What is the worst thing that you remember a teacher doing to a student? Slapping a girl’s fingers with a wooden ruler. The student was Downs Syndrome girl.
How did you get to and from school? Rode a school bus for one hour each night and morning. Caught the bus at 7:30 a.m. each morning. Got home at 5 p.m.
Do you have a good piece of advice for me? Love your kids. Know “as a mother that I always loved you and that you were the most important thing in my life” - my family!!! I was always happy when you were happy.
Relate a story about a mouse in the house. I can remember killing many a mouse in grain barrels out in the granary shed. Dad had wheat in barrels and also oats for easy access to put in buckets to feed the horses and chickens. Mice would fall inside an almost empty barrel and couldn’t get out.
What is the farthest you ever ran or walked? When in Jr High we rode a bus 26 miles each morning and 26 miles each evening. The bus drive lived 8 miles away and had to back track to pick up the students. One morning the bus didn’t show up and so we started walking down the road picking up kids at each house. We thought we’d meet the bus coming up the canyon to get us. We walked all eight miles to the bus driver’s home as the bus wouldn’t start. Needless to say we missed school.
Did you ever pick apples? Green ones in my Grandpa Lasson’s back yard. He lived in Fairview. He didn’t like us to pick them green. We had to be quite sneaky.
If you had a watch, tell about it. One Christmas, while in high school, Santa gave me a watch and guess what? It kept good time.
Tell about your first date with my father. I wasn’t impressed with him at all. I was dating two other fellows at the time. He wasn’t my priority. Finally, he kept making dates until all my evenings were taken and the other two withdrew.
When and where were you married? In the Salt Lake Temple. I got a speeding ticket en route to SLC.
What did you wear? White wedding gown.
Tell about any other circumstance of your wedding day. We had a reception for another couple the day of our wedding. We had our reception the following day.
Tell about where you lived when first married. 421 Blvd Logan, Utah. We lived in two rooms of an old German lady’s home. We paid $16 a month and then took care of the outside and her laundry.
What was your job at the time. I was a secretary for Agronomy Dept. Dr. Wynne Thorne was dictating a book, and I was taking it down by shorthand. Then he would reword the words, and I’d retype several times.
What qualities in my dad did you try unsuccessfully to change? His stubbornness. His lack of interest in people. His love of things and books. His love for schooling.
Tell about the most serious problem or challenge you faced during your early years of marriage. Money. Rex was in school the first seven years of our marriage.
How did you choose my name? Chose Craig as a Dr. Cragun was my pediatrician. Grandma Lasson named Cherri as she liked the name. Steven Paul was named after Grandpa Hurst.
Share a favorite Thanksgiving memory. Having all the brother and sisters’ families at Grandma Lasson’s home. Kids slept everywhere.
Tell about the Thanksgiving traditions of your youth. What foods were on your Thanksgiving table? Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, creamy turkey gravy, dressing, fruit salad, hot homemade rolls, cranberry sauce, candied sweet potatoes, and homemade pies.
What is your favorite TV show? Quiz shows.
What is your favorite color? pink.
Did you ever have a bad experience with a haircut or a permanent? Several. I had my scalp burned several times when I was given a permanent.
Do you have any knowledge of how your first name was chosen? Mom looked for something ODD!
Did you hang a Christmas stocking? Yes. We didn’t have a fireplace, so we each hung our stocking on the back of the couch or chair.
Did your family go to a special church service at Christmas? Just a special Christmas program the Sunday before Christmas.
Share any other Christmas memory. Dad had a terrific sweet tooth, so at Christmas time he purchased pounds of boxed chocolates, pound of gum drops, pounds of fruit crèmes, and pounds of shelled mixed nuts. They kept them clocked up until Christmas Eve - when we ate all we wanted. What a luxury!
Do you remember celebrating any special wedding anniversaries of your parents or grandparents?
Mother and Dad never had a wedding reception nor had Dad every given Mom a diamond. So on their fiftieth wedding anniversary, they had a huge wedding celebration and had an open house with wedding cake, flowers, and diamond as well.
Did you ever make New Year’s resolutions? A few times, but they never lasted more than a few weeks.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
More history
What was your first job?
Helping my Aunt Callie bottle eight bushels of peaches. After I was dead tired, I had to scrub and wax her floor at midnight.
Tell about any other paying jobs you held as a youth. Helping my aunts clean house. Babysat cousin a few times.
If you were ever in a parade, tell about it. I was Molly Pitcher on a parade for Homecoming parade in Logan. [Molly Pitcher was a nickname given to a woman said to have fought in the American Revolutionary War. Since various Molly Pitcher tales grew in the telling, many historians regard Molly Pitcher as folklore, rather than history, or suggest that Molly Pitcher may be a composite image inspired by the actions of a number of real women.]
Tell another memory about a parade. Many a parade I’ve watched because some or one of my kids was it in. One time Craig and a friend followed behind the horses with a wheel barrow and a scoop.
Share a childhood memory about a death that affected you. My Grandma Lasson died when I was eight to ten. She wasn’t very close to me and I didn’t know her well. Her body was put in her living room for viewing. She looked asleep.
Relate your happiest memory as a youth. I was always happy for school to start each year.
How did you learn to swim? I never learned to swim!
Where did you go swimming? One Sunday our church group went up the canyon to a park and had a testimony meeting and then a picnic afterwards. Some of us decided to walk across the large stream of water. It was fast because of spring run off. Everyone got across but me and I was dragged down stream for more than a mile. I’ve been frightened of water since.
Share a memory about going on a picnic. Went on a church picnic. After testimony meeting, some of us kids tried wading the river and I lost my footing and was swept downstream about three blocks. I couldn’t swim and I wasn’t able to catch onto a tree limb. Finally, my friend struck out a tree limb and pulled me in. I’ve never learned to swim since then.
Tell a favorite memory of your father. Dad had a very tender heart when it came to his kids. He’d come to school or church to watch us perform and tears would run down his cheeks. Maybe our talent made him cry.
Tell about some good advice your father gave you. At the time, I was dating three fellows and once all three turned up at the ranch the same time. Dad said I’d have a bad reputations if I continued to date so many.
Did your father ever make a special gift for you? He probably did, but I can’t recall what it was.
Did you have a special nature place where you went to explore? There was an old homestead two or three miles from home and we loved to ride horses or hike to drive down and explore. There was a creek where we’d catch minnows. Also a spring was there with good water cress and also a gooseberry patch we loved.
Did you ever go skinny dipping? Never. Never. Never
Did you ever make mud pies? Yes every spring down by the pollywog pond. We also operated on pollywogs, salted them, buried the, gave them funerals, and placed flowers at the grave.
Did you go barefoot in the summer? If so, relate an experience about stepping on something. I went barefoot all the time, and I lived on a ranch. Enough said as to what I stepped on.
Describe a few of the favorite hair styles of your youth. I had a hairdo that I just loved, but it took a lot of work to set and comb out. It was pin curls set all over your head. Brushed out and curls pulled back to the extreme back.
Tell about a bike you had. I never had a bike, but my older brother had one and I learned to ride when I was thirteen. We rode on a state highway with gravel on the sides. Many a time I wrecked and ground into the gravel.
As a youth, did you ever learn any sewing, stitching, or needlework?
I did some basic sewing and learned the fundamentals. The hardest article I made was a apron with bias tape stitched around all the edges. Many a stitch was missed.
Did you ever have or make a swing? I used to have an old swing that my dad made and hung from a high pole that stuck out of an old tool shop. It was a big swing but I loved it. I lived there until I was six.
Tell about seeing something you thought was very beautiful. When I was younger than six, during the summer we’d go to a cliff (large) that was full of birds’ nests. We’d go and peek at their new eggs. I think we even collected some of them and broke them.
What kind of fireworks did people have when you were a youth? We had firecrackers and sparklers. We also had guns (pot metal) that shot snaps that made a noise.
Tel about Independence Day traditions of your childhood. Usually Dad worked in the morning and took the family to town to see a movie and have hamburgers afterwards.
Did you ever go to carnivals or amusement parks? Where? Went to carnivals at County and/or state fairs. I liked them until seventeen years old, when I went on a date to a carnival in Provo. I got sick to my stomach and vomited all over. What a sour impression I made!
What kinds of rides and games were there? How much did they cost?
Merry-go-round 10 cents.
Ferris Wheel 25 cents
Train rides ten cens
bump cars
Tell about any State Fair of County Fair experiences. One year, my best friend’s mother made us each a dress in red/white/blue stripes with a full circular skirt. It was form fitting and we thought we were the “cat’s meow”. [In researching the origins of the phrase "It's the cat's meow", it seems that the Roaring '20's ushered in several new phrases related to cats that are still in use today. The "cat's meow" describes ideas that were truly "too cool for words"! The phrase "the cat's pajamas" means the same thing, only no one seems to know why. Another cat expression is "cool cat", who is someone who keeps up with all the fads and trends. So, I assume that a cool cat can say something that's really the cat's meow!
Tell any favorite summertime memory. Picnics with friends. Picnics with family. Boating on Yellowstone. Boating at Lake Powell.
Did you remember having a favorite candy? Salt Water Taffy. Mother made it.
Do you remember having a favorite snack that you made at home? Raisin-filled cookies. Cherry Pie.
What kinds of party games or party activities were popular? Spin the bottle (very popular), Post office. Charades. Card Games
What did you to do in the summer? Strip down to shorts. Wade in the creek. Play in the pond and kill pollywogs and then have funerals for them.
What was your favorite holiday of the year? Christmas. Family all got together. Presents. Good food and sweets.
Share a birthday part memory. Had a surprise 16th party. I had washed my hair after school and put my hair up in pin-curls all over my head. All my friends said they couldn’t sleep over, so I decided to wash my hair. When someone knocked on the door, I thought I would die. I hurried and took out the bobby pins and celebrated!
Tell about the neatest shoes you ever owned as a youth. White and brown saddle oxfords.
What memories do you have of lightning or thunder during your childhood? I was frightened of the lightning and held my ears waiting for the thunder.
Share a special memory about riding in a boat. I was 19 and Rex took me on Utah Lake in his Dad’s old, old fishing boat. We went clear to the other side to an island. As we started to come back, the engine conked out and I was hanging onto the side of the boat. the two fellows were trying to swim and paddle with one paddle. I was frightened of water. When it got dark, Rex’s Dad came looking.
Tell about a family vacation trip. We went to Southern Utah parks and camped out in tents.
Tell about board games and card games you played as a youth. Old Maid. Hearts.
Did your mom or dad have a favorite remedy for what ailed you? Mustard plasters on the chest for a cough. Honey candy for a sore throat.
What was your best talent? Dancing. Speaking. Poetry.
Tell about being stung by a bee or wasp. I stopped on a bee while walking outside on the lawn. It stung me and my foot swelled up.
Did you have any favorite family songs that you sang together? We lived up Spanish Fork canyon and drove a great deal. We sang while driving.
One more bottle of beer.
[99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer.
Take one down and pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall.
98 bottles of beer on the wall, 98 bottles of beer.
Take one down and pass it around, 97 bottles of beer on the wall. …]
Bury the brown girl in my arms and the fair one at my feet.
Home on the Range.
Tell about your bedroom. As I grew up, I never had a bedroom by myself, nor have I since my maturity. I slept with two sisters in one double bed and a brother on a cot in the same room for several years.
Share your childhood experiences with roller skates. Never learned to skate as a child.
Did you ever experience home sickness? No!
Did you never make a purchase that you later regretted? We purchased a Ford Pinto and it was a lemon. You could feel every bump in the road through the floor of the car.
Describe how you used the phone to call a friend. Never had a phone when I was living at home.
Tell about an incident when you were very angry with you mom or dad? One time Electa and I were playing and Electa (who is usually innocent and sweet) was the wrong doer, but my mom gave me the spanking. Unfair!
Share a memory involving an outhouse. We had an outdoor toilet for all the time I was at home. It was many years later that the folds got an indoor bathroom. We used old Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs for toilet paper. Not very efficient. Learned to drive a car by coasting down to the toilet and t hen backed the car back.
Tell us about your worst report card. I always had good report cards. I guess I had the teacher’s fooled. I did get a C in the “Bible as Literature”.
Helping my Aunt Callie bottle eight bushels of peaches. After I was dead tired, I had to scrub and wax her floor at midnight.
Tell about any other paying jobs you held as a youth. Helping my aunts clean house. Babysat cousin a few times.
If you were ever in a parade, tell about it. I was Molly Pitcher on a parade for Homecoming parade in Logan. [Molly Pitcher was a nickname given to a woman said to have fought in the American Revolutionary War. Since various Molly Pitcher tales grew in the telling, many historians regard Molly Pitcher as folklore, rather than history, or suggest that Molly Pitcher may be a composite image inspired by the actions of a number of real women.]
Tell another memory about a parade. Many a parade I’ve watched because some or one of my kids was it in. One time Craig and a friend followed behind the horses with a wheel barrow and a scoop.
Share a childhood memory about a death that affected you. My Grandma Lasson died when I was eight to ten. She wasn’t very close to me and I didn’t know her well. Her body was put in her living room for viewing. She looked asleep.
Relate your happiest memory as a youth. I was always happy for school to start each year.
How did you learn to swim? I never learned to swim!
Where did you go swimming? One Sunday our church group went up the canyon to a park and had a testimony meeting and then a picnic afterwards. Some of us decided to walk across the large stream of water. It was fast because of spring run off. Everyone got across but me and I was dragged down stream for more than a mile. I’ve been frightened of water since.
Share a memory about going on a picnic. Went on a church picnic. After testimony meeting, some of us kids tried wading the river and I lost my footing and was swept downstream about three blocks. I couldn’t swim and I wasn’t able to catch onto a tree limb. Finally, my friend struck out a tree limb and pulled me in. I’ve never learned to swim since then.
Tell a favorite memory of your father. Dad had a very tender heart when it came to his kids. He’d come to school or church to watch us perform and tears would run down his cheeks. Maybe our talent made him cry.
Tell about some good advice your father gave you. At the time, I was dating three fellows and once all three turned up at the ranch the same time. Dad said I’d have a bad reputations if I continued to date so many.
Did your father ever make a special gift for you? He probably did, but I can’t recall what it was.
Did you have a special nature place where you went to explore? There was an old homestead two or three miles from home and we loved to ride horses or hike to drive down and explore. There was a creek where we’d catch minnows. Also a spring was there with good water cress and also a gooseberry patch we loved.
Did you ever go skinny dipping? Never. Never. Never
Did you ever make mud pies? Yes every spring down by the pollywog pond. We also operated on pollywogs, salted them, buried the, gave them funerals, and placed flowers at the grave.
Did you go barefoot in the summer? If so, relate an experience about stepping on something. I went barefoot all the time, and I lived on a ranch. Enough said as to what I stepped on.
Describe a few of the favorite hair styles of your youth. I had a hairdo that I just loved, but it took a lot of work to set and comb out. It was pin curls set all over your head. Brushed out and curls pulled back to the extreme back.
Tell about a bike you had. I never had a bike, but my older brother had one and I learned to ride when I was thirteen. We rode on a state highway with gravel on the sides. Many a time I wrecked and ground into the gravel.
As a youth, did you ever learn any sewing, stitching, or needlework?
I did some basic sewing and learned the fundamentals. The hardest article I made was a apron with bias tape stitched around all the edges. Many a stitch was missed.
Did you ever have or make a swing? I used to have an old swing that my dad made and hung from a high pole that stuck out of an old tool shop. It was a big swing but I loved it. I lived there until I was six.
Tell about seeing something you thought was very beautiful. When I was younger than six, during the summer we’d go to a cliff (large) that was full of birds’ nests. We’d go and peek at their new eggs. I think we even collected some of them and broke them.
What kind of fireworks did people have when you were a youth? We had firecrackers and sparklers. We also had guns (pot metal) that shot snaps that made a noise.
Tel about Independence Day traditions of your childhood. Usually Dad worked in the morning and took the family to town to see a movie and have hamburgers afterwards.
Did you ever go to carnivals or amusement parks? Where? Went to carnivals at County and/or state fairs. I liked them until seventeen years old, when I went on a date to a carnival in Provo. I got sick to my stomach and vomited all over. What a sour impression I made!
