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.
No comments:
Post a Comment