493. A brief history of our lives, Wayne and Pal, with an update on recent health problems, and also happy times.
This was originally blog # 120, published on March 25, 2014. I will update it some at the end, and leave the first as originally written.
I guess from time to time I should tell some about our own lives, Pal and Wayne Eckman. Actually my full name is Paralee Miles (maiden name) Eckman, and Wayne's is Wayne D Eckman. I was born Oct. 6, 1934, in St. George, Utah and Wayne was born Sept. 18th, 1930, in Murray, Utah, just south of Salt Lake City, in the same valley. I have noticed some of our readers live in foreign countries, and that is fascinating to me! How small our wonderful world is! And I truly feel love and friendship for each one of you, whether we have met or not. That seems to be something that comes with membership in the true Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!
This photo was on our wedding day, Sept. 24, 1955. Since then we now have nine children, 29 grandchildren, and 14 great grandchildren.
I grew up in St. George, when it had only about 5,000 people, and the Temple was on the south end of town. Now it is in the center of town, with many homes all around it. In it's first days, Brigham Young prophesied that one day the Temple would be in the center of town -- then it was way south of most homes -- that prophecy has indeed come true! My father, Orson Pratt Miles, (you can read a lot about him by checking on his name under "labels") also was born and raised in St. George, the grandson of original pioneers here. He was in World War I and suffered from "shell shock" the rest of his life. My mother was Ruth Allen, born and raised in Panguitch, Utah, a small town near Bryce Canyon in Utah. They were both very musical, and sang duets together, and in quartets before they were married. There is quite a lot of information on them in these blogs. Check on their names in "labels."
I was the oldest, (except for my older half sister from my father's first marriage -- Delsy, who died when I was 12). I have 2 sisters, Vina, 18 months younger than I, and Mavis, 5 years younger than I. We lived a frugal but happy life growing up.
I started taking piano lessons at age 8, and music has become my interest all my life. I have taught piano lessons off and on since I was in high school, and also accompanied numerous soloists and musical groups. I enjoy oil painting, and especially love and have a passion for Family History, finding names for the Temple, etc. I have musical arrangements for the piano, and choirs, on -- www.musichousepublications.com -- if you'd like to check it out. If you are interested in any of my music, I would love to give any of it FREE to you or your choir, if you'll e mail me at: paralee.eckman@gmail.com -- I can send PDF copies which you can print.
This photo is Wayne and 2 of the elders when we were on our mission in Sweden. Wayne got so he could play a bit on the harmonica!
Now for Wayne's growing up years -- He was an identical twin, and he and his twin Blaine were responsible for quite a few shenanigans during their childhood! He was a very hard worker, and his parents raising their 9 children during the depression of the 1930's was not an easy thing. His father was Roy Waldamer Eckman and his mother was Gladys Tregenna Dayton. Wayne remembers cleaning chicken coops (not pleasant!) for 33 cents an hour, and delivering newspapers on a bike for many years, during cold snowy winters, etc. He and his brother, Blaine, had perfect attendance at all their Church meetings from ages 12 to 19 -- before they went on a mission. They were both sports lovers, especially baseball. They both were called to Sweden, and served 2 1/2 years from Dec. 1950 to July 4, 1953. He came home from the army just 2 years later -- on July 4th, 1955!
During the short interval between coming home from his mission and going into the army, we were introduced on a blind date by Pal's best friend, Rose Mary Snow, who married one of Wayne's best friends, Richard Hasler. Wayne said he would write to me, and I told him that he could write to "Pal Miles, St. George, Utah" and it would get to me. (Which it would in those days.) He went in the Army in September, and it wasn't until the next May when he was in Trieste, by Italy, that he remembered "Oh, Pal Miles, -- I said I'd write to her"! So I received a letter long after I had expected he wasn't interested. We wrote letters for 14 months, most of which we kept and have had printed in a book for our posterity. Those letters are how we truly got to know each other, and our desires and goals in life, and our testimonies of the Gospel, etc. All those things filled those letters.