What kinds of rides and games were there? How much did they cost?
Merry-go-round 10 cents.
Ferris Wheel 25 cents
Train rides ten cens
bump cars
Tell about any State Fair of County Fair experiences. One year, my best friend’s mother made us each a dress in red/white/blue stripes with a full circular skirt. It was form fitting and we thought we were the “cat’s meow”. [In researching the origins of the phrase "It's the cat's meow", it seems that the Roaring '20's ushered in several new phrases related to cats that are still in use today. The "cat's meow" describes ideas that were truly "too cool for words"! The phrase "the cat's pajamas" means the same thing, only no one seems to know why. Another cat expression is "cool cat", who is someone who keeps up with all the fads and trends. So, I assume that a cool cat can say something that's really the cat's meow!
Tell any favorite summertime memory. Picnics with friends. Picnics with family. Boating on Yellowstone. Boating at Lake Powell.
Did you remember having a favorite candy? Salt Water Taffy. Mother made it.
Do you remember having a favorite snack that you made at home? Raisin-filled cookies. Cherry Pie.
What kinds of party games or party activities were popular? Spin the bottle (very popular), Post office. Charades. Card Games
What did you to do in the summer? Strip down to shorts. Wade in the creek. Play in the pond and kill pollywogs and then have funerals for them.
What was your favorite holiday of the year? Christmas. Family all got together. Presents. Good food and sweets.
Share a birthday part memory. Had a surprise 16th party. I had washed my hair after school and put my hair up in pin-curls all over my head. All my friends said they couldn’t sleep over, so I decided to wash my hair. When someone knocked on the door, I thought I would die. I hurried and took out the bobby pins and celebrated!
Tell about the neatest shoes you ever owned as a youth. White and brown saddle oxfords.
What memories do you have of lightning or thunder during your childhood? I was frightened of the lightning and held my ears waiting for the thunder.
Share a special memory about riding in a boat. I was 19 and Rex took me on Utah Lake in his Dad’s old, old fishing boat. We went clear to the other side to an island. As we started to come back, the engine conked out and I was hanging onto the side of the boat. the two fellows were trying to swim and paddle with one paddle. I was frightened of water. When it got dark, Rex’s Dad came looking.
Tell about a family vacation trip. We went to Southern Utah parks and camped out in tents.
Tell about board games and card games you played as a youth. Old Maid. Hearts.
Did your mom or dad have a favorite remedy for what ailed you? Mustard plasters on the chest for a cough. Honey candy for a sore throat.
What was your best talent? Dancing. Speaking. Poetry.
Tell about being stung by a bee or wasp. I stopped on a bee while walking outside on the lawn. It stung me and my foot swelled up.
Did you have any favorite family songs that you sang together? We lived up Spanish Fork canyon and drove a great deal. We sang while driving.
One more bottle of beer.
[99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer.
Take one down and pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall.
98 bottles of beer on the wall, 98 bottles of beer.
Take one down and pass it around, 97 bottles of beer on the wall. …]
Bury the brown girl in my arms and the fair one at my feet.
Home on the Range.
Tell about your bedroom. As I grew up, I never had a bedroom by myself, nor have I since my maturity. I slept with two sisters in one double bed and a brother on a cot in the same room for several years.
Share your childhood experiences with roller skates. Never learned to skate as a child.
Did you ever experience home sickness? No!
Did you never make a purchase that you later regretted? We purchased a Ford Pinto and it was a lemon. You could feel every bump in the road through the floor of the car.
Describe how you used the phone to call a friend. Never had a phone when I was living at home.
Tell about an incident when you were very angry with you mom or dad? One time Electa and I were playing and Electa (who is usually innocent and sweet) was the wrong doer, but my mom gave me the spanking. Unfair!
Share a memory involving an outhouse. We had an outdoor toilet for all the time I was at home. It was many years later that the folds got an indoor bathroom. We used old Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs for toilet paper. Not very efficient. Learned to drive a car by coasting down to the toilet and t hen backed the car back.
Tell us about your worst report card. I always had good report cards. I guess I had the teacher’s fooled. I did get a C in the “Bible as Literature”.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
More history...
Did you ever feel a hatred for another person? Angry, but never hatred.
Have you ever hunted or tried to capture a wild animal? We captured some baby rabbits in the middle of the night. We were camping out with another family, and we were running after baby rabbits in our garments. What a sight!
Make up a limerick about me
If I could make the draw
I'd choose you for my third daughter-in-law.
I love you!
Relate a favorite spring memory
Watching for the early spring flowers. We picked dandelions, purple violets, red sagebrush, blue bells, and others.
Share a memory of going to church as you were growing up.
Our church group met in the school house on Sundays. We held our Sunday School classes in each corner of the building. Needless to say our church membership was under 100.
Share a memory about a church social activity. We used to have church dances and the whole family attended - even babies. They'd get the babies asleep and put them on a blanket in the back of the hall.
Tell about Easter traditions. We'd all cook and color our eggs and each of us could choose our own colors and decorations. The next day we'd search the house for eggs and candy.
Did you ever have a recurring dream as a child? Many times I'd dream I was in the bathroom and doing my thing - This dream led to many a mishap.
When you played make-believe, what did you pretend? I played as if I were an actress and dancer. I also gave orations from a pretend dias.
Did you ever write something that you were really proud of? Poem. I was ten years old and my brother Ward helped me. It was so good the teachers kept it.
What is the biggest physical problem you had to deal with?
Obesity
Poun Guesion (?)
Did you have any superstitions
Going under a ladder. Having a black cat cross in front of me. Friday, the 13th.
Tell about the first time you were ever behind the wheel of a car.
When I was about 14, I'd drive the car down to the outside toilet and then back it up, as you couldn't turn it around.
Did you ever take anything that wasn't yours? Some pins (ornamental) off of the dresses on the sales rack in J.C. Penney.
What did you do with it? Did you ever get caught? I wore them. I never got caught.
What childhood fear do you remember? Darkness. Being alone.
Did your mother ever make a special gift for you? Mother knew I loved her cherry pies She always baked cherry pie as something special for me. She had bottled the cherries the summer before - She made excellent pies.
What kind of dances did you do as a youth? Waltz, Foxtrot, Jitterbug, Cha cha
How many students were in your high school? In your graduating class? There were around 300 in my High School and when I graduated in 1943, there were 100 graduates. I loved high school and didn't want it to end. "I cried".
Did you have homework? I had very little in elementary but in high school I had a lot of shorthand as homework.
Tell us about Memorial Day traditions during your youth. We usually went to Payson and purchased fresh flowers for the many graves on my mother's family. We usually ate dinner with one of Mother's cousins.
Did you play a musical instrument? Only a horn that we all have that goes toot-toot.
Did you ever sleep under the stars? On my 16th birthday, three girls and four boys gave me a surprise party. This was in January and the boys slept outside on the haystacks. The girls wanted to go sleep in the haystacks too, but Mother wouldn't let us. We just couldn't understand why we couldn't join the boys. How dumb was I?
Did you ever go on a snipe hunt? Yes. When on a date and with a large group, several of us were invited to go on a snipe hunt and we searched for several minutes before the fellows burst out laughing and told us there were no snipes. We didn't find it so funny.
Share a horse-riding story. Once rode a horse around the yard. Mom had clothes line strung on one side of the yard. It was one long line with wooden supports. The horse got frightened and started to run across the yard. He ran under the line and it knocked me off. I wasn't hurt, but scared.
I told you there would be something good
Steve has been giving me grief about all the stuff I kept from Mom's house. Finding this "Mom share your life with me" booklet that someone gave mom just shows I was right! (I love to say I told you so.)
It is all written in Mom's own handwriting, so it is unique.
Anyway, here goes
Tell about being in a school play or program.
Can recall trying out for a cheerleader. It was by popular vote. So Zola and Glen Bowen and I purchased sweaters alike, made up a new cheer, and practiced in a service station garage and tried out. We won!
After we won, the principal congratulated us, but said to use the old cheers and to not make up new yells. Was he trying to tell us something?
Did you ever pretend to be sick as an excuse to stay home from school?
I can't recall pretending illness - 'cause I loved school and hated Saturdays when we cleaned the house throughout.
Tell about how you spend your Saturdays during the school year.
Moping and waxing floors which were big. We had to dust everywhere and vacuum where carpets were on the floor.
Tell about how you spend your Sundays.
We got up and dressed in our Sunday best and went to church - 3 hours and we drove home and had a super-duper dinner with mashed potatoes, hot rolls, and cherry pie. Good memories.
When on car trips, did you play car games?
We played a game concerning car license plates. Also one finding the letters of the alphabet on sign boards. Dad sang songs to us. They told a story - very dramatic.
What was your favorite radio program? Loretta Young TV program. Inner Sanctum radio.
What was your favorite movie as a youth? Gone with the Wind.
Did the kids ever tease you? About what?
Yes, when I was very young. They used to call me "4 eyes" as I wore glasses from 9 years old on.
Tell of a difficult school essay or term paper assignment: I had to write a long poem about our country. As hard as I tried, I could only do three verses. Ward and Edith helped me and we had a two page poem. The teacher was impressed, but she kept the paper and I never saw it again.
Tell us about your first smoke. Zola and myself went upstairs to her bedroom when her folks were away. Her father smoked, and we went through his farm jacket pockets and found cigarette butts and closed all the doors and windows and started puffing and choking, then clearing out the smell.
If you went to college, tell which college you chose and why. I chose BYU but only stayed one semester as it was wartime and I didn't like an all girls' school. I quit and Zola and I went to San Jose, CA and worked at Moffett Air Field.
Tell your major and how you chose it. Secretarial science as I had been a good student in shorthand and typing and thought they'd be fun and easy to teach.
If you ever hitch-hiked explain. Yes, Rex and I had our car in the garage for repairs and so we got a ride most of the way to my home, but we hitch hiked (the last) thirteen miles. I was pregnant with Craig at the time.
Which do you remember as your favorite time of year? Why? Fall, Winter, Spring. Because I was in school and I loved school and I loved being in school with all the kids. Home on the ranch was rather lonely.
Describe some household chores you had as a child. Dusting, dishes, scrubbing and waxing floors.
Describe some outside chores. Carrying wood for the cook stove. Hauling in water from the well.
Which bones have you broken and how?
I've broken some ribs. I've broken my foot. I broke my achilles tendon twice and left me with one leg shorter than the other.
Did you ever need stitches? Yes. I had staff infection in my breast after Gary was born. They had to cut, drain, and stitch. Stitches on leg for achilles problem. Stitches after each baby delivery. Stitches after lung surgery.
Do you have any other good stories about being injured? I have a scar above my knee from riding a bike and brushing past a gunny sack full of empty cans and bottles and a jagged piece of glass cut my leg.
Tell about an experience at the doctor's or dentist's. Took Craig (3) to a dentist to have his teeth looked at. I hadn't prepared him for the visit and the stubborn son-of-a-gun wouldn't open his mouth. The Dr didn't want to force it open.
Name your best school chums: Zola Gull, Toni Wilde, Bernice Ostler, Ila McAllister
What were some crazy names or nicknames at your school? Red, Grafy
Tell about a practical joke or prank someone played on you?
My brother told me to look at the freight train out on railroad tracks and I did and he said, "I'm going to tell Mom that I saw you pee on a boxcar. I said I didn't and "sob sob". U.P. = Union Pacific.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? An airline attendant.
It is all written in Mom's own handwriting, so it is unique.
Anyway, here goes
Tell about being in a school play or program.
Can recall trying out for a cheerleader. It was by popular vote. So Zola and Glen Bowen and I purchased sweaters alike, made up a new cheer, and practiced in a service station garage and tried out. We won!
After we won, the principal congratulated us, but said to use the old cheers and to not make up new yells. Was he trying to tell us something?
Did you ever pretend to be sick as an excuse to stay home from school?
I can't recall pretending illness - 'cause I loved school and hated Saturdays when we cleaned the house throughout.
Tell about how you spend your Saturdays during the school year.
Moping and waxing floors which were big. We had to dust everywhere and vacuum where carpets were on the floor.
Tell about how you spend your Sundays.
We got up and dressed in our Sunday best and went to church - 3 hours and we drove home and had a super-duper dinner with mashed potatoes, hot rolls, and cherry pie. Good memories.
When on car trips, did you play car games?
We played a game concerning car license plates. Also one finding the letters of the alphabet on sign boards. Dad sang songs to us. They told a story - very dramatic.
What was your favorite radio program? Loretta Young TV program. Inner Sanctum radio.
What was your favorite movie as a youth? Gone with the Wind.
Did the kids ever tease you? About what?
Yes, when I was very young. They used to call me "4 eyes" as I wore glasses from 9 years old on.
Tell of a difficult school essay or term paper assignment: I had to write a long poem about our country. As hard as I tried, I could only do three verses. Ward and Edith helped me and we had a two page poem. The teacher was impressed, but she kept the paper and I never saw it again.
Tell us about your first smoke. Zola and myself went upstairs to her bedroom when her folks were away. Her father smoked, and we went through his farm jacket pockets and found cigarette butts and closed all the doors and windows and started puffing and choking, then clearing out the smell.
If you went to college, tell which college you chose and why. I chose BYU but only stayed one semester as it was wartime and I didn't like an all girls' school. I quit and Zola and I went to San Jose, CA and worked at Moffett Air Field.
Tell your major and how you chose it. Secretarial science as I had been a good student in shorthand and typing and thought they'd be fun and easy to teach.
If you ever hitch-hiked explain. Yes, Rex and I had our car in the garage for repairs and so we got a ride most of the way to my home, but we hitch hiked (the last) thirteen miles. I was pregnant with Craig at the time.
Which do you remember as your favorite time of year? Why? Fall, Winter, Spring. Because I was in school and I loved school and I loved being in school with all the kids. Home on the ranch was rather lonely.
Describe some household chores you had as a child. Dusting, dishes, scrubbing and waxing floors.
Describe some outside chores. Carrying wood for the cook stove. Hauling in water from the well.
Which bones have you broken and how?
I've broken some ribs. I've broken my foot. I broke my achilles tendon twice and left me with one leg shorter than the other.
Did you ever need stitches? Yes. I had staff infection in my breast after Gary was born. They had to cut, drain, and stitch. Stitches on leg for achilles problem. Stitches after each baby delivery. Stitches after lung surgery.
Do you have any other good stories about being injured? I have a scar above my knee from riding a bike and brushing past a gunny sack full of empty cans and bottles and a jagged piece of glass cut my leg.
Tell about an experience at the doctor's or dentist's. Took Craig (3) to a dentist to have his teeth looked at. I hadn't prepared him for the visit and the stubborn son-of-a-gun wouldn't open his mouth. The Dr didn't want to force it open.
Name your best school chums: Zola Gull, Toni Wilde, Bernice Ostler, Ila McAllister
What were some crazy names or nicknames at your school? Red, Grafy
Tell about a practical joke or prank someone played on you?
My brother told me to look at the freight train out on railroad tracks and I did and he said, "I'm going to tell Mom that I saw you pee on a boxcar. I said I didn't and "sob sob". U.P. = Union Pacific.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? An airline attendant.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
More history (New material, hand written)
Tell about the naughtiest thing you ever did. If you got caught, describe the consequences.
One day in elementary school, all the 5th and 6th graders decided to sluff school and go mountain climbing. I stayed home that day because I didn't want to get caught. Well, the next day, those that had sluffed had a huge math test for makeup. When she turned her back, I stuck out my tongue out at her. She caught me and I had to do the test also.
One day in elementary school, all the 5th and 6th graders decided to sluff school and go mountain climbing. I stayed home that day because I didn't want to get caught. Well, the next day, those that had sluffed had a huge math test for makeup. When she turned her back, I stuck out my tongue out at her. She caught me and I had to do the test also.
What did you use to go sledding down a hill in the snow: Sleigh. Sometimes half a wooden barrel.
What was your favorite meal as a child?
Southern fried chicken mashed potatoes chicken gravy hot rolls glazed carrots pie
Tell about the Valentines Day festivities in your school. I was Queen of a Valentines Dance while I was in high school. The student body voted for me, but I only knew I had won the day before the ball. Mom had to go to the department store and trade eggs for my special dress. She didn't have any money.
