved was reading. Laura especially liked fantasy and science fiction stories. 

When Laura was eight years old, she decided to be baptized. She never wavered in doing what is right even if the other children weren’t doing the right thing. Laura liked Girls’ Camp and loved when she got to be at camp with Julene. She has always been a natural leader and served as the second Counselor in the Mia Maid Presidency. She learned to sew clothes and crochet for her project so she could receive her Young Women Recognition award. 

When Laura was in middle school, she learned to play the viola and was in the school orchestra. She also worked hard to improve her ice skating.

When Laura was in 9th grade, she was in the High School Chamber Orchestra and area Honors Orchestra. She was also an honors student. Since the construction at her high school made her ill, Laura went to UVSC (Utah Valley State College) to finish her high school work and receive her diploma. This was a blessing to Laura, enabling her to graduate a year sooner for high school and begin college a year earlier than expected. When Laura was only 17 she got her first job in management. Another blessing to Laura was that the UVSC orchestra needed more viola players and would give her a scholarship if she would play in the orchestra. 

Being such an independent person, we knew that Laura needed to get out on her own, so we helped her and Julene find a condo where they could live together while they went to college. Since Laura was born seven years after her sister, Laura and Julene had never been very close. Now they came to know and love each other.

Laura also came to love Theon Thomas Laney who was also taking business classes at UVSC. Having begun college early, Laura was able to graduate with her bachelor degree in business right before her marriage to Theon Thomas Laney on May 8, 2001. 

Laura and Theon Laney lived their first few years in Springville in Grandma Laney’s basement apartment. In 2006, they bought their first home in Kearns, Utah (a part of Salt Lake). Garrett helped Theon fix up their house by helping him put in laminate floors and paint.

In May of 2006, Theon graduated from UVSC in Business Management.

Laura worked for several computer companies and was given money to pay for more education. In 2012, Laura reached her goal to receive her MBA (masters of business administration).

Due to two car accidents, Laura and Theon had to wait for their family.  Finally, Laura’s health was good enough for them to have a baby. Diana was born in January of 2016.

In May of 2016, Garrett and I moved to Washington, Utah. After a few visits, Laura and Theon decided to move to our area to live near us. We were so happy! 

Not long after they moved to our area, Laura lost her job. They did a lot of praying and decided that they should continue with Laura earning the income while working from home and with Theon managing the home and caring for the family. After a six month wait, they found a good job for them where Laura could continue to work from home and spend more time with her husband and children. 

After a few years they had another child, Theon Merrick Laney, in March of 2019. They decided that Theon (the Dad) needed more time so he could work as a stockbroker from home, so they hired a college woman to be their nanny. We love seeing their family and spending time with our grandchildren.

We have always admired Laura’s drive to improve and learn. She has always been faithful in the Gospel and seeks inspiration to guide her life. She leads with grace and solves problems with ease. She is an amazingly competent person.  

Daniel

Daniel says, "I can do lots of things now that I'm five!" He goes to preschool three mornings a week. He is our play director and is struggling to make an acting group out of us.

Daniel loves going to preschool at Joan Foot’s house with his friends. Since his birthday is in October, he had to wait a year to start Kindergarten. By the time he was in second grade he was reading Hardy Boy chapter books and telling time to the minute. He was way beyond the other second grade children, and was trying to teach his classmates what he knew. Knowing this isn’t going to work, I went to talk to the principal, and we all agree to put Daniel up into third grade where he fits better, plus he will only be a few months younger than the other third graders, instead of being nearly a year older than the second graders. He really enjoyed moving up to third grade and had a great teacher. 

Daniel always had a deep sense of that is right and good. When he was eight years old, he chose to be baptized and used the Priesthood to serve others.

Daniel’s interests were reading, baseball, digging a fort in the backyard, archery, and playing super Nintendo. He liked the cub scout pinewood derby slot car races. He won the 4th grade read-a-thon; played left field on the baseball team; worked for Br. Calder irrigating; and was in great condition running to school and back home each day. 

One day cold December day, Daniel found a small black and white kitten in our backyard. When no one claimed her, she became Dan’s cat. He called her, Misty. She lived with us for 18 years till she finally died of old age.

Daniel learned quickly and had amazing maturity. He wasn’t like the other boys his age. He was always kind to everyone. He spent time with his family and was always willing to help anyone who needed help. He treated animals with great tenderness, and he chose the right. This is why he did not fit in the Boy Scouts, or enjoy the competitive sports teams. 