We got engaged just 3 weeks after he got home, and the next morning I left for one month to go back and participate with BYU students in the Hill Cumorah Pageant. When I got back, Wayne had not had any college, and he decided to start at Dixie College (now a university.) We got married on September 24, 1955, in the St. George Temple, and spent our first 4 years of married life living on the G I Bill, and Wayne working a part time job. We had two children during those 4 years, Wayne Miles and Delsy, and our 3rd child Anita, was born in September just after he graduated from Utah State in Logan. He was a high school coach the first year, and then went to summer school, and became an elementary teacher for 31 more years. Later he received his Master's Degree from BYU.--
(I'll add just a bit about that year. During his Master's study year he worked part time at the Utah State Penitentiary as a teacher of those who hadn't graduated from the 8th grade. He would go and have to be locked in behind several doors to do his teaching. I used to worry he may start a riot, as Wayne has always been outspoken. Two examples that happened there are: At Christmas time he took some chocolates in a pocket of a coat. When he went to find them they were gone, and he said "Which one of you con's took my chocolates?"! Another was when he heard one inmate brag "My grandfather was on welfare, and my dad was on welfare, and when I get out I'm going to be on welfare too!" Wayne spoke up and said "I have just one word for that! LEECH! I don't know whether it is leach or leech, but you are are a Leech!" All was quite, and then someone spoke up and said "Nice going Eckman!" Needless to say I was relieved when that job was done. I went to the Penitentiary with him to an 8th grade graduation, and those men were thrilled to finally be able to get high school training. --- added today)
We lived in Sandy, Utah, for 19 years, and had Allen, (*born in Tooele) and McKay, Angela, Tacy, Pamela, and Jeremy born in Murray, Utah, during the 18 year span of child bearing. Our oldest son, Wayne M., came home from BYU to see his little baby brother. We only lived as a family with 9 children in the home, for 3 months, before Wayne M. went on his mission to Ecuador. Allen went on a mission to Thailand, McKay to Taiwan, and Pamela to Austria. We have never been "rich", but we have had "sufficient for our needs."
This was taken around 1985. We have many more in our posterity now!
We moved back to St. George in 1981, where we had wanted to live for quite some time, and Wayne spent his last 10 years of teaching here. My mother, Ruth, was still alive, and also Wayne's mother, Gladys, was still alive in Murray, Utah, at that time.
After Wayne retired in 1991, he worked for a newspaper for about 3 years, and then we went on an LDS mission to Sweden during 1994 - 1995. (Sweden was the ancestral home of his father.) We came home, and my mother, Ruth was needing care, so she lived with us until, because of health etc. we got her 24 hour care in a nursing home. We went to visit her daily, until she passed away in 1999. We then went on another mission, which originally was a call to Portugal, and we studied Portuguese in the Senior MTC for 2 months. But our visas didn't come through, so we were assigned to a Portuguese speaking branch in Danbury, Connecticut. That was so exciting, because between us we had 27 ancestors who had lived in Connecticut. That mission resulted in getting 9 thick books which have provided many names for the Temple.
This is my dear mother, Ruth, while she was living with us in her old home at 230 South 100 East, in St. George, in about 1998. In a few months her health went down a lot. Above her mantel is one of the paintings I did -- of Bryce Canyon, which Tacy now has.
Since that mission, we have been Temple Ordinance workers in the St. George Temple, and after a foot operation I went on 2 family history missions here. Wayne still is an ordinance worker. We live just a 5 minute walk from the door of the St. George Temple, and love living in St. George, which is quite well known as a good place to retire, as we almost never have snow! However, this last December (2013) we did have the most snow they've had here in probably over 50 years.
That doesn't even scratch the surface of our many trials, blessings, and experiences, it seems. By reading these blogs, we have mentioned quite a few thoughts and feelings about life, so you probably know some about us if you have been reading them. You can check out blogs, # 13, 21, and 24, for other stories, and also # 3 and # 9. Some were back in 2013. Also blog # 4 which tells of an extremely stressful time in my life, almost a breakdown.
I'll certainly tell more about our lives, with more details from time to time. We love having our lives immersed with the Gospel, with 4 grandchildren having gone on missions in the past, and 2 presently out, (one a granddaughter in the MTC right now!) and another grandson to get his call in a week or two. I'll write about those missions when he gets his call. WE LOVE MISSIONARY AND TEMPLE WORK!
(Update, Skye our granddaughter went to Irvine California and is home now, and Jacob got his call to Indonesia and will be there almost one more year. -- Check our "labels" for information on them.)
------------------------------------
That ends the blog I wrote then. I'll give a brief update. In September, 2014, Wayne was in the hospital for 4 or 5 days with pneumonia. He got out on his birthday, Sept. 18, 2014, his 84th birthday, and was on oxygen for a few weeks. Just 2 days later, we had a celebration for my 80th birthday which would be on October 6, 2014, and this picture below was taken that day.
We had all 9 children there, with most of their families. From left to right are Wayne M., Delsy, Anita, Allen, Wayne, Me (Pal) McKay, Angela, Tacy, Pamela, and Jeremy. I had a rotator cuff operation on August 26th, about 4 weeks before, and was still wearing the sling, and Wayne was on oxygen!
Then Wayne was in the hospital 2 times during the Christmas holidays, 2 days before Christmas, home on Christmas, and then in 2 days after Christmas -- mostly because of high carbon dioxide levels in his blood. Then he was in the hospital 4 times from February 15th to April 15th, 3 times for 4 days, and 1 time for 6 days. Two of those times he was in intensive care for 1 or 2 days. (In between