Describe a place you liked to go to be alone: When I was a teenager, I loved to climb the small hills to the North of our house and rest and sing all the songs I knew. I had to take to the hills as I couldn't carry a tune.
What is the biggest problem you remember having in Sr. High School? Being voted into school offices or committees and not having enough organizational skills to follow through from planning to the end of the occasion. It's good I had some great friends to head my committees and help pull me through. I loved senior high school.
Tell about the best pet you ever had. Best pet was a black dog. Steven and I drove to Mink Creek, Idaho and purchased her for $100. She was a Lapso Apso puppy and Dad was most upset when we brought her home.
We always had dogs and cats on the ranch all my growing up years.
My brother, Ward, had his own riding mare, but my sisters and I claimed she was part ours.
Another history
I found this partial history that I had mom type. I remember giving her the question list, but she did the typing because the digit 1 is always a lower case L (as that is how she was taught to type it). They looked the same and L's were easier to type. There is much duplication with the other history, but I'm in the discovery mode. There were TONS and TONS of questions I deleted. I remember mom saying there were just too many for her to answer.
Personal History Questions
INTRODUCTION
What is your full name and why were you named it? (Maiden name for female
O’Leah Lasson Hurst. I was named this odd name because my mother liked it.
Were you named after someone else?
No
Did you have a nickname as you were growing up?
No, but I changed or shortened it to Lee when I entered college in l946.
Have you had any other nicknames as an adult?
Not to my face.
What do your family members call you now?
Mother or Mom, Grandma, or hey you.
When and where were you born?
January 20, l926 at Indianola, Utah which is in Sanpete County.
When were you baptized, and what was your religion?
I am not sure when I was baptized, but I do know it was in the winter or early spring in the river near the Church in Birdseye. I thought I would freeze to death as I shivered and shook for an hour.
What was the religion of your parents and your grandparents?
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Were you born in a hospital or at home?
I was born in a private home and delivered by a midwife.
What were the circumstances you have heard about your birth?
I was a chubby, fat little female. Mother already had one son and daughter, so I wasn’t new.
CHILDHOOD HOME INSIDE DESCRIPTION
What were your earliest memories of your home?
My earliest memories were when I was around four years of age. We lived in a three-room old house on the Lasson farm. We all slept in one bedroom…that is Mother and Dad, Ward, Edythe, myself, and Electa. We had a cellar outdoors where we kept or dairy foods cold and stored the potatoes and carrots for the winter. We also had an outdoors bathroom, a three-holer a short distance from the front door. We had only one entrance to the house… definitely a fire hazard.
Do you have in your home today any furniture that came from your childhood home?
No. I have a bowl that was my Grandma Spencers.
Did you have a telephone? Describe. Were you on a party line?
No, we did not have a telephone until I graduated from high school.
CHILDHOOD HOME—OUTDOOR SURROUNDINGS
Did you have a yard?
Yes. The whole ranch and it had a little stream flowing at the bottom of the hill, and we used to pretend we were fishing. We did catch many minnows with our hands.
Was there a lawn, trees, swings, flowers, vegetable garden, orchard?
No, there was no lawn. We had one big tree out by the sheds and Dad had put up a rope swing.
How much property did you have? What other buildings were on the property?
I have no idea. We had a huge barn, sheds, chicken coops, etc.
Did you have farm animals? Describe
We had cattle, milk cows, pigs, chickens, sheep and dogs and cats.
Where did you shop? Describe the stores. We shopped once a month at a Coop.
How big was the town you lived in? Did you travel to a bigger town to shop?
We didn’t live in a town. We traveled to Fairview, Utah, to shop.
PARENTS
Full names, birthdates and place of birth, death dates and causes of death and place where they ar
Neils Oscar Lasson…born in Fairview, Utah on June 26, l897. He was living alone and the stove he was using burned fine coal…it backed up on him and smoked up the entire house. No fire appeared so his son didn’t find him until the next morning. He died of smoke inhaluation.
Ursula Spencer Lasson…born in Birdseye, Utah on November l2, l897. She died in the hospital in Payson, Utah from an brain anuerism. She was 69 years old. Steven was just a baby in arms. Mother got to see him before she passed away.
Describe mother and father physically, short or tall, thin or heavy, color of hair and eyes.
Did they have any unusual features in their appearance?
Mother was less than five foot tall and was on the heavy side. Dad was around six foot tall and was quite slender. He was bald headed as long as I can remember.
What kind of temperament did they have, easy going or tense, quick to anger, full of humor etc.
Both were very even tempered. Mother was much more outgoing and loved people. She liked to go places and visit relatives. She had a keen sense of humor and was fun to be around.
What was your father’s role in the home as you grew up? He was head of the house, but Mother had a great influence on his decision making.
How did he earn his living?
He was a farmer and cattle rancher.
Did he actively participate in family life or was he passive? He was passive.
What was your mother’s role in the
home?
Homemaker and mother. Later in life, she drove a small school bus for the kindergarten children who lived in the canyon.
Did she work outside the
home? Yes, and she for a few years worked in the school lunch program at an Elementary School.
Are there stories or advice that your parents told you repeatedly? If so, what?
* Dad stressed honesty at all times. His word was binding and he was a fair-dealing man. He said to do nothing that would discredit the Lasson name. He was very proud of his heritage.
Personal History Questions
INTRODUCTION
What is your full name and why were you named it? (Maiden name for female
O’Leah Lasson Hurst. I was named this odd name because my mother liked it.
Were you named after someone else?
No
Did you have a nickname as you were growing up?
No, but I changed or shortened it to Lee when I entered college in l946.
Have you had any other nicknames as an adult?
Not to my face.
What do your family members call you now?
Mother or Mom, Grandma, or hey you.
When and where were you born?
January 20, l926 at Indianola, Utah which is in Sanpete County.
When were you baptized, and what was your religion?
I am not sure when I was baptized, but I do know it was in the winter or early spring in the river near the Church in Birdseye. I thought I would freeze to death as I shivered and shook for an hour.
What was the religion of your parents and your grandparents?
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Were you born in a hospital or at home?
I was born in a private home and delivered by a midwife.
What were the circumstances you have heard about your birth?
I was a chubby, fat little female. Mother already had one son and daughter, so I wasn’t new.
CHILDHOOD HOME INSIDE DESCRIPTION
What were your earliest memories of your home?
My earliest memories were when I was around four years of age. We lived in a three-room old house on the Lasson farm. We all slept in one bedroom…that is Mother and Dad, Ward, Edythe, myself, and Electa. We had a cellar outdoors where we kept or dairy foods cold and stored the potatoes and carrots for the winter. We also had an outdoors bathroom, a three-holer a short distance from the front door. We had only one entrance to the house… definitely a fire hazard.
Do you have in your home today any furniture that came from your childhood home?
No. I have a bowl that was my Grandma Spencers.
Did you have a telephone? Describe. Were you on a party line?
No, we did not have a telephone until I graduated from high school.
CHILDHOOD HOME—OUTDOOR SURROUNDINGS
Did you have a yard?
Yes. The whole ranch and it had a little stream flowing at the bottom of the hill, and we used to pretend we were fishing. We did catch many minnows with our hands.
Was there a lawn, trees, swings, flowers, vegetable garden, orchard?
No, there was no lawn. We had one big tree out by the sheds and Dad had put up a rope swing.
How much property did you have? What other buildings were on the property?
I have no idea. We had a huge barn, sheds, chicken coops, etc.
Did you have farm animals? Describe
We had cattle, milk cows, pigs, chickens, sheep and dogs and cats.
Where did you shop? Describe the stores. We shopped once a month at a Coop.
How big was the town you lived in? Did you travel to a bigger town to shop?
We didn’t live in a town. We traveled to Fairview, Utah, to shop.
PARENTS
Full names, birthdates and place of birth, death dates and causes of death and place where they ar
Neils Oscar Lasson…born in Fairview, Utah on June 26, l897. He was living alone and the stove he was using burned fine coal…it backed up on him and smoked up the entire house. No fire appeared so his son didn’t find him until the next morning. He died of smoke inhaluation.
Ursula Spencer Lasson…born in Birdseye, Utah on November l2, l897. She died in the hospital in Payson, Utah from an brain anuerism. She was 69 years old. Steven was just a baby in arms. Mother got to see him before she passed away.
Describe mother and father physically, short or tall, thin or heavy, color of hair and eyes.
Did they have any unusual features in their appearance?
Mother was less than five foot tall and was on the heavy side. Dad was around six foot tall and was quite slender. He was bald headed as long as I can remember.
What kind of temperament did they have, easy going or tense, quick to anger, full of humor etc.
Both were very even tempered. Mother was much more outgoing and loved people. She liked to go places and visit relatives. She had a keen sense of humor and was fun to be around.
What was your father’s role in the home as you grew up? He was head of the house, but Mother had a great influence on his decision making.
How did he earn his living?
He was a farmer and cattle rancher.
Did he actively participate in family life or was he passive? He was passive.
What was your mother’s role in the
home?
Homemaker and mother. Later in life, she drove a small school bus for the kindergarten children who lived in the canyon.
Did she work outside the
home? Yes, and she for a few years worked in the school lunch program at an Elementary School.
Are there stories or advice that your parents told you repeatedly? If so, what?
* Dad stressed honesty at all times. His word was binding and he was a fair-dealing man. He said to do nothing that would discredit the Lasson name. He was very proud of his heritage.
BROTHERS AND SISTERS
What did your family do for fun when you were a child?
We went to movies, visiting relatives, going to see my father’s parents, picnics, etc.
Was there a chore you really hated doing as a child?
I hated it when we had to feed the harvesting crew, and we had to fix dinner for 12 to 15 men and that included a fully cooked meal with dessert and all. Needless to say we had to wash all the dishes after they were done eating.
What kind of books did you like to read?
I read very few books. I read all my assignments in school and was a conscientious student and got good grades all throughout my school days. We did not have electricity and so we had to read by gasoline or coal oil lights. They were very, very poor excuses for light. We went to bed by eight o’clock each school night. We got up early but had to wait for Dad to build fire in the cook stove to warm up the kitchen. Many a time we let down the oven door and warmed our backside a wee bit.
Do you remember having a favorite nursery rhyme or bedtime story? What was it? No, I cannot remember any special story. We knew all the nursery rhymes and fairy tales.
Do you remember not having enough food to eat because times were hard for your family? I cannot remember any scarcity of food. Mother was a good cook and made cookies very often. We often helped Mother when she made the cookies.
What were your favorite toys and what were they like?
We had very few toys and I cannot recall any favorites.
What were your favorite childhood games? Tag, spin the bottle, pick up sticks, horse back riding.
Were there any fads during your youth that you remember vividly? No
Brothers and Sisters: Full names, birthdates, and place of birth, death dates, place of death, cause of death and where they are buried.
Ward Oscar Lasson was born July 25, l918. He died of a heart attach at home in
Birdseye, Utah. He is buried in the Spanish Fork cemetery.
Edythe Lasson Dame was born February in the year of l920. She died of lung disease in Idaho, in the year .
She was buried in Spanish Fork cemetery.
O’Leah Lasson Hurst was born January 20, l926. I was still kicking and grumbling at the time of this typing.
Electa Lasson Brown Inman was born May 5, l928 . She was the third daughter and had auburn curly hair. She was a darling baby….so petite… sweet disposition and she resembled our mother very much.
* Marilyn Kay Lasson Mitchell was born October l6, l936 in Birdseye, Utah, in our home that we lived in most of our growing up yearts. Mother and Dad lived there until they died.
I was ten years old and I can recall very vividly when she was born. They had brought Mom’s bed out into the living room near the heat from the coal stove. My aunt was there to help and so was the Dr. from Fairview. Dad had to drive about l7 miles to tell him she was in lab or. They sent all five of us into the bedroom to listen to the radio. I can recall getting to hold that little girl baby when she was just a few minutes old.
Which is your place in the family, oldest child, youngest etc.? I am the middle child of five.
How did your place in the birth order affect you? Are you more responsible, spoiled, are you still treated as the dependable older sister or as the baby of the family?
Describe your relationship with each brother and sister.
I was closer to my sister, Electa, who was just 2 years younger than I. We spent more time together than I did with the other siblings. My brother was 8 years older and Edythe was 6 years older. My younger sister was l0 years younger and I was more like a baby sitter for her.
EXTENDED FAMILY
Did you have favorite aunts and uncles?
My Uncle Frank and Aunt Rae were my favorite. Uncle Frank was mother’s older brother and they were the ones who lived on a sheep ranch about five miles from our home. Mother and Aunt Rae sere very close and so we interacted with them very often. We ate dinner many times at their home. Uncle Frank smoked all the time, but he developed cancer of the lips and had to give it up. He was not active in the church until he married Aunt Rae and she wouldn’t marry anyone who was not active in the church. She was a great influence in his life.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GRADES KINDERGARTEN THROUGH SIX
Names and locations of elementary schools you attended. How far from your house was your school? Was the building large or small? approximately how many classrooms and students?
I attended all six grades in a one-room schoolhouse. There were probably a total of l9 students and they were all taught by one teacher. I was the only one my age in first grade, so they promoted me to third grade from the first. I wasn’t that sharp but they didn’t want to arrange teaching materials for only one student. When they promoted me, there were three girls and three boys.
The school was located about seven miles from our home. A school bus picked us up each morning. Our home was the end of the bus route, so we had to be ready and on time the minute he showed up at the end of the lane. He didn’t wait for us or take excuses.
Was there a playground at your school? Was there a grassy area or did it have black asphalt? Was the school yard open all the time or were there gates around it and closed after school?
The playground was open and there wasn’t any grass or asphalt. It was native grass and shrubs.
It had an outdoor bathroom facility…one for the girls and one for the boys. We didn’t have water in the school building. So water was brought to school in a ten-gallon can and turned upside down with a faucet at the bottom where we could fill our white waxed paper cups.
How many rooms did your school have? Was it a one room school or a large school with many classes? Describe?
List names of teachers if you remember them. Did you have the same teacher all day, or change to several teachers? Were there special music and physical education teachers? Who was your favorite teacher and why?
Which was your favorite subject and which subject did you do best in?
My best subject was math and reading and the other kids. I wasn’t too keen on painting and crafts.
Did you eat hot lunch in the school cafeteria, eat a sack lunch or go home? Did you have a special lunchbox?
No we did not have a school cafeteria. We each had a sack lunch and many times we exchanged our lunches with the other kids.
Did you walk to school, take a school bus, or carpool?
We took a schoolbus.
What kind of clothing did you wear to school - dresses, pants, uniforms, long woolen stockings,
We wore dresses with long stockings. We wore heavy coats and mittens or gloves. It was very cold in the winter up Spanish Fork Canyon.
How did you like school? I loved school every year and looked forward to it each autumn.
I got bored during the summer months on the ranch
RECREATION, FRIENDS AND PETS
Did you go barefoot?
As much as possible.
HOLIDAYS
Did you have a Christmas tree? Describe the decorations. Did you decorate your home in addition to a tree? Do you use any of these decorations in your home today?
We used to go up in the mountains with our horses to cut down our Christmas cedar trees. I can recall being pulled on a sled behind the horse and holding on to the tree so it wouldn ‘t fall from the sled. My brother, Ward, used to set animal traps for coyotes, etc. and I can remember going with him to check out his traps and haul the animal pelts on the back of the sled with me balancing myself on top of them.
How did you spend Christmas Eve?
We all gathered around the stove and ate candy and nuts, as many as we desired, and then we got to open all our gifts except the ones that Santa brought. We usually got new pajamas or gown
Did you hang a stocking and what was put in it?
Yes, we did hand our stockings by pinning them to the back of the sofa.
\
Did you believe in Santa Claus?
YES, I did believe in Santa Claus and I was quite old before I actually believed he did not exist.
Family Life during Childhood
What was the climate of your home - authoritarian, permissive, strict, happy, sad, etc?
Explain what made it that way.
It was fairly permissive. It was a happy home and we shared much love. We were l8 years spread between the oldest and youngest child. We only had two bedrooms and so it was a crowded bedroom.
