My Grandma Blanchard joined the Church as a teenager as did her brother, Ralph. As the story goes, Grandpa Ball was very much against the Church. He let Grandma be baptized but wanted nothing of it. A couple of days before my first birthday, my Grandpa Ball died. Very soon, even minutes after he passed away, Grandma Ball asked, “How do I get baptized?” Everyone was so shocked. They had no idea that Grandma had been converted by their example. She stood by her husband’s wishes, but still wanted to become a member. Mom said that it cushioned the hurt of her Grandpa dying. She is so strong. I have always loved that story.
One of my earliest memories of Grandma was when I was in third grade. I had made her an Easter card in class. It was in the shape of a big bunny. Weeks later, my family was staying over. I was walking into the blue guest room. Laid against Grandma’s big mirror was my bunny card. She really loves me.
When Grandma got sick, my mom came in and said, “I prayed this morning that Grandma would improve so that when I left tomorrow I could have a conversation with her.”
Mom and Dad went to see her. They watched General Conference with her. She talked with them. She seemed fine. She made them food. I love her so much. I miss her. But, I know that she’s in a better place.
When Grandpa Lusk was ready to leave his mission, his mission president counseled him to go home, find a girl and get married. In 955 a new school teacher named Byron Wilson came to town. His cousin Bernice was interested in him. She told me that if he got her a date with him that she would set him up with one of her girlfriends. Bernice was working and living in Idaho Falls but came home to visit the family quite often on weekends. He kind of dragged her feet on getting her the date, but she wasted no time in setting him up with one of her friends from the telephone office where she worked. This deal worked out very well for him . They dated all that summer. Bernice wouldn’t stop hounding him so he finally set her up with the school teacher. But he wasn’t very interested in her. But He continued to date Bernice’s friend, Her name was Gwen Chadburn. She was from Jamestown, Idaho, that is just three miles east of Shelley. She was living with two aunts, Mary Westergard and Pearl Chadburn in Idaho Falls, and she worked as an operator for Mountain Bell Telephone Company. On the weekends her parents would drive into Idaho Falls and take her home so she could teach a Sunday school class and be with the family.
In September 1955 he asked Gwen to marry me. She said she would have to think about it a while. About ten days later we went to Blackfoot fair and looked all around the animals and even stayed for the night show. But she never gave him an answer. They kissed good night and I went home. He felt like we weren’t making much progress, but that weekend Gwen’s sister Joyce called home from Logan Utah and announced that she was engaged to R. Clarke Campbell and would be married in October. Gwen couldn’t be out done by her sister so she gave in and said she would marry him.
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