This year I would like to try and write about my life. One of the reason’s why I even started blogging was to hopefully improve some of my writing skills.
Here is a picture of my family, we are standing in front of our living room window with the curtains closed. I am a cheerleader at Centerville Jr. High and my oldest brother Kent is getting ready to serve a mission in Oklahoma. He is five years older than me.
My brother Mark is eighteen months younger than me, and then comes Ward. He is just one year younger than Mark. My dad is a Speech Therapist for the Davis County School District and my mom teaches Kindergarten at Tolman Elementary near our home. We were quite the disfunctional family but somehow my brothers and I have survived all these years. For me time has been a blessing and if it weren't for the Atonement of Jesus Christ I would have no purpose on this earth.
As I look back I think my brothers and I tried to learn from our past. We love and support our own adult children and cherish being together. I don’t see much of Mark or Ward but Social Media has helped me kind of keep in touch with Ward. My dad was a difficult person to live with. He was abusive to my brothers, especially Mark. I used to have bad dreams in my twenties where I was trying to help Mark get away from my dad. It gave me anxieties and a depression issues. I don’t experience those dreams any more and I am grateful.
My dad passed away at an early age of 61 from MS. He couldn’t walk at all the last five years of his life and lived in an assisted living care center. I used to take my two oldest kids to visit him. They were small and didn’t really understand his situation. Through time I grew to have a forgiving heart for my dad and just tried to spend time with him. My oldest brother Kent probably visited him the most and was responsible for his care. I’m sure that was not easy.
Dad’s Obituary
Bruce B. Whitney, age 61, died January 11, 1996 at Parkview Nursing home following a 14-year battle with multiple sclerosis.
Born on January 17, 1934 in Grand Junction, Colorado, the son of Leon K. and Beatrix Black Whitney. Married Venice Maxwell, January 28, 1955, later divorced. Grew up in Denver, Colorado.Served his country in the United States Marine Corps and saw action in the Korean War (one of the "frozen chosen").
Graduated from Colorado State College and taught school as a Speech and Hearing Therapist in Iowa and in the Davis County School District in Utah. Received an advanced degree from the University of Utah in Audiology. Was a member of the LDS church and served in many callings, especially with the youth. He loved the out-of-doors and gardening
Survived by three sons, Kent L., Layton, Utah; Mark A., Fredricksburg, Virginia; John Ward, Soda Springs, Idaho; one daughter, Marcianne Carlson, Provo, Utah; 13 grandchildren and stepbrother, Carl Whitney, Canoga Park, California. Preceded in death by his father, mother and his sister, Jan Brock.
Graveside services will be held Monday, January 15, 1996 at 1 p.m. at the Bountiful City Cemetery, Bountiful. Friends may call at the Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 North Main, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. prior to the services
Forgiveness for me has brought peace in my life and I feel compassion for others who have lived around abuse or who are experiencing abuse. Without God in my life I don’t think I could have gotten through some of the challenging times. I can honestly say that I feel pretty blessed now that I’ve made it to sixty-three in this world. I love my job and GW and I have great adult children. We still have our challenges but I am surrounded with support.
I was born July 3, 1959 in Cherokee Iowa. I have no memory of this place because we moved to Council Bluffs Iowa where my dad got a job as a Speech Therapist. I must have been only 3 1/2 when I can remember short events. My very first memory is when my youngest brother Ward was born. All I can remember is my dad sterilizing glass baby bottles in a small white kitchen which was located in a small white house.
Most of my memories are of another nice big house on the other side of town in Council Bluffs. It was located at the end of street up on a hill. An old cemetery was up behind our house which you couldn’t see due to all the trees. I do have fond memories playing in the cemetery with my brothers.
My mom was a wonderful mother. She was naturally beautiful inside and out. She was a very good seamstress and made most of my clothes on up to High School and my mission. Mom was a hard worker and not only served her family but served in many church callings. Later on when we moved back to Utah mom worked full time as a school teacher.
I have many memories of Iowa playing in our big yard with my brother’s feeling safe and happy. There was an LDS branch in Council Bluffs and apparently my dad served for a short time in the bishopric. We also hung out with the Evan’s, Riss and Riding families. The Evan’s had several daughters and a few son’s. One of the girls name was Elizabeth and she was my age. I have one strong memory of swimming in a large metal horse trough during the summer time. Elizabeth’s teenage sisters put on a Beatles Band Concert in their back yard on some kind of platform. I Want to Hold Your Hand is the first song I have in my memory at the age of five. The Evan’s family was surrounded with love and I am grateful to have fond memories hanging out at their home.
I don’t remember much about the Riss family and that could be because Shirley and her kids moved to Bountiful when I was around twelve I think. I have more memories about them when they lived in Bountiful. Shirley Riss was such a good cook and she also taught elementary age kids like my mom. She was like a second mom to me and I will always be grateful of her kindness. Shirley’s daughter Jo Riss is just a few years younger than me and I really appreciated spending time with her. She is a very talented and gifted person. She is a great musician and has a beautiful voice. She has knitted and crocheted some awesome baby clothes for my babies which I still have in my cedar chest. I even have pretty Christmas decorations that I decorate my tree with every year that Jo made me. It’s unfortunate that I didn’t have the gift to appreciate Jo more. As I look back I should have reached out more and written more letters to her when I moved to Provo Utah. I may have been dirt poor raising my own kids but there was no reason that I couldn’t have afforded a stamp to write more letters to her. Jo is a beautiful and wonderful person and I will always be thankful for the fun times we had together.
Nancy Riding was also a friend that I first met in Iowa. I kept in touch with her until she passed away. Even though she moved to Colorado we still sent Christmas cards and we’re friends on social media.
I also remember the LDS missionaries living in a small apartment on the second level of our home in Council Bluffs. That’s when I started to have a crush on the opposite sex. I thought they were so handsome in their suits and they liked hanging out with my brothers and I. Later a family moved into the apartment for just a short while. I guess they needed a place to stay while they looked for a more permanent home.
We had a long driveway up to our house and I remember sledding down the driveway during the winter time with my brothers. Kent, Mark and Ward were fun to play with and I have fond memories hanging out with them during all the seasons in Iowa. We even had a Tarzan rope swing in the back yard and I remember my dad mowing over a nest of wild baby rabbits one day. Luckily they were not harmed.
The inside of our house was another fun place to play. We had a big front screen porch where I remember sitting with my dad during a thunder storm. To this day I still love the sounds of rain and thunder from a distance. (I went back to Iowa years later and drove through Council Bluffs. Our big house had all been refurbished and the new owners let me in to take pictures. I was so thankful for the experience and I even toured the old cemetery behind our house).
At age seven we moved to Bountiful Utah to be closer to my mom’s family. Our first home was in the Colonial Garden Apartments. To be continued.