If you were a child during World War 1, the Depression or World War 2, what did you remember about these times?
We lived on a cattle ranch which was actually too small to provide enough income to support a family. We would have one or two good years and then a series of years when money had to be borrowed to sustain the family. As children we were not treated as if we didn’t have any money. We thought we were living as high as the rest of the children on the other ranches.
I was a sophomore in Spanish Fork
When World II broke out. I remember sugar and gasoline being rationed. When I dated it was always with another couple or more because gas and cars were very limited.
Nylons were unavailable and so they were considered a luxury. We were encouraged to buy savings bonds and saving stamps.
Describe yourself physically, small or tall for your age, fat, thin, color of hair and eyes. Did you have freckles? How did you wear your hair? Did you wear glasses? Did you use your right hand, left hand, or both? Did you have pierced ears? Describe your temperament - shy, outgoing, active, passive, show displays of temper, spoiled, etc. What worries or fears did you have as a child?
I was fairly average in size…maybe on the short side. I had hazel eyes and brown hair and yes I did have freckles. I got a permanent in my hair each school opening whether I needed it or not. I just wore it pulled back with a ribbon tied around my head. I had three sisters who were all red headed and my brother, Ward, used to tell me I was adopted because my hair didn’t match the other girls.
Junior High or Middle School
Names and location of the Jr. high school you attended.
I attended the Spanish Fork Junior High. It housed the sixth, seventh, and ninth grades. I absolutely loved the Jr. High experience. We had a teacher for each subject…also we had ballroom dancing every Friday and I just lived for Friday. I always had boys a plenty to dance with and it was good for my ego. It was such a neat class as a sister and her brother taught the class. He was married and she had never married and they were so cute together.
Describe the building inside and out. It was a red brick rectangular building, all on the same floor.
There were approximately 300 to 350 students in the entire school.
How far was it from your home? It was twenty-six miles from my house.
We had to catch a bus at seven-thirty each morning..We were at the end of the bus route and then he picked up students as we drove down Spanish Fork Canyon. We usually arrived at school about 8:45. We left school about 4:15 p m and arrived home shortly after five p.m.
What kind of clothing did you wear? Did you wear a uniform?
We always wore dresses or skirts and sweaters with long winter coats. It was very cold during most of the school year. We wore long stockings or knee highs until spring when we would b ring out the anklets. We wore oxfords or casual slip-ons. In the winter we sometimes wore galoshes.
We didn’t have any choices in subject matter. The girls took Home Ec and the boys took Shop. We were taught to cook and to do simple sewing. I remember making an apron which had bias tape sewn all around the edges of the apron. I don’t think it stayed together long enough to be washed twice.
Which were your favorite classes and why?
I loved math and English and P.E. I just loved school.
I liked basketball and other sports. I wasn’t very tall but I was fast to run and dodge.
High School
What course of study did you pursue?
I didn’t have much class selection but was interested in business classes, such as typing, shorthand and bookkeeping.
Tell about some of the classes you particularly remember. Favorite teachers?
I had a speech teacher that I just idolized. Her name was Jane Tanner and she was single and dedicated to her teaching roll. She taught drama, English and speech. I had a class from her each year I was in school. She was in charge of the school plays and I always felt left out because the practices were always done after school and I always had to catch the bus.
When I was a sophomore I awoke one morning with severe pain in my chest and Mother was alarmed and drove me to the Dr. at five in the morning. They found I had pneumonia in both of my lungs and was hospitalized at once. I was there for three weeks and was in a coma about two of those weeks. Sulfa drugs were just being used to fight infection and they were good but so slow. We did not have penicillin which would have been faster treatment. In fact, they called all the family home to say goodbye as they thought I was leaving them. I can remember of hearing robins singing outside my hospital window….I just thought I heard them. When I came out of the coma all I wanted to eat was lemons and salt and dill pickles. Things have never been the same since.
Were you a serious student or a laid back student?
I wasn’t a very serious student but I did do my homework and got good grades.
What were the special activities you participated in - clubs, pep club, choirs, operettas, dramas, sports etc. Describe special memories.
I was on the winning basketball girl’s team. I was about to be in one drama when I got sick and could not complete it.
I was a student body officer all three years I was in high school. I ran for office in ninth grade and didn’t get it, but it made me more visible and was successful in High School. My senior year I made it as head cheerleader with my very closest friend. Zola Gull. We thought we had the world by the tail.. Our family Dr. said he would come to the games to see all my energy. He said when I was in the Hospital he never thought he see me with so much energy two years later.
Were you elected to a student office?
I was secretary for the Soph. Class, Queen of the Sweetheart Ball my Jr. year and cheerleader my Sr. year. I was also the girls school representative one of those years.
Did you go to your Junior Prom? Who was your date? What did you wear?
I went to every Jr. Prom, Sr. Prom, Homecoming Dance and every other school dance for all three years. I only missed the ones in May of my Soph. Year. I never felt I was popular but they said I was.
Did you receive and special recognition, scholarships or other awards?
Describe your high school graduation. Were, what did you wear, How did you celebrate after the ceremonies?
We had l00 in our graduating class and I was so unhappy for school to end. I had a date and we went to a dance afterwards and then to dinner in Provo…then on to Salt Lake City and woke up my sister, Edythe, who was living in an apartment as she was working there. We woke her up at three A.M. and all eight of us piled into her 4 x 4 apartment, and she graciously rubbed her eyes and fixed some breakfast for all of us. I can’t remember what it was…only that it was fun. I got home about dawn the next day.
How many years of education have you completed?
I have gone to USU over the course of several years, but I never did graduate but I do have enough credits to graduate but I never did do my student teaching for my senior block.
Describe yourself as a young adult.
Very energetic and always on the go. I loved to dance and date and that is mostly what I did. When I graduated it was l943 and the war was on and so we, Zola and I, went to BYU and stayed with her parents and rode a trolley to Provo every day. We only stayed one quarter as there were no cute boys to date and school alone was boring. So we went to Palo Alto and worked a Moffitt Navy Air Base. We had a friend working as a telegrapher there and we moved in with her. She was in nursing school and accidentally gave the wrong medicine to a patient and she died. ..She couldn’t handle it and so she had gone to California to get away from her bad experience.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
What was your first job?
My first job was at Ironton Steel Plant located between Springville and Provo. Zola and I each got a job there… she in the accounting section as she was the smartest and a very good student. I ended up in the Shipping and Receiving area, but I liked it there. Then we decided to go to Calif. We went to work right out of High School and then BYU and then California.
How did you decide on a career?
I was going to become secretary and I worked at that for the first four years of my marriage while Rex was getting his BS. And M.S. When I was about 7 months pregnant with Craig, I quit work and stayed home with my children after that and Motherhood became my career. At that time, when you got married, the women dropped out of school and let the husband get his degree. She was expected to be a homemaker and the man the breadwinner.
What jobs have you had?
Did you make enough money to live comfortably?
We were very poor for the first seven years of our marriage as Rex was pursuing his Doctorate at Cornell University. We didn’t have a car for the first two years of our marriage…no telephone and we heated our apt. with coal and wood. Rex did some yard work and I did the laundry for the old lady who lived in the other half of the house. This afforded us to rent the apt. for $ll.00 per month.
Who were your close friends during your teen years?
Zola Gull, Berniece Ostler, Betty, Ila,Toni and there were lots of boys who were friends.
Did you hang out with the same friends in and out of school?
Yes.
It Was the Best of Times ...
As a child, Christmas was a most magical of times. Before I was old enough to help decorate the tree, my parents would put up the tree Christmas Eve after we had gone to bed, and nothing in life since has ever quite matched the excitement of wakening up in the morning to a glowing tree piled high with presents. Never mind that many of the gifts were practical items like badly needed socks or underwear. Somewhere buried 'neath those practical presents was the one gift we really wanted, even if the Radio Flyer didn't come with snow.Do any of your remember Dad talking about wishing for a sled as a boy?
Funeral of Rex LeRoy Hurst March 15, 2004
Bishop Mark Porter: Brothers and Sisters, please be seated.
We’re very pleased to welcome you all here today on this very special occasion as we gather together in remembrance of a dear man, Brother Rex LeRoy Hurst.
Brother Hurst was born March 10, 1923 in Payson, Utah.
And he died March 11, 2004 in Logan, Utah.
My name is Bishop Mark Porter. I am the bishop of the Northwood Ward where brother and sister Hurst have resided for many years.
President Dean Quail and his first counselor, Paul Riley. President Riley is also a member of the Northwood year and has been friends of the Hursts for many, many years.
Our prelude music has been offered by both Benjamin Blau and Marilyn Choate.
I will announcement the program.
We will begin our service today with a vocal duet, Brother Elliot Budge and Merlyn Leonhart, both neighbors of Brother Rex, and good friendly companions.
They will sing “Jesus Lover of my Soul” and “Abide with me”
Prayer: Steven Hart
Dear Heavenly Father, we come before Thee this day to celebrate and honor the life of Rex. We’re so thankful for his service that he has given his wife, to his children, to his church, and to his country, and to the college. We are thankful, Father, for his great example which we all try to emulate as a husband, as a parent, as a father, as a patriarch, and as a professor, and as a patriot.
We pray that Thy spirit will be here today, that we who much endure to the end that we can follow his example. That we can live worthy through our deeds that someday we can
say to Rex that we have continued on, that we have done what he wanted us to do, that we have carried on the legacy, that he can be proud of us like we were proud of him. We pray that thou will bless Lee with health and with comfort this day.
We are thankful for Thy son Jesus Christ that through the hope and knowledge of Him that we know that we will be resurrected, that we can once again be together as families, that we can enjoy companionship through the eternities.
We are thankful for Plan of happiness this day that one spirit has gone and one spirit has come. And we are thankful for the knowledge that we have of this. We are thankful for all those who have traveled this day. We pray for thy spirit to be with us. And we say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Obituary, Lori Hurst
Rex LeRoy Hurst
Rex LeRoy Hurst, 81, died March 11, 2004 at Sunshine Terrace surrounded by loved ones.
Rex LeRoy Hurst was born on March 10, 1923 at the family home in Payson, Utah. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the age of 19 and was a pilot in World War II until 1945. After basic training in Texas and twin-engine training at Brooks Field, he served as a flight trainer at Randolph Field before being sent to Europe. He had several narrow escapes, one time landing in Scotland without even enough gas to taxi. He was involved in transporting equipment and people. After the Battle of the Bulge, he served as part of the utility squadron for the 8th Air Force, involved in transporting the wounded to hospitals and taking supplies to various destinations.
Rex married the love of his life, Lee Lasson Hurst, on August 26, 1946 in the Salt Lake City temple. Rex completed his BS and MS at Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University) in soil physics and his PhD from Cornell in 1952 in crop ecology, taking only two years to complete his PhD. His dissertation involved daily measurements of crops for two years (which explains his garden hobby). He joined the Applied Statistics department at Utah State University. He quickly became familiar with the emerging computer equipment as both a tool to support his research and as a service to the registrars office (who shared the equipment). He served as a faculty member and department head in the combined Statistics Computer Science department. Rex loved the out of doors and was often seen riding his bicycle to and from work. He enjoyed cross-country and downhill skiing. He enjoyed handball, running, boating, water-skiing, hiking, and camping. Rex has had many friends, enjoying cards, square dancing, bowling, and outdoor activities. The highlight of the summer for Rex was going camping and boating with his family. He loved having his family around him.
Rex was a life-long learner, having taking numerous classes in auto-repair, mathematics, woodworking, history, and science. He was a strong proponent of education. While it may be that he felt education was a way to avoid the despair of the depression, it more likely that he just loved the exhilaration that came from learning something new. Rex has been a walking-encyclopedia for his children and grandchildren. His example has encouraged his posterity to pursue a college education. He truly loved to learn and was an avid reader. Name anything and Rex could be found repairing, studying it, watering it, eating it, or talking to it about genealogy. At family gatherings, Dad would make his way around the room talking to each member about genealogy. The grandkids referred to it as “being genealogized”. He had an incredible memory; sixty years after entering the service he could relate every stop in route to Europe.
For Rex, work was fun! He was always been a bundle of energy, made possible by his invention of the middle-of-the-room power nap – so named because his idea of a good rest was a ten minute snooze, flat on the floor - a book for a pillow, in the middle of a room full of people.
Since his retirement in 1990, he enjoyed the LDS family history center, acting as associate director for ten years. He cherished the many friends he made doing family history. He loved institute classes and graduated from institute after retirement.
Rex was in his glory in the garden, delighting his friends and family with cucumbers, zucchini, onions, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, peppers, and beans.
Rex is survived by his wife, O’Leah “Lee” Hurst, five children Craig (Jill) Hurst of Ogden, Vicki (Stephen) Allan of Providence, Cherri (Steven) Hart of Rexburg, Gary (Lori) Hurst of Houston, and Steven (Connie) Hurst of Dallas, Texas; twenty grandchildren, one great grand-daughter; sister Beth (Roger) Slade of Bountiful, brothers Dale (Eleana) Hurst, Paul (Dorothy) Hurst, and Bryon (Nelda) Hurst.
Rex was preceded in death by his parents, Paul O. and Zora Hurst, sister, June Pauline Hurst, and one granddaughter, Rachael Hurst.
Funeral Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 15, 2004 at the Allen-Hall Mortuary. Friends may call from 6-8 p.m. on Sunday at the Allen-Hall Mortuary, and on Monday 9:30-10:30 a.m. Internment will be at the Logan City Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.allenhallmortuary.com.
Talk by Craig Hurst: The fruits of his life
Craig: This better be short or this is going to be a long meeting, if you see how long this program is. The savior very early in his ministry, in fact it is in Matthew.
Shortly after the 40 days and 40 nights in the dessert and the temptations, his first serious discussion was the Sermon on the Mount.
In Chapter 7:20, He warned about false prophets and he said, “Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them.” My theme in remembering my Dad is the fruits of his labor, the fruits of his life.
I’d just like to highlight some things.
The first fruit, of course, would be his favorite son, which was me.
He tolerated the other four. He would always say, “You know Craig, you’re my favorite.
And we used to joke that the rest of them were all adopted. But he truly loved his children. And he sacrificed - a lot more than you know. Those of you who know Rex know that at least in his younger years it was hard for Dad to ever say, “I love you” or to hug. That came with age.
You can to learn that he loved you through small acts, because you didn’t hear it.
My favorite childhood memories, occurred somewhere around age four, in a small house on Canyon road. It was Christmas and we didn’t have much money.
He had a table saw mounted on a tree trunk to save the two by fours or whatever it would take to frame it right. And I still remember that table saw with the tree trunk.
That December I was banned from the basement because he was working on my Christmas Present, and it was a set of blocks.
And I would hear him down there sawing away, wondering if I was brave enough to sneak down to the basement to see what Santa was bringing.
I wish I had those blocks. But there are small acts like that that convinced you that Dad cared.
And you look at those fruits of his loins – those five children.
He has Five, they’re over educated, type A personalities. But all married in the temple.
They and their children are on the path. They have testimonies of the gospel.
The 2nd fruit is easier to talk about – his professional career. I’ll bet two thirds of the people in the line last night and this morning knew Dad through work and were touched by his caring.
I have two sisters who both are overly influenced by Dad and never even left the fame field he picked.
I remember, dad, when Utah State had the first computer and he was so proud of that thing. And it wasn’t a little thing that you could see on your desk.
I mean this took up a whole room, and it had fans to keep it cool. And it was a chore to walk around this thing. And it had start up time and down time and it was a room. He was so proud of it. But Dad touched lives. He was a gifted teacher.
The third fruit I’ll refer to as his church fruit – his church callings.
I never knew a calling that he took that he didn’t magnify.
In my life, I’ve had a love for scouting – and probably in part because Dad was my best scout master.
I still remember his dragging the troop up to Utah State. Somebody would take time to teach us. Simple engine repair and how pistons work. And I remember him dragging us to Pinedale Wyoming on a scout trip.
And two of the scouts came with a footlocker, Dry ice and enough TV dinners for week, and Dad just let them make their mistakes and by about the second day they were begging food off anybody else in the troop because their TV dinners they couldn’t cook, although they were still frozen
As stake dance directors, Mom and Dad Drug me to more square dances and dress up things than I ever wanted to go to.