Dan liked playing basketball with his siblings and wrestling with his Dad. Dan loved the casual rules kind of the games he played with his dad. He liked having to give his dad a “handicap”, because Dan was now considerably taller than his dad. Dan also wanted to keep his feelings private. 

In high school he enjoyed writing and was very good at it.  He also took computer courses dissembling our computer which never worked again. After we got a new computer, he wanted to take it apart too. I asked him if he had a death wish!

After graduating from high school and seminary, Dan moved into David’s apartment. David was going to be married in a few months and wanted to have some time to have his brother live with him. We helped him move and gave Dan money to buy a pizza for his brother and new roommates. It was so hard to have our last child leave home, but we knew he needed to be on his own, so he could grow.

In 2012, Dan came to say goodbye to his cat, Misty, who at 18 years old was dying of old age. We had a nice visit, then he left on his black motorcycle returning to his home in Orem. He was buying it and renting out rooms to other students. 

As an adult, Dan pursued his interest in computers. He has held executive positions in several computer companies doing marketing, web development, and customer support. 

In January of 2017, Dan and Wendy Tingey eloped. Dan is now helping to raise her three children; his son, Bryan, who lives in Payson with his mother; and the son they had together. They live in a lovely, large home in Springville, Utah.

When Daniel was little, he was so loving, kind, and wise that I used to fear that he would be taken back to heaven. He just didn’t seem to fit in this world. He always knew what was good and, as he grew older, he was always there to defend anyone who needed him. It is wonderful to see him being a loving, supportive husband and father.

Our Family - Becoming Grandparents

 By Garrett

2003

Becca is born on July 1, 2003 to David and Amy. We are Grandparents!

We Help David put in a deck.

We made a Family trip to the Hoggle zoo (Becca’s first time). We flew kite and did egg hunt, parades, Folkfest together, and Thanksgiving & Christmas dinners and present opening.

While David in Denver for summer finishing his Contractor degree, help Amy with the kids.

2006

Get high chair, play pen, Three Wheeler (real grandparents now!)

Second grandchild, Logan Merrick, is born November 6, 2006 to David & Amy!

By Cheryl

When Becca was born on July 1, 2003 to our son, David, and his wife, Amy, we became grandparents. It was so fun to hold a little one again and experience the joys of parenthood once more without all the stress and exhaustion of baby and child care. We thoroughly enjoyed being grandparents and loved the time that we got to spend with their children.

A special moment was when we tended three year old Becca until we could take her to the hospital to meet her new little brother, Logan. Three years later, we spent hours at the park with Becca and Logan as we waited to at last see their new little sister, Lexie. Other special times were birthdays, sledding on our hill, school and dance programs, baking cookies, playing games, picnics, parades, playing at the park, spending Pioneer Day and Christmas together, taking Becca to a fun Halloween play, and being there when Becca was baptized. We especially enjoyed taking Becca, Logan, and Lexie to the zoo and to the children’s museum and gardens at Thanksgiving Point,

We are glad that we got to share these special events with David and Amy’s family.  Being grandparents helped us to appreciate how special it is to be a part of a family. 

Our Family - Christmas Traditions

 Merrick Family Christmas Traditions

by Cheryl Groom Merrick

When we were first married, my husband and I discussed how much we wanted Christ to be the center of our Christmas. Over the years we read the story of the nativity on Christmas Eve from the scriptures, and performed our own nativity pageant on Christmas day. We also played beautiful carols, displayed pictures of the Savior’s birth, and sang “Happy Birthday” to Jesus, complete with a birthday cake on Christmas day.

One of the most important things we did, though, was to change the emphasis from gift getting to gift giving. We knew that we remember Christ most when we act like him – when we give and love. Most adults enjoy Christmas because they spend so much of their time and energy giving to others. We didn’t want our children to miss out on this experience, so instead of encouraging greed in our children by asking, “What do you want for Christmas?”; we asked, “What are you going to give for Christmas?”

We explained that Santa was anyone who wanted to give a gift to others, but didn’t want them to know who gave the gift. We had fun as a family as our little Santa, complete with a red hat and cotton ball beard, would drop off a goodie at a friend’s home then run, sometimes in circles!

The weeks before Christmas went quickly. It was a busy time filled with secret plans and present making. My husband and I kept our decorations, food, and present buying simple (just one present each), so we could enjoy helping our children make their presents. Even the baby gave her hand print on a piece of paper.