Be he always had a passion for whatever he was involved with. Genealogy was his last, almost to the point where nobody else in the family could even look at it.
The fourth area is self-improvement. I don’t think I’ve known anybody who had as much drive to learn and to grow.
At 80 he was still riding a bike.
I think he was 74-75 before he gave up cross country skiing. But he always took care of himself physically.
Whatever he was involved with was a passion. One of his other passions, as Elliot and other neighbors knows, is the garden. And in ways dad was a master gardener. I think on the other side he is going to meet with the master gardener. And in fact when Dad would come to your house, he would visit the garden before he would come in the house. He would visit the garden. In our house, Jill is the gardener in our family. I would get it ready, and she would do the planting. But he would inspect the garden first. He would visit the garden and then come in and tell you what you were doing wrong
The last, but not least, is my favorite, Mark 10:8. And they twain shall be one flesh... So they are no more twain, but one flesh.
That was his best legacy – was the best marriage I ever saw. Although, to be honest, I think mom did most of the work. It wasn’t 50-50 relationship. I think it was more like 70-30. And I think that is how most marriages work, to be honest.
I think that women have to keep things together and be the cement that holds it together – cause. men are too busy with everything they are doing
As the savior died on t he cross, between two thieves, he turned to the thief next to him and said, “Today thou shall be with me in paradise”
I have a testimonoy that this gospel is true. I have a testimony that there is life after death. And that Rex is in paradise. waiting to meet with the master gardener, for a life well lived. And I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Talk by Cherri Hart and Vicki Allan Dad’s Hands
Vicki: If we cry, it is her fault. I told her that it was a very bad idea to speak together. When it came try to write the obituary, Mom said, “Vicki, you can just rewrite the 80th birthday article and make it the obituary. That was the hardest conjugation I ever made, putting that in past tense.
During his final months as the dementia became more and more a part of his life, Dad would hold his hands in front of his face and study them with such curiosity, as if he were seeing them for the first time. I, too, looked at them and wondered what he was seeing, what he was remembering. Those hands touched many in his life.
Cherri: I remember his taking my hand on my first trip to get a library card of my own. He taught us that reading was a doorway to the world, and that a library card was the key to the door. When he had spare time you could always expect to see Dad with a book in hand.
Vicki: He was an avid reader who thought purchasing a book was a complete waste of money as he read several each week. He was curious about everything and could retain an amazing array of facts. He remembered everything - making encyclopedias unnecessary. Dad just knew.
Cherri: I remember Dad using his hands to administer discipline. One time Gary and I lit a fire behind the garage. Dad found us and I got the spanking – Gary’s fault. Another time Gary sprayed hairspray in my face when I had friends over and I chased him up the stairs. He reached to open a glass door, and missed the frame and hit the glass and went right through it. Again I got spanked. I was told that it was because I was older and knew better. But Gary started it. It seemed unfair at the time, but I learned that I was to be the example. I was the older one. I needed to set the example for my younger brother and not react that way to a younger brother’s taunts and need for attention.
Vicki: As I child, I remember those hands teaching me to ride a bicycle, sled, swim, snow ski and water ski, to fish, and plant a garden.
Cherri: If there was ever a choice of the work that we had to do I used to volunteer to work in the garden with Dad so I could get out of housework.I would do anything to get out of housework. (Vicki, “Still Does”) I do. I used to think, Well Vicki is inside helping mom, but then I found out she wasn’t. She was always in her bedroom doing homework. (Vicki: That’s what you get for spending so much time outside.) I know. I liked being out there, and would rather dig potatoes or pick corn. Gary and I had many a business with my Dad’s corn. We went neighbor to neighbor and sold corn up and down the street on the Island. But he would offer the perfect tomato or apple from his and delight in God’s handiwork with us.
Vicki: His hands were natural holding a pencil. He wore a pocket protector long after it was fashionable (Was it ever fashionable?) (Cherri, uh-uh). Wherever he was he would pull out a pencil and a discarded punch card –he’s still got some if any of you are looking for some of those old relics. He would take notes whenever a thought would strike him. He would use a sheet of wood as a makeshift desk, propped up using the arms of his easy chair, reading and studying well into the night.
Cherri: I remember watching Dad and Mom dance. There were many years that they danced together. They were so elegant as they glided around the room. I remember one year that I went to gold and green ball back when I was living in the ward. I was so proud to have him take my hand and dance with me. He was very good.
Vicki: Dad was a life long learner, taking formal classes, watching the history channel, always thinking, analyzing, creating. I remember having him help me with calculus. But it was always an extremely difficult thing. Though it had been twenty years since he studied calculus, he would read the chapter, and teach it to himself again, so he could teach me. I was hoping just to be told the answers, but he made me derive the calculus from the discovery of zero and then work our way forward. It took all night long. I had to be desperate before I would ask him for help. But, you know, that ability to think through it, to derive the answers, and reason the parts together has been invaluable influence in my life.
Cherri: I remember in high school. I was in 10th grade and came home crying. I was in a Zoology class and I couldn’t understand the book. I looked in the forward of the book and was indignant to find out that it was a college level book and I was just in 10th grade. My dad calmed to down and said, “Here, let’s read a couple of chapters together.” So we read the first couple of chapters, showed me how to look up words in the back. I got through that class and calmed right down, and it was because of my Dad’s help.
Vicki: Given a problem, Dad could solve it. In fact, His resourcefulness came into play with his dementia. I hate to admit this, but none of you got hit. Dad was driving a little bit longer than he probably should have.
He would drive to the gas station, but not know how to fill the tank up with gas. But he was so resourceful. He would pull out the manual and read the instructions for filling the tank. So when we discovered that, we decided it was time for full time bicycle riding. . He would drive it up to campus to get a haircut, (not that the haircuts were good up there, but they were cheap.) He would park his bike up there but not remember the combination. He had a solution for that too. He walked home and returned with a hacksaw. He went back up. The combination was never a problem after that.
Cherri: Dad believed his daughters could do anything his sons could do. He always encouraged us to take the next science and math class. I remember in Junior HIhg, I think it was required of us to take home-ec and Mom encouraged me to take the next Home-ec class. Dad was, “No, take science. Take math.” And I did, all the way through. I think I took every science and math class that I could take. (Vicki: He wouldn’t let me take any of that stuff. He said I’d get it in relief socieity. Cherri: He’d softened by my year.). We were always encouraged to be our best.
Vicki: A handshake was second nature as he reached out to his students and staff from a variety of cultures. Often our Thanksgiving table included those whom he treated as family.
Cherri: It was so neat to have my son living in Mom and Dad’s basement a few years ago when he was going to college at Utah State. One time, Brandon was kind of stressed because he had tests coming up and a decision he had to make about whether he should apply to med-school and where he should apply and those kinds of decisions. I encouraged him to ask his grandfather for a blessing. Both appreciated the experience. Dad’s religious beliefs were just a part of him, on a weekday as much as on a Sunday. He wasn’t different. He always said that he knew the church was true, because of how it taught you to live.
Vicki: His hands were more comfortable in work than in play. Many a day he would put in a full day at work and then spend five or more hours working at home. During his last months, when it was no longer safe to leave him alone, Mom and I would play tag team as I arrived at the home just in time for her to run to an appointment, and leave as she pulled into the driveway. One day as I was gathering my things to return to work, Dad asked “Where is your office?” And I said, “Dad, it is in Old Main, just next to your old office.” And he looked at me and said, “You are so lucky – to have something to do and somebody to do it for.” I thought it was profound. Even in the nursing home, he had plans for the other residents. And he was talking to them about genealogy and doing work – and they were not very cooperative.
Cherri: Fifty-eight years ago he held my mother’s hand for the first time. Later that August they joined hands across the altar of the temple and made covenants. On the last day of his life they held hands as Mom said goodbye. Vicki made the comment that their hands looked the same, she couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. That is how they parented. I am so grateful for that eternal marriage bond in my life. There was no question that they loved each other and they loved us.
Vicki: As we surrounded him bedside for nine hours of waiting “his last breath”. I was just sure that he was dying any second. Nine hours I sat – I didn’t leave – I thought, Okay, I’ve got to stay right here and watch everything. I’ve never seen anyone die before. I kept expecting him to raise his hands toward heaven, or call out “Mother” or tell me of the throngs of people who had come for him. That those for whom he had done genealogy that were there to greet him. There was nothing. And people would keep saying, “Vicki, you have just watched too many movies.” He was pretty comatose the last couple of days. They would say, “You are not going to get a message so stop looking.” But I kept looking. Yet, he died without any of the dramatics that I was expecting. However, I think I may have missed the message. Because the day before he died, he was not communicating with any of us. When Mother would hug him and say, “Have you got a kiss for me?” he would pucker up and give her a kiss. And he would even say, “I love you.” He wasn’t communicating with any of us. And I would watch them as she would reach to hold his hand - This individual who was not communicating at all, not looking at us, would grasp her hand with more strength than I thought possible. I think that was his final advice, “Hold fast to those you love.” We love you Dad.
Talk by Gary Hurst:
The purpose of my remarks is to pay tribute to my father and comfort my mother.
First, to pay tribute to my father.
There is an Essay in a book by Robert Fulgham entitled “Everything I Needed to know, I learned in kindergarten…”. In it he lists topics like:
Share Everything
Play Fair
Don't hit people
Put things back where you found them
Don't take things that aren't yours
Wash your hands before you eat
Flush
Warm cookies and milk are good for you
In a similar matter I would like to entitle my tribute, “Everything I needed to know in life, I learned from my father”,
Spend time outdoors with your family,
As you know dad loved to be outdoors. He bought a boat and camper in 1967 and we had many family outing and vacations centered about the boat and camper. One of my favorite destinations was Lake Powel. Before I Ieft on my mission in 1978, we must have taken 6 or 8 trips to lake Powel. These were great trips surrounded by friends and family. The days were spent swimming, exploring, water skiing and getting sun burned. The nights were spent around a camp fire or a picknic table playing cards or telling stories. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of these family vacations. I thank dad for taking the time and have the priorities to make these family trips happen.
In addition to boating, dad also like camping and backpacking. In my teen years, we took 3 or 4 trips backpacking trips into the wilderness areas of Wyoming and Utah. I developed a close bond with my father and a love for the outdoors during these trips.
You can multitask
Dad loved to read. Most evenings, you could find him somewhere in the house with a book in his hand. If family came to visit, he would join in talking or watching TV, but he would also be reading. My wife has a similar habit of multitasking and we have labeled this as a “Rex”.
If you don’t own it, you don’t need it
Dad had a great aversion to borrowing things. In my years a home, I only remember him borrowing things two or three times. I once asked him about this and he explained his upbringing. He said growing up, his father farmed, but never made much money. His job as the oldest son, was to borrow the needed tools and equipment to run the farm. He hated having to borrow from friends and family in order to get the farm work done. A trait that he has passed on to me.
Work
Dad took great pleasure in work and made sure all his children knew how to work. We all has house hold and yard chores. At an early age, I learned to hate gardening, as we had to help plant, weed, and water the garden. As I grew older, the hate become tolerance and then became love as I could see the fruits of my labor and realized the satisfaction that comes from a job well done. Thanks dad for teaching me how to work.
Self Reliance
Dad did not believe in paying someone to do something he could do for himself. Over the years I watched him shingle the roof on the house on Canyon Road, pour concrete at the house on 9th North. Finish the basement which included framing, insulation, dry wall, paint, carpet, wiring, and plumbing. He had woods tools as long as I can remember, but in the mid 70’s he took university courses in wood working and built furniture for mom. He also involved me in performing routine car maintenance. Through helping and watching, I developed a love for building things. This love greatly influenced by decision to become an engineer and fostered my passion for wookworking.
There is a story in the area of Self Reliance that the family has asked me to relate. It has come to be called the “Fan Story”. I have my own name for the event, that is the “Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians” story. All of you that know dad know he was Stubborn. And as you can image the trait of stubbornness has been picked up by his sons. Some twenty years ago in the Christmas of ‘81, some of the family was together on Christmas eve. Craig and Jill had driven up from Odgen and had given mom and dad a ceiling fan for the family room. We rashly decided that we needed to install the fan that night. Dad, Craig and I, working together started around 10 p.m. to install the Fan. However, each of us, being as stubborn as the next, had their own idea on how we should frame in the fan, where we should start, and who should do what. As the evening wore on, voices raised and tempers flaired a time or two. My wife, a new bride of but 5 days, watch with amazement, and wondered what type of family she had married into as she observed the interchange between the three of us. Around 12:30 a.m. I tired of the circus, went home and left Dad and Craig to finish the fan installation. They woke me from sleep with a phone call around 3 a.m. to tell me they were done. The fan is still running and has not fallen from the ceiling, but I think that is the last time we tried to build anything thing together as a group. And yes, I learned to be stubborn from my father.
Respect for Women
Dad set a great example in this area. He did not have any preconceived ideas about what was “women’s work” or “men’s work”. He was always willing to help with the dishes, cleaning and other household work. He was kind and showed great respect to mom. We rarely witnessed crossed words or arguments. Our home was a happy place. A place of peace. A place we wanted to be.
Now to comfort my mother ..
In the last General Conference, President Boyd K. Packer said:
The great plan of happiness enables family relationships to last beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants, available only in the temple, make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.
I add my testimony to his. I have a sure knowledge that we lived with our Father in Heaven in the pre-existence. We came to earth to gain a body, to live by faith, to endure and to be tried and tested in all things. This life is but a brief moment in the span of our eternal existence. When our journey here is through, we go to a spirit world, to be surrounded by loved ones that have passed on, to await judgment and the resurrections. If we are found worthy, we can eternally live as a family in the presence of our Father in heaven. This message brings peace and solace, as we know that Dad lives on. He has finished the work he needed to do in this mortality and has taken the next step forward in this wonder plan.
Of this I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
Funeral talk for Dad by Steven Hurst, read by Brandon Hart
Hopefully I don’t look as old as Steven (Stevie), but he actually sent the talk so I’ll just read it.
Charles Dickens in “The Christmas Carol” has the character Bob Cratchet say, “Life is made up of comings and goings and that is the way of it.” I would like to be there to remember the going of my father, but he is with his wife right now. Actually I have some good tiding. His wife just had a little baby girl this morning. At one o’clock in the morning, seven pounds, eight ounces, 18 inches long. (Why do they measure babies? Eighteen inches, does it matter?) And she is a beautiful baby girl McKenzie, healthy, beautiful, great. And Steve continues, I love my father and would like to share a few thoughts.
Paul Riley once told me that my father was a generous man. I hadn’t thought about it but I’ve had many opportunities since that day to think about it and agree. My father was generous with his time, with his knowledge, and with his love.
He shared his time with me through special times in my life. I remember as a young boy he coached my soccer team. Later in grade school we both shared cross-country skiing and shared memorable moments skiing together.
He was generous with knowledge. Both my wife and I remember learning many things from Dad, from statistics to gardening; we came to learn and found a very patient teacher.
He was generous with his love. Dad showed love by more than words, he showed it in action. By all his work he showed us he loved us. Behind the great man that Dad was, there was a wonderful woman. Mom stood beside and assisted him in all his efforts. To both my parents I am eternally grateful. The tears will come and go but the memories of my father will grow fonder. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
That was the end of Steve’s talk. I guess since I have the pulpit, I’m going to take I over. Just some memories that I think grandkids can remember. He wore pocket protectors until they were a little bit unfashionable. I also loved his jumpsuits – the one piecers, those were the best. So I had the opportunity to live with grandma and grandpa for a couple of years while I was going to Utah State. I just remember Grandpa, when Grandma wasn’t around. Grandpa was sneaking ice cream and sneaking pies. Grandpa was a master. He had the biggest sweet tooth imaginable. Actually it was insatiable. I learned that from him.
There were times actually when I was living with them and I would walk upstairs and I thought I was in World Ward II. Grandpa would watch the world war II – the history channel. The volume was as loud as you possibly could get the TV. I thought something was going on in the street – but it was just the TV. That was grandpa.
I also remember just going to classes at Utah State and it was NOT an uncommon occurrence to actually have a class with my Grandpa. We would never plan it, but I would go to institute classes and he would just be there, taking classes. He would just be there, and he would give me tips on teachers and what to read. And I took a computer science class with Grandpa, and it was awesome to see his love for learning. He just really taught us how to learn. There is nothing about my education that I don’t attribute to loving parents and just grandpa. He has a passion for education.
While at Utah State and living with my grandparents, you learn that Aggie Blue is Aggie blue, it is not navy blue anymore, it is aggie blue. You also learn that corn isn’t corn anymore, it’s grandpa corn. You learn that tomatoes aren’t tomatoes anymore – grandpa tomatoes. He just had a great love for learning and he was a great grandpa. And I love him. And I share my words and Stevie’s words in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Talk by Paul Riley:
Folks, before the service, Steve Allan came up to me and cautioned me about speaking too long. I see that I still have 25 or 30 minutes, so ..
* Lee, children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, we are gathered here today to remember and pay homage to a husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and a great friend, Rex Hurst. To me he was more than a friend--he was a good friend, a beloved friend, a trusted friend, a mentor, and a confidant. I might say that I too wore pocket protectors and those one-piece jump suits. Rex tells me that I introduced them to him, but I think it was the other way around.
* Today I want to reflect a bit on some memories of happy times spent with this dear man. Many a time during the long days of summer we stretched out together on our back lawn under the shade of a big maple tree and had a good old “chin wag” as they say. Dorothy always said that we looked like those old guys from the Brit comedy “Last of the Summer Wine.” Those of you who have seen that will know what I’m talking about. We talked about our vegetable gardens, about the importance of getting the right carbon/nitrogen ratio in the soil, his new cultivator recommended by Craig (but apparently not as good in some ways as the old one!), the tomatoes, the corn, and the beans. We talked about books that he had read. And we talked about our families and how well they were doing, about our wives and about Lee’s health, and about Rex’s concern for her, about computers and computer programs, and about family history. “Get going on your family history, Paul,” he would say with a chuckle, “You never know how much time you have left.” Oh, how I’ll miss Rex’s friendly greetings over the back fence, his early deliveries of welcome vegetables to our back door, our discussions about airplanes and his WWII experiences.
* Just about a month ago I spent about two hours visiting with my dear friend. He had a new book about airplanes on the coffee table--a book which Craig had recently given him--and we talked about the history of aviation. I’ll miss our cross-country ski outings together in Logan canyon around Beaver. Here we had opportunities to be together in God’s great outdoors and reflect on the meaning of life, and to talk about the snow pack and next summer’s water supply prospects. It was always comforting to know that Rex was there to sympathize when I needed sympathy, to discuss how a problem should be tackled, and to give friendly advice.
* We had many other contacts. When I served as a bishop Rex was the financial clerk and never failed to give me advice as to how to use fast offering funds. At USU, he headed the Statistics and Computer Science department for many years as you’ve heard. I took classes from him, and he served on my PhD committee. Like Gary, I’m a civil engineer.
* Rex was never a time waster--he read a lot but didn’t watch much TV. He took many Institute classes and was a substitute teacher there at the institute. Occasionally we would go to movies with the Hursts, and often the University plays. But only very occasionally did he agree to play table games.
* As a statistician, Rex knew that by design this is a world of risks and pitfalls, a place of problems, and that we are placed here by our own agreement to face these challenges and to be tested thereby. He knew that we are expected to meet these challenges using our own resources to the extent that we are able, but Heavenly Father and His Son are always there to help if we seek them. They will provide comfort, guidance, and direction to the extent that we communicate with them, and Rex knew that.
* We sometimes ask ourselves, “Why me?” Rex knew that he could just as well ask, “Why not me?” Rex understood that this life, though very brief in terms of eternity, is an all important time of testing and that we need to meet this test as well as we can because “We shall not pass this way again.”
* We talked about the meaning and significance of the plan of salvation in which each of us is a participant. Rex understood the real meaning of the scripture: “Man is that he might have joy,” and that joy comes only through self-sacrifice, through extending oneself for others. Rex lived this credo: “Service above self.” If someone needed help, Rex was there. Many a time he called up and asked: “Paul, will you go with me to give so and so a blessing?”
* On the subject of the great plan of salvation or the plan of happiness, let me read some comforting words from Alma 42:6-10. We are now living in a “preparatory state” where we make mistakes, but in the words of Alma, we can be “reclaimed” through the redeeming sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We talked about this wonderful gift.
* One day we talked about that great LDS concept given to us through the prophet Joseph Smith: “Man is as God once was, and God is what man may become.” The principle of eternal progression. We originated with God and we return to God. This is what the scriptures mean by saying that He is the Alpha and the Omega--the beginning and the end. We talked about the significance of this concept to each one of us, namely that we must keep trying, that we can never be lazy and “rest on our laurels,” so to speak, that we must endure to the end. Indeed, Rex did just that.
* During the “Sermon on the Mount” Christ said: “...blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.” (Matt 5:4) We are also told in D&C 42: “Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die.” However, in death each of us can draw comfort from the great message of the Savior recorded in John 11:25,26--”I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”
* I suggest that each of you who are the posterity of O’Leah and Rex Hurst look at one another with wonder, and awe, and thanksgiving and hope. Each of you has in some measure those great genes of your parents, and their parents, and so forth. Your dad talked about tracing genealogy through DNA sampling. Isn’t that wonderful and marvelous. But there is something even more marvelous, an important bond you all have in common--that wonderful spiritual heritage of your parents. You are a great and wonderful posterity--a credit to the standards which they set as a couple. You will miss tremendously the physical presence of your father and grandfather. Each of us will, because he touched us all. You will miss your little talks, his words of advice and encouragement, the loving hugs, the admiring smile, the infectious laugh. You will miss all of these things and more. But you will always have the memories of happy times together--of times like trips to Lake Powell, of camping in the Wind Rivers. I can remember in 1977, our oldeste son David and I and Rex and his Son Gary went camping in the Wind Rivers. We got snowed on and we had to hike out though several inches of snow, but it was a great trip that we often think about. (Do you remember that trip Gary?) You have memories of seeing him on his bicycle, and so many more. You will always have these memories of happy times together. You are a testimony of the life and philosophy and love of the church of your dear parents.
* Each of you will be warmed and comforted by the sure knowledge that your husband (Lee), dad, and grandfather is now in a happier place. Richard L. Evans said, “Those who leave us are welcomed by others.” He has received a special and long awaited welcome.
* In the meantime, you (the children and grandchildren) stay close to your dear mother and grandmother. Provide her companionship and comfort, and love that she needs, especially at this time. In that sense, each of us can and will help.
* Today we can all sing with Harriet Beecher Stowe when she penned those marvelous lines:
“When sinks the soul, subdued by toil to slumber
Its closing eyes look up to thee in prayer.
Sweet the repose beneath thy wings o’er shading,
But sweeter still to wake and find thee there.
So shall it be at last in that bright morning,
When the soul waketh and life’s shadows flee.
Oh in that hour, fairer than daylight’s dawning,
Shall rise the glorious thought, I am with thee, still, still with thee.”
* Here we see the promise of the great plan of salvation, the promise of eternal life, the promise that your eternal companion, Lee, your dad and your grandfather is, in fact, not far away. The promise of being together as an eternal family in the presence of the Lord. “I am with thee, still, still with thee.”
* And so, dear friend, mentor, comforter, along with your beloved eternal family members, those of us who still lag behind in this mortal sphere, look forward to being again with you in the not too distant future. I personally look forward to renewing our back yard reveries on some lawn. I earnestly pray that we, like you, might endure faithfully, joyfully, and uncomplaining to the end, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Bishop:
Brothers and sisters, it’s been a beautiful service and its been a great privilege service and honor to listened to the words of a beautiful family – sons and daughters and grandsons of Brother Rex and sister O’Leah Hurst
During the years that I’ve been in the same ward with Brother and Sister Hurst, I’ve learned to have a great deal of love and respect for these good people and particularly for Brother Hurst as I had the opportunity to sit in same quorum during the last few years and participate in many gospel discussions.
I remember a few years ago. I can’t remember the topic of the discussion, but there was some disagreement among those there concerning exactly how it was. Brother Hurst participated avidly as he expressed his feelings. He was pretty strong in the expression of these feelings. And I learned to respect him because he was a man of principle and he was a man of honor.
How great it is to have men like Brother Hurst and to have families, eternal families during the world in which the family is being challenged. What a beautiful picture to look at this family. And to realize the great blessings we have from a loving Heavenly Father
I wish to express my gratitude to Brother and Sister Hurst for the example they have been to all of us during all these years. It is a tremendous honor to be associated with them.
Brothers and Sisters, I want to share just a few short words with you today.
As I have pondered and considered what I might say that might be a blessing to the family. My thoughts have gone back to the Savior Jesus Christ and to his atoning sacrifice. We know that As the Savior went through that period of time in his life
where he atoned for our sins, where he suffered greatly at the hands of wicked men Where he subsequently hung on the cross and gave his life for us.
There was an honorable man among the San Hedrin that went to Pilate after these events were completed and pleaded for the body of Christ. And took him and dressed him and prepared him and laid him in a Sepulcher. We all know that story. And there his body laid for three days while our Savior did some special work in that same place that Brother Hurst now resides.
It was on the third day (while the savior’s body had laid in the tomb) that Mary Magdalene and others who had prepared spice and oils to further administer to the Savior. They approached the tomb, and as we all remember, the great stone was laid back. And we are told:
Luke 24:2-4 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher and two angels standing by it in shining garments. And they entered into the sepulcher, not finding the body of the Lord Jesus they were much perplexed there about and were affrighted and bowed down, their faces to the earth. But behold the angel said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
Brother and sisters, the message is when they went into the sepulcher his body was gone. Our Lord and Savior had taken it up again and was in a resurrected form.
A hope and a blessing which therefore is given to all of us.
What does it mean to all of us and what does it mean for Sister Hurst and this family as they lay brother Hurst to rest on this day and pick up their lives and continue?
There will be times of loneliness, particularly for Sr. Hurst and we ask the Lord’s blessings upon her. I’m sure her family with crowd around often to help fill the gap that will be left. But I’m sure our Saviors words are the most consoling and bring the most peace to our souls. As He said, Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. I go to prepare a place for you. That where I am, there may ye be also.
As has been said today, I’m sure that Brother Hurst will find great peace and great glory as he visits with the Savior and reports a life faithfully served and well done.
Finally, I want to read some words of President Monson as recorded in the most recent Ensign.
The darkness of death can ever be dispelled by the light of revealed truth
I am the resurrection and the life, saith the master.
He that believeth in me though we were dead, yet shall he live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Added to his own words, are the words of an angel, spoken to the weeping Mary Magdalene and others as Mary approached the tomb to care for the body of Jesus.
Why seek ye the living among the dead. He is not here. He is risen. Such is the message.
He lives. And because he lives, all shall indeed live again. This knowledge provides the peace for the loved ones that are left after our loved ones are departed and gone to the other side.
This peace will be with Sister Hurst and her family. For surely, they are entitled to this peace. They have lived their lives in such a way that they will be blessed.
Of this wonderful blessing I testify. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that God lives. I know that Jesus is our redeemer and our savior.
I know in those comforting words in t his world of turmoil, awaiting yet our turn to join with those who have gone before and I leave this testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayer: Stephen Allan
Our dear Father in Heaven, as we conclude this celebration of Rex Hurst’s life, we humbly bow our heads before thee with gratitude in our hearts for blessings that the gospel brings to us.
We are thankful for Rex – the wonderful man that he was and that he still is. We are grateful for the Hurst family, the strength that they are.
Heavenly Father, we ask a special blessing on Lee. Let thy arms be wrapped around her.
Let her know of the love that thou hast for her and that Rex has for her. Bless us all that thy calming spirit will be with us, that our testimonies might grow stronger and our resolve stronger to do the things we should - to reach out to others, to help them and comfort them. We love thee very much.
We are grateful for the atonement of thy son, that one day, if we live righteously, we can return and live with thee again.
We love thee very much. And these things we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
1
We’re very pleased to welcome you all here today on this very special occasion as we gather together in remembrance of a dear man, Brother Rex LeRoy Hurst.
Brother Hurst was born March 10, 1923 in Payson, Utah.
And he died March 11, 2004 in Logan, Utah.
My name is Bishop Mark Porter. I am the bishop of the Northwood Ward where brother and sister Hurst have resided for many years.
President Dean Quail and his first counselor, Paul Riley. President Riley is also a member of the Northwood year and has been friends of the Hursts for many, many years.
Our prelude music has been offered by both Benjamin Blau and Marilyn Choate.
I will announcement the program.
We will begin our service today with a vocal duet, Brother Elliot Budge and Merlyn Leonhart, both neighbors of Brother Rex, and good friendly companions.
They will sing “Jesus Lover of my Soul” and “Abide with me”
Prayer: Steven Hart
Dear Heavenly Father, we come before Thee this day to celebrate and honor the life of Rex. We’re so thankful for his service that he has given his wife, to his children, to his church, and to his country, and to the college. We are thankful, Father, for his great example which we all try to emulate as a husband, as a parent, as a father, as a patriarch, and as a professor, and as a patriot.
We pray that Thy spirit will be here today, that we who much endure to the end that we can follow his example. That we can live worthy through our deeds that someday we can
say to Rex that we have continued on, that we have done what he wanted us to do, that we have carried on the legacy, that he can be proud of us like we were proud of him. We pray that thou will bless Lee with health and with comfort this day.
We are thankful for Thy son Jesus Christ that through the hope and knowledge of Him that we know that we will be resurrected, that we can once again be together as families, that we can enjoy companionship through the eternities.
We are thankful for Plan of happiness this day that one spirit has gone and one spirit has come. And we are thankful for the knowledge that we have of this. We are thankful for all those who have traveled this day. We pray for thy spirit to be with us. And we say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Obituary, Lori Hurst
Rex LeRoy Hurst
Rex LeRoy Hurst, 81, died March 11, 2004 at Sunshine Terrace surrounded by loved ones.
Rex LeRoy Hurst was born on March 10, 1923 at the family home in Payson, Utah. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the age of 19 and was a pilot in World War II until 1945. After basic training in Texas and twin-engine training at Brooks Field, he served as a flight trainer at Randolph Field before being sent to Europe. He had several narrow escapes, one time landing in Scotland without even enough gas to taxi. He was involved in transporting equipment and people. After the Battle of the Bulge, he served as part of the utility squadron for the 8th Air Force, involved in transporting the wounded to hospitals and taking supplies to various destinations.
Rex married the love of his life, Lee Lasson Hurst, on August 26, 1946 in the Salt Lake City temple. Rex completed his BS and MS at Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University) in soil physics and his PhD from Cornell in 1952 in crop ecology, taking only two years to complete his PhD. His dissertation involved daily measurements of crops for two years (which explains his garden hobby). He joined the Applied Statistics department at Utah State University. He quickly became familiar with the emerging computer equipment as both a tool to support his research and as a service to the registrars office (who shared the equipment). He served as a faculty member and department head in the combined Statistics Computer Science department. Rex loved the out of doors and was often seen riding his bicycle to and from work. He enjoyed cross-country and downhill skiing. He enjoyed handball, running, boating, water-skiing, hiking, and camping. Rex has had many friends, enjoying cards, square dancing, bowling, and outdoor activities. The highlight of the summer for Rex was going camping and boating with his family. He loved having his family around him.
Rex was a life-long learner, having taking numerous classes in auto-repair, mathematics, woodworking, history, and science. He was a strong proponent of education. While it may be that he felt education was a way to avoid the despair of the depression, it more likely that he just loved the exhilaration that came from learning something new. Rex has been a walking-encyclopedia for his children and grandchildren. His example has encouraged his posterity to pursue a college education. He truly loved to learn and was an avid reader. Name anything and Rex could be found repairing, studying it, watering it, eating it, or talking to it about genealogy. At family gatherings, Dad would make his way around the room talking to each member about genealogy. The grandkids referred to it as “being genealogized”. He had an incredible memory; sixty years after entering the service he could relate every stop in route to Europe.