No presents were put under our tree until just before bed on Christmas Eve, then Santa and his elf (our younger children) would bring in the unlabeled presents and place them under the tree.

On Christmas morning we take turns giving presents. The youngest child begins, then on to the oldest person in the family. Presents were opened one at a time, admired by all, and thanks given.

Keeping our Christmas preparations simple and giving small presents helps us remember our Savior at Christmastime and brings His Spirit into our home.

A Few Other Christmas Memories

By our second Christmas, I had learned that mailmen are not very jolly at Christmastime. In fact they aren’t even home much. 

When I began to bemoan all that I needed to do for our first Christmas, Garrett looked me in the eye and firmly stated, “Then we will not celebrate Christmas!” I knew he was serious, and I knew what I had to do. I needed to cut down on what I thought I “had” to do, so we could enjoy this special time of year. 

When our oldest son was little, he insisted on putting all the ornaments on one branch. When he turned away, I watched as each ornament slowly slid off the branch onto the floor.

One Christmas when David was little, I decided to make Garrett a new robe for Christmas. When David saw me working on it, I asked him not to tell his Dad because it was a surprise for Christmas. The moment Garrett walked in the door that day, David, bursting with exciting news, said, “Guess what Dad! Mom is making you a robe for Christmas!”  I learned that toddlers can’t keep secrets.

At this time, Garrett was having to work long hours, since not only was he working overtime at the Post Office, but he was also trying to finish his courses at BYU. We hardly saw Garrett at all. One day, David thought he knew how to solve the problem when he told me, “Turn on the porch light Mom so Dad will know where we live!” 

Each of our children started out as Baby Jesus in our Nativity pageant. Later, they could be Mary, Joseph, Wise Men or Wise Women, or angels. Usually, we did the pageant several times each Christmas so they could try out different parts. Garrett was always the ever patient donkey or camel which carried everyone around. I directed the play and helped act the parts. Stuffed animals helped fill in when needed. We always had a toy lamb for the shepherd to hold and a baby doll to be Jesus when we no longer had a child who was a baby. The angel had an important part. He held the star high and led the way which was long and winding to the manger where Jesus lay.  

When we had the Cambodian family living with us, a neighbor gave David her now grown son’s old train set for Christmas. David loved it! All the Cambodians were fascinated. They had never seen anything like it before.

When Laura was two, we all made a small kitchen for her. David wanted to make something just from him, so he made a doll cradle which he gave to Laura at Christmas.

Our first two children were only 13 months apart, but the next child didn’t come for seven years, then the last came four years later, so it was almost like having two families in some ways. With such large age gaps between our children, we encouraged our children to pass down their now unused toys. This is how the small blue rocker Garrett and I made for Julene for her second Christmas was shared with all her siblings and, now finally, with the grandchildren. Besides toys, the small yellow rocking chair, the rocking horse, and the small maple beds Garrett made for Julene and David were shared with Laura and Dan. Passing something down was a special event. It was something special that person had to give. I even gave my daughters my dolls which I still had from when I was a girl. 

One thing we enjoyed doing at Christmas time was making gingerbread houses. We got lots of graham crackers, frosting, and candy and let the kids design their own little house. Of course, lots was eaten along the way. 

I made felt ornaments for our Christmas tree, and the kids glued sequins on them to decorate them. I liked to tell what each ornament meant while we put them on our tree. The canes reminded us that Christ was the Good Shepherd. The star reminded us of how Christ’s birth was foretold, and of the night when he was born. The red and pink hearts remind of the love Jesus has for us. The pine tree reminds us that Jesus’ love will never end, and the snowman reminds us that Christmas is in the winter time for us.  

In 1986, we decided to get an artificial Christmas tree. Each year we had colds for the entire Christmas season, and now suddenly they were gone. We learned that several of our family were allergic to pine trees!

I loved it when our children played Santa and his Elf who brought in all the presents on Christmas eve and placed them under our Christmas tree. Since I didn’t want to overly excite the children, I didn’t label the presents. Therefore, it was a challenge on Christmas morning to remember which present went to the right person. 

For the children’s last present, we had a note for them hidden in the Christmas tree. On it was a clue which led to other clues and finally to their present. It was a fun way to end our present opening. 

When Dan was little, he loved his toy dinosaurs. One day he brought them in and put them in front of the Nativity scene to adore baby Jesus. It was such a serious and touching moment. He left them there the whole Christmas season. We felt that our children were truly learning what Christmas really meant. 

Daniel 2nd Christmas; Laura passing down blue chair and car