For Rex, work was fun! He was always been a bundle of energy, made possible by his invention of the middle-of-the-room power nap – so named because his idea of a good rest was a ten minute snooze, flat on the floor - a book for a pillow, in the middle of a room full of people.
Since his retirement in 1990, he enjoyed the LDS family history center, acting as associate director for ten years. He cherished the many friends he made doing family history. He loved institute classes and graduated from institute after retirement.
Rex was in his glory in the garden, delighting his friends and family with cucumbers, zucchini, onions, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, peppers, and beans.
Rex is survived by his wife, O’Leah “Lee” Hurst, five children Craig (Jill) Hurst of Ogden, Vicki (Stephen) Allan of Providence, Cherri (Steven) Hart of Rexburg, Gary (Lori) Hurst of Houston, and Steven (Connie) Hurst of Dallas, Texas; twenty grandchildren, one great grand-daughter; sister Beth (Roger) Slade of Bountiful, brothers Dale (Eleana) Hurst, Paul (Dorothy) Hurst, and Bryon (Nelda) Hurst.
Rex was preceded in death by his parents, Paul O. and Zora Hurst, sister, June Pauline Hurst, and one granddaughter, Rachael Hurst.
Funeral Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 15, 2004 at the Allen-Hall Mortuary. Friends may call from 6-8 p.m. on Sunday at the Allen-Hall Mortuary, and on Monday 9:30-10:30 a.m. Internment will be at the Logan City Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.allenhallmortuary.com.
Talk by Craig Hurst: The fruits of his life
Craig: This better be short or this is going to be a long meeting, if you see how long this program is. The savior very early in his ministry, in fact it is in Matthew.
Shortly after the 40 days and 40 nights in the dessert and the temptations, his first serious discussion was the Sermon on the Mount.
In Chapter 7:20, He warned about false prophets and he said, “Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them.” My theme in remembering my Dad is the fruits of his labor, the fruits of his life.
I’d just like to highlight some things.
The first fruit, of course, would be his favorite son, which was me.
He tolerated the other four. He would always say, “You know Craig, you’re my favorite.
And we used to joke that the rest of them were all adopted. But he truly loved his children. And he sacrificed - a lot more than you know. Those of you who know Rex know that at least in his younger years it was hard for Dad to ever say, “I love you” or to hug. That came with age.
You can to learn that he loved you through small acts, because you didn’t hear it.
My favorite childhood memories, occurred somewhere around age four, in a small house on Canyon road. It was Christmas and we didn’t have much money.
He had a table saw mounted on a tree trunk to save the two by fours or whatever it would take to frame it right. And I still remember that table saw with the tree trunk.
That December I was banned from the basement because he was working on my Christmas Present, and it was a set of blocks.
And I would hear him down there sawing away, wondering if I was brave enough to sneak down to the basement to see what Santa was bringing.
I wish I had those blocks. But there are small acts like that that convinced you that Dad cared.
And you look at those fruits of his loins – those five children.
He has Five, they’re over educated, type A personalities. But all married in the temple.
They and their children are on the path. They have testimonies of the gospel.
The 2nd fruit is easier to talk about – his professional career. I’ll bet two thirds of the people in the line last night and this morning knew Dad through work and were touched by his caring.
I have two sisters who both are overly influenced by Dad and never even left the fame field he picked.
I remember, dad, when Utah State had the first computer and he was so proud of that thing. And it wasn’t a little thing that you could see on your desk.
I mean this took up a whole room, and it had fans to keep it cool. And it was a chore to walk around this thing. And it had start up time and down time and it was a room. He was so proud of it. But Dad touched lives. He was a gifted teacher.
The third fruit I’ll refer to as his church fruit – his church callings.
I never knew a calling that he took that he didn’t magnify.
In my life, I’ve had a love for scouting – and probably in part because Dad was my best scout master.
I still remember his dragging the troop up to Utah State. Somebody would take time to teach us. Simple engine repair and how pistons work. And I remember him dragging us to Pinedale Wyoming on a scout trip.
And two of the scouts came with a footlocker, Dry ice and enough TV dinners for week, and Dad just let them make their mistakes and by about the second day they were begging food off anybody else in the troop because their TV dinners they couldn’t cook, although they were still frozen
As stake dance directors, Mom and Dad Drug me to more square dances and dress up things than I ever wanted to go to.
Be he always had a passion for whatever he was involved with. Genealogy was his last, almost to the point where nobody else in the family could even look at it.
The fourth area is self-improvement. I don’t think I’ve known anybody who had as much drive to learn and to grow.
At 80 he was still riding a bike.
I think he was 74-75 before he gave up cross country skiing. But he always took care of himself physically.
Whatever he was involved with was a passion. One of his other passions, as Elliot and other neighbors knows, is the garden. And in ways dad was a master gardener. I think on the other side he is going to meet with the master gardener. And in fact when Dad would come to your house, he would visit the garden before he would come in the house. He would visit the garden. In our house, Jill is the gardener in our family. I would get it ready, and she would do the planting. But he would inspect the garden first. He would visit the garden and then come in and tell you what you were doing wrong
The last, but not least, is my favorite, Mark 10:8. And they twain shall be one flesh... So they are no more twain, but one flesh.
That was his best legacy – was the best marriage I ever saw. Although, to be honest, I think mom did most of the work. It wasn’t 50-50 relationship. I think it was more like 70-30. And I think that is how most marriages work, to be honest.
I think that women have to keep things together and be the cement that holds it together – cause. men are too busy with everything they are doing
As the savior died on t he cross, between two thieves, he turned to the thief next to him and said, “Today thou shall be with me in paradise”
I have a testimonoy that this gospel is true. I have a testimony that there is life after death. And that Rex is in paradise. waiting to meet with the master gardener, for a life well lived. And I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Talk by Cherri Hart and Vicki Allan Dad’s Hands
Vicki: If we cry, it is her fault. I told her that it was a very bad idea to speak together. When it came try to write the obituary, Mom said, “Vicki, you can just rewrite the 80th birthday article and make it the obituary. That was the hardest conjugation I ever made, putting that in past tense.
During his final months as the dementia became more and more a part of his life, Dad would hold his hands in front of his face and study them with such curiosity, as if he were seeing them for the first time. I, too, looked at them and wondered what he was seeing, what he was remembering. Those hands touched many in his life.
Cherri: I remember his taking my hand on my first trip to get a library card of my own. He taught us that reading was a doorway to the world, and that a library card was the key to the door. When he had spare time you could always expect to see Dad with a book in hand.
Vicki: He was an avid reader who thought purchasing a book was a complete waste of money as he read several each week. He was curious about everything and could retain an amazing array of facts. He remembered everything - making encyclopedias unnecessary. Dad just knew.
Cherri: I remember Dad using his hands to administer discipline. One time Gary and I lit a fire behind the garage. Dad found us and I got the spanking – Gary’s fault. Another time Gary sprayed hairspray in my face when I had friends over and I chased him up the stairs. He reached to open a glass door, and missed the frame and hit the glass and went right through it. Again I got spanked. I was told that it was because I was older and knew better. But Gary started it. It seemed unfair at the time, but I learned that I was to be the example. I was the older one. I needed to set the example for my younger brother and not react that way to a younger brother’s taunts and need for attention.
Vicki: As I child, I remember those hands teaching me to ride a bicycle, sled, swim, snow ski and water ski, to fish, and plant a garden.
Cherri: If there was ever a choice of the work that we had to do I used to volunteer to work in the garden with Dad so I could get out of housework.I would do anything to get out of housework. (Vicki, “Still Does”) I do. I used to think, Well Vicki is inside helping mom, but then I found out she wasn’t. She was always in her bedroom doing homework. (Vicki: That’s what you get for spending so much time outside.) I know. I liked being out there, and would rather dig potatoes or pick corn. Gary and I had many a business with my Dad’s corn. We went neighbor to neighbor and sold corn up and down the street on the Island. But he would offer the perfect tomato or apple from his and delight in God’s handiwork with us.
Vicki: His hands were natural holding a pencil. He wore a pocket protector long after it was fashionable (Was it ever fashionable?) (Cherri, uh-uh). Wherever he was he would pull out a pencil and a discarded punch card –he’s still got some if any of you are looking for some of those old relics. He would take notes whenever a thought would strike him. He would use a sheet of wood as a makeshift desk, propped up using the arms of his easy chair, reading and studying well into the night.
Cherri: I remember watching Dad and Mom dance. There were many years that they danced together. They were so elegant as they glided around the room. I remember one year that I went to gold and green ball back when I was living in the ward. I was so proud to have him take my hand and dance with me. He was very good.
Vicki: Dad was a life long learner, taking formal classes, watching the history channel, always thinking, analyzing, creating. I remember having him help me with calculus. But it was always an extremely difficult thing. Though it had been twenty years since he studied calculus, he would read the chapter, and teach it to himself again, so he could teach me. I was hoping just to be told the answers, but he made me derive the calculus from the discovery of zero and then work our way forward. It took all night long. I had to be desperate before I would ask him for help. But, you know, that ability to think through it, to derive the answers, and reason the parts together has been invaluable influence in my life.
Cherri: I remember in high school. I was in 10th grade and came home crying. I was in a Zoology class and I couldn’t understand the book. I looked in the forward of the book and was indignant to find out that it was a college level book and I was just in 10th grade. My dad calmed to down and said, “Here, let’s read a couple of chapters together.” So we read the first couple of chapters, showed me how to look up words in the back. I got through that class and calmed right down, and it was because of my Dad’s help.
Vicki: Given a problem, Dad could solve it. In fact, His resourcefulness came into play with his dementia. I hate to admit this, but none of you got hit. Dad was driving a little bit longer than he probably should have.
He would drive to the gas station, but not know how to fill the tank up with gas. But he was so resourceful. He would pull out the manual and read the instructions for filling the tank. So when we discovered that, we decided it was time for full time bicycle riding. . He would drive it up to campus to get a haircut, (not that the haircuts were good up there, but they were cheap.) He would park his bike up there but not remember the combination. He had a solution for that too. He walked home and returned with a hacksaw. He went back up. The combination was never a problem after that.
Cherri: Dad believed his daughters could do anything his sons could do. He always encouraged us to take the next science and math class. I remember in Junior HIhg, I think it was required of us to take home-ec and Mom encouraged me to take the next Home-ec class. Dad was, “No, take science. Take math.” And I did, all the way through. I think I took every science and math class that I could take. (Vicki: He wouldn’t let me take any of that stuff. He said I’d get it in relief socieity. Cherri: He’d softened by my year.). We were always encouraged to be our best.
Vicki: A handshake was second nature as he reached out to his students and staff from a variety of cultures. Often our Thanksgiving table included those whom he treated as family.
Cherri: It was so neat to have my son living in Mom and Dad’s basement a few years ago when he was going to college at Utah State. One time, Brandon was kind of stressed because he had tests coming up and a decision he had to make about whether he should apply to med-school and where he should apply and those kinds of decisions. I encouraged him to ask his grandfather for a blessing. Both appreciated the experience. Dad’s religious beliefs were just a part of him, on a weekday as much as on a Sunday. He wasn’t different. He always said that he knew the church was true, because of how it taught you to live.
Vicki: His hands were more comfortable in work than in play. Many a day he would put in a full day at work and then spend five or more hours working at home. During his last months, when it was no longer safe to leave him alone, Mom and I would play tag team as I arrived at the home just in time for her to run to an appointment, and leave as she pulled into the driveway. One day as I was gathering my things to return to work, Dad asked “Where is your office?” And I said, “Dad, it is in Old Main, just next to your old office.” And he looked at me and said, “You are so lucky – to have something to do and somebody to do it for.” I thought it was profound. Even in the nursing home, he had plans for the other residents. And he was talking to them about genealogy and doing work – and they were not very cooperative.
Cherri: Fifty-eight years ago he held my mother’s hand for the first time. Later that August they joined hands across the altar of the temple and made covenants. On the last day of his life they held hands as Mom said goodbye. Vicki made the comment that their hands looked the same, she couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. That is how they parented. I am so grateful for that eternal marriage bond in my life. There was no question that they loved each other and they loved us.
Vicki: As we surrounded him bedside for nine hours of waiting “his last breath”. I was just sure that he was dying any second. Nine hours I sat – I didn’t leave – I thought, Okay, I’ve got to stay right here and watch everything. I’ve never seen anyone die before. I kept expecting him to raise his hands toward heaven, or call out “Mother” or tell me of the throngs of people who had come for him. That those for whom he had done genealogy that were there to greet him. There was nothing. And people would keep saying, “Vicki, you have just watched too many movies.” He was pretty comatose the last couple of days. They would say, “You are not going to get a message so stop looking.” But I kept looking. Yet, he died without any of the dramatics that I was expecting. However, I think I may have missed the message. Because the day before he died, he was not communicating with any of us. When Mother would hug him and say, “Have you got a kiss for me?” he would pucker up and give her a kiss. And he would even say, “I love you.” He wasn’t communicating with any of us. And I would watch them as she would reach to hold his hand - This individual who was not communicating at all, not looking at us, would grasp her hand with more strength than I thought possible. I think that was his final advice, “Hold fast to those you love.” We love you Dad.
Talk by Gary Hurst:
The purpose of my remarks is to pay tribute to my father and comfort my mother.
First, to pay tribute to my father.
There is an Essay in a book by Robert Fulgham entitled “Everything I Needed to know, I learned in kindergarten…”. In it he lists topics like:
Share Everything
Play Fair
Don't hit people
Put things back where you found them
Don't take things that aren't yours
Wash your hands before you eat
Flush
Warm cookies and milk are good for you
In a similar matter I would like to entitle my tribute, “Everything I needed to know in life, I learned from my father”,
Spend time outdoors with your family,
As you know dad loved to be outdoors. He bought a boat and camper in 1967 and we had many family outing and vacations centered about the boat and camper. One of my favorite destinations was Lake Powel. Before I Ieft on my mission in 1978, we must have taken 6 or 8 trips to lake Powel. These were great trips surrounded by friends and family. The days were spent swimming, exploring, water skiing and getting sun burned. The nights were spent around a camp fire or a picknic table playing cards or telling stories. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of these family vacations. I thank dad for taking the time and have the priorities to make these family trips happen.
In addition to boating, dad also like camping and backpacking. In my teen years, we took 3 or 4 trips backpacking trips into the wilderness areas of Wyoming and Utah. I developed a close bond with my father and a love for the outdoors during these trips.
You can multitask
Dad loved to read. Most evenings, you could find him somewhere in the house with a book in his hand. If family came to visit, he would join in talking or watching TV, but he would also be reading. My wife has a similar habit of multitasking and we have labeled this as a “Rex”.
If you don’t own it, you don’t need it
Dad had a great aversion to borrowing things. In my years a home, I only remember him borrowing things two or three times. I once asked him about this and he explained his upbringing. He said growing up, his father farmed, but never made much money. His job as the oldest son, was to borrow the needed tools and equipment to run the farm. He hated having to borrow from friends and family in order to get the farm work done. A trait that he has passed on to me.
Work
Dad took great pleasure in work and made sure all his children knew how to work. We all has house hold and yard chores. At an early age, I learned to hate gardening, as we had to help plant, weed, and water the garden. As I grew older, the hate become tolerance and then became love as I could see the fruits of my labor and realized the satisfaction that comes from a job well done. Thanks dad for teaching me how to work.
Self Reliance
Dad did not believe in paying someone to do something he could do for himself. Over the years I watched him shingle the roof on the house on Canyon Road, pour concrete at the house on 9th North. Finish the basement which included framing, insulation, dry wall, paint, carpet, wiring, and plumbing. He had woods tools as long as I can remember, but in the mid 70’s he took university courses in wood working and built furniture for mom. He also involved me in performing routine car maintenance. Through helping and watching, I developed a love for building things. This love greatly influenced by decision to become an engineer and fostered my passion for wookworking.
There is a story in the area of Self Reliance that the family has asked me to relate. It has come to be called the “Fan Story”. I have my own name for the event, that is the “Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians” story. All of you that know dad know he was Stubborn. And as you can image the trait of stubbornness has been picked up by his sons. Some twenty years ago in the Christmas of ‘81, some of the family was together on Christmas eve. Craig and Jill had driven up from Odgen and had given mom and dad a ceiling fan for the family room. We rashly decided that we needed to install the fan that night. Dad, Craig and I, working together started around 10 p.m. to install the Fan. However, each of us, being as stubborn as the next, had their own idea on how we should frame in the fan, where we should start, and who should do what. As the evening wore on, voices raised and tempers flaired a time or two. My wife, a new bride of but 5 days, watch with amazement, and wondered what type of family she had married into as she observed the interchange between the three of us. Around 12:30 a.m. I tired of the circus, went home and left Dad and Craig to finish the fan installation. They woke me from sleep with a phone call around 3 a.m. to tell me they were done. The fan is still running and has not fallen from the ceiling, but I think that is the last time we tried to build anything thing together as a group. And yes, I learned to be stubborn from my father.
Respect for Women
Dad set a great example in this area. He did not have any preconceived ideas about what was “women’s work” or “men’s work”. He was always willing to help with the dishes, cleaning and other household work. He was kind and showed great respect to mom. We rarely witnessed crossed words or arguments. Our home was a happy place. A place of peace. A place we wanted to be.
Now to comfort my mother ..
In the last General Conference, President Boyd K. Packer said:
The great plan of happiness enables family relationships to last beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants, available only in the temple, make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.
I add my testimony to his. I have a sure knowledge that we lived with our Father in Heaven in the pre-existence. We came to earth to gain a body, to live by faith, to endure and to be tried and tested in all things. This life is but a brief moment in the span of our eternal existence. When our journey here is through, we go to a spirit world, to be surrounded by loved ones that have passed on, to await judgment and the resurrections. If we are found worthy, we can eternally live as a family in the presence of our Father in heaven. This message brings peace and solace, as we know that Dad lives on. He has finished the work he needed to do in this mortality and has taken the next step forward in this wonder plan.
Of this I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
Funeral talk for Dad by Steven Hurst, read by Brandon Hart
Hopefully I don’t look as old as Steven (Stevie), but he actually sent the talk so I’ll just read it.
Charles Dickens in “The Christmas Carol” has the character Bob Cratchet say, “Life is made up of comings and goings and that is the way of it.” I would like to be there to remember the going of my father, but he is with his wife right now. Actually I have some good tiding. His wife just had a little baby girl this morning. At one o’clock in the morning, seven pounds, eight ounces, 18 inches long. (Why do they measure babies? Eighteen inches, does it matter?) And she is a beautiful baby girl McKenzie, healthy, beautiful, great. And Steve continues, I love my father and would like to share a few thoughts.
Paul Riley once told me that my father was a generous man. I hadn’t thought about it but I’ve had many opportunities since that day to think about it and agree. My father was generous with his time, with his knowledge, and with his love.
He shared his time with me through special times in my life. I remember as a young boy he coached my soccer team. Later in grade school we both shared cross-country skiing and shared memorable moments skiing together.
He was generous with knowledge. Both my wife and I remember learning many things from Dad, from statistics to gardening; we came to learn and found a very patient teacher.
He was generous with his love. Dad showed love by more than words, he showed it in action. By all his work he showed us he loved us. Behind the great man that Dad was, there was a wonderful woman. Mom stood beside and assisted him in all his efforts. To both my parents I am eternally grateful. The tears will come and go but the memories of my father will grow fonder. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
That was the end of Steve’s talk. I guess since I have the pulpit, I’m going to take I over. Just some memories that I think grandkids can remember. He wore pocket protectors until they were a little bit unfashionable. I also loved his jumpsuits – the one piecers, those were the best. So I had the opportunity to live with grandma and grandpa for a couple of years while I was going to Utah State. I just remember Grandpa, when Grandma wasn’t around. Grandpa was sneaking ice cream and sneaking pies. Grandpa was a master. He had the biggest sweet tooth imaginable. Actually it was insatiable. I learned that from him.
There were times actually when I was living with them and I would walk upstairs and I thought I was in World Ward II. Grandpa would watch the world war II – the history channel. The volume was as loud as you possibly could get the TV. I thought something was going on in the street – but it was just the TV. That was grandpa.
I also remember just going to classes at Utah State and it was NOT an uncommon occurrence to actually have a class with my Grandpa. We would never plan it, but I would go to institute classes and he would just be there, taking classes. He would just be there, and he would give me tips on teachers and what to read. And I took a computer science class with Grandpa, and it was awesome to see his love for learning. He just really taught us how to learn. There is nothing about my education that I don’t attribute to loving parents and just grandpa. He has a passion for education.
While at Utah State and living with my grandparents, you learn that Aggie Blue is Aggie blue, it is not navy blue anymore, it is aggie blue. You also learn that corn isn’t corn anymore, it’s grandpa corn. You learn that tomatoes aren’t tomatoes anymore – grandpa tomatoes. He just had a great love for learning and he was a great grandpa. And I love him. And I share my words and Stevie’s words in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Talk by Paul Riley:
Folks, before the service, Steve Allan came up to me and cautioned me about speaking too long. I see that I still have 25 or 30 minutes, so ..
* Lee, children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, we are gathered here today to remember and pay homage to a husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and a great friend, Rex Hurst. To me he was more than a friend--he was a good friend, a beloved friend, a trusted friend, a mentor, and a confidant. I might say that I too wore pocket protectors and those one-piece jump suits. Rex tells me that I introduced them to him, but I think it was the other way around.
* Today I want to reflect a bit on some memories of happy times spent with this dear man. Many a time during the long days of summer we stretched out together on our back lawn under the shade of a big maple tree and had a good old “chin wag” as they say. Dorothy always said that we looked like those old guys from the Brit comedy “Last of the Summer Wine.” Those of you who have seen that will know what I’m talking about. We talked about our vegetable gardens, about the importance of getting the right carbon/nitrogen ratio in the soil, his new cultivator recommended by Craig (but apparently not as good in some ways as the old one!), the tomatoes, the corn, and the beans. We talked about books that he had read. And we talked about our families and how well they were doing, about our wives and about Lee’s health, and about Rex’s concern for her, about computers and computer programs, and about family history. “Get going on your family history, Paul,” he would say with a chuckle, “You never know how much time you have left.” Oh, how I’ll miss Rex’s friendly greetings over the back fence, his early deliveries of welcome vegetables to our back door, our discussions about airplanes and his WWII experiences.
* Just about a month ago I spent about two hours visiting with my dear friend. He had a new book about airplanes on the coffee table--a book which Craig had recently given him--and we talked about the history of aviation. I’ll miss our cross-country ski outings together in Logan canyon around Beaver. Here we had opportunities to be together in God’s great outdoors and reflect on the meaning of life, and to talk about the snow pack and next summer’s water supply prospects. It was always comforting to know that Rex was there to sympathize when I needed sympathy, to discuss how a problem should be tackled, and to give friendly advice.
* We had many other contacts. When I served as a bishop Rex was the financial clerk and never failed to give me advice as to how to use fast offering funds. At USU, he headed the Statistics and Computer Science department for many years as you’ve heard. I took classes from him, and he served on my PhD committee. Like Gary, I’m a civil engineer.
* Rex was never a time waster--he read a lot but didn’t watch much TV. He took many Institute classes and was a substitute teacher there at the institute. Occasionally we would go to movies with the Hursts, and often the University plays. But only very occasionally did he agree to play table games.
* As a statistician, Rex knew that by design this is a world of risks and pitfalls, a place of problems, and that we are placed here by our own agreement to face these challenges and to be tested thereby. He knew that we are expected to meet these challenges using our own resources to the extent that we are able, but Heavenly Father and His Son are always there to help if we seek them. They will provide comfort, guidance, and direction to the extent that we communicate with them, and Rex knew that.
* We sometimes ask ourselves, “Why me?” Rex knew that he could just as well ask, “Why not me?” Rex understood that this life, though very brief in terms of eternity, is an all important time of testing and that we need to meet this test as well as we can because “We shall not pass this way again.”
* We talked about the meaning and significance of the plan of salvation in which each of us is a participant. Rex understood the real meaning of the scripture: “Man is that he might have joy,” and that joy comes only through self-sacrifice, through extending oneself for others. Rex lived this credo: “Service above self.” If someone needed help, Rex was there. Many a time he called up and asked: “Paul, will you go with me to give so and so a blessing?”
* On the subject of the great plan of salvation or the plan of happiness, let me read some comforting words from Alma 42:6-10. We are now living in a “preparatory state” where we make mistakes, but in the words of Alma, we can be “reclaimed” through the redeeming sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We talked about this wonderful gift.
* One day we talked about that great LDS concept given to us through the prophet Joseph Smith: “Man is as God once was, and God is what man may become.” The principle of eternal progression. We originated with God and we return to God. This is what the scriptures mean by saying that He is the Alpha and the Omega--the beginning and the end. We talked about the significance of this concept to each one of us, namely that we must keep trying, that we can never be lazy and “rest on our laurels,” so to speak, that we must endure to the end. Indeed, Rex did just that.
* During the “Sermon on the Mount” Christ said: “...blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.” (Matt 5:4) We are also told in D&C 42: “Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die.” However, in death each of us can draw comfort from the great message of the Savior recorded in John 11:25,26--”I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”
* I suggest that each of you who are the posterity of O’Leah and Rex Hurst look at one another with wonder, and awe, and thanksgiving and hope. Each of you has in some measure those great genes of your parents, and their parents, and so forth. Your dad talked about tracing genealogy through DNA sampling. Isn’t that wonderful and marvelous. But there is something even more marvelous, an important bond you all have in common--that wonderful spiritual heritage of your parents. You are a great and wonderful posterity--a credit to the standards which they set as a couple. You will miss tremendously the physical presence of your father and grandfather. Each of us will, because he touched us all. You will miss your little talks, his words of advice and encouragement, the loving hugs, the admiring smile, the infectious laugh. You will miss all of these things and more. But you will always have the memories of happy times together--of times like trips to Lake Powell, of camping in the Wind Rivers. I can remember in 1977, our oldeste son David and I and Rex and his Son Gary went camping in the Wind Rivers. We got snowed on and we had to hike out though several inches of snow, but it was a great trip that we often think about. (Do you remember that trip Gary?) You have memories of seeing him on his bicycle, and so many more. You will always have these memories of happy times together. You are a testimony of the life and philosophy and love of the church of your dear parents.
* Each of you will be warmed and comforted by the sure knowledge that your husband (Lee), dad, and grandfather is now in a happier place. Richard L. Evans said, “Those who leave us are welcomed by others.” He has received a special and long awaited welcome.
* In the meantime, you (the children and grandchildren) stay close to your dear mother and grandmother. Provide her companionship and comfort, and love that she needs, especially at this time. In that sense, each of us can and will help.
* Today we can all sing with Harriet Beecher Stowe when she penned those marvelous lines:
“When sinks the soul, subdued by toil to slumber
Its closing eyes look up to thee in prayer.
Sweet the repose beneath thy wings o’er shading,
But sweeter still to wake and find thee there.
So shall it be at last in that bright morning,
When the soul waketh and life’s shadows flee.
Oh in that hour, fairer than daylight’s dawning,
Shall rise the glorious thought, I am with thee, still, still with thee.”
* Here we see the promise of the great plan of salvation, the promise of eternal life, the promise that your eternal companion, Lee, your dad and your grandfather is, in fact, not far away. The promise of being together as an eternal family in the presence of the Lord. “I am with thee, still, still with thee.”
* And so, dear friend, mentor, comforter, along with your beloved eternal family members, those of us who still lag behind in this mortal sphere, look forward to being again with you in the not too distant future. I personally look forward to renewing our back yard reveries on some lawn. I earnestly pray that we, like you, might endure faithfully, joyfully, and uncomplaining to the end, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Bishop:
Brothers and sisters, it’s been a beautiful service and its been a great privilege service and honor to listened to the words of a beautiful family – sons and daughters and grandsons of Brother Rex and sister O’Leah Hurst
During the years that I’ve been in the same ward with Brother and Sister Hurst, I’ve learned to have a great deal of love and respect for these good people and particularly for Brother Hurst as I had the opportunity to sit in same quorum during the last few years and participate in many gospel discussions.
I remember a few years ago. I can’t remember the topic of the discussion, but there was some disagreement among those there concerning exactly how it was. Brother Hurst participated avidly as he expressed his feelings. He was pretty strong in the expression of these feelings. And I learned to respect him because he was a man of principle and he was a man of honor.
How great it is to have men like Brother Hurst and to have families, eternal families during the world in which the family is being challenged. What a beautiful picture to look at this family. And to realize the great blessings we have from a loving Heavenly Father
I wish to express my gratitude to Brother and Sister Hurst for the example they have been to all of us during all these years. It is a tremendous honor to be associated with them.
Brothers and Sisters, I want to share just a few short words with you today.
As I have pondered and considered what I might say that might be a blessing to the family. My thoughts have gone back to the Savior Jesus Christ and to his atoning sacrifice. We know that As the Savior went through that period of time in his life
where he atoned for our sins, where he suffered greatly at the hands of wicked men Where he subsequently hung on the cross and gave his life for us.
There was an honorable man among the San Hedrin that went to Pilate after these events were completed and pleaded for the body of Christ. And took him and dressed him and prepared him and laid him in a Sepulcher. We all know that story. And there his body laid for three days while our Savior did some special work in that same place that Brother Hurst now resides.
It was on the third day (while the savior’s body had laid in the tomb) that Mary Magdalene and others who had prepared spice and oils to further administer to the Savior. They approached the tomb, and as we all remember, the great stone was laid back. And we are told:
Luke 24:2-4 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher and two angels standing by it in shining garments. And they entered into the sepulcher, not finding the body of the Lord Jesus they were much perplexed there about and were affrighted and bowed down, their faces to the earth. But behold the angel said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
Brother and sisters, the message is when they went into the sepulcher his body was gone. Our Lord and Savior had taken it up again and was in a resurrected form.
A hope and a blessing which therefore is given to all of us.
What does it mean to all of us and what does it mean for Sister Hurst and this family as they lay brother Hurst to rest on this day and pick up their lives and continue?
There will be times of loneliness, particularly for Sr. Hurst and we ask the Lord’s blessings upon her. I’m sure her family with crowd around often to help fill the gap that will be left. But I’m sure our Saviors words are the most consoling and bring the most peace to our souls. As He said, Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. I go to prepare a place for you. That where I am, there may ye be also.
As has been said today, I’m sure that Brother Hurst will find great peace and great glory as he visits with the Savior and reports a life faithfully served and well done.
Finally, I want to read some words of President Monson as recorded in the most recent Ensign.
The darkness of death can ever be dispelled by the light of revealed truth
I am the resurrection and the life, saith the master.
He that believeth in me though we were dead, yet shall he live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Added to his own words, are the words of an angel, spoken to the weeping Mary Magdalene and others as Mary approached the tomb to care for the body of Jesus.
Why seek ye the living among the dead. He is not here. He is risen. Such is the message.
He lives. And because he lives, all shall indeed live again. This knowledge provides the peace for the loved ones that are left after our loved ones are departed and gone to the other side.
This peace will be with Sister Hurst and her family. For surely, they are entitled to this peace. They have lived their lives in such a way that they will be blessed.
Of this wonderful blessing I testify. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that God lives. I know that Jesus is our redeemer and our savior.
I know in those comforting words in t his world of turmoil, awaiting yet our turn to join with those who have gone before and I leave this testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayer: Stephen Allan
Our dear Father in Heaven, as we conclude this celebration of Rex Hurst’s life, we humbly bow our heads before thee with gratitude in our hearts for blessings that the gospel brings to us.
We are thankful for Rex – the wonderful man that he was and that he still is. We are grateful for the Hurst family, the strength that they are.
Heavenly Father, we ask a special blessing on Lee. Let thy arms be wrapped around her.
Let her know of the love that thou hast for her and that Rex has for her. Bless us all that thy calming spirit will be with us, that our testimonies might grow stronger and our resolve stronger to do the things we should - to reach out to others, to help them and comfort them. We love thee very much.
We are grateful for the atonement of thy son, that one day, if we live righteously, we can return and live with thee again.
We love thee very much. And these things we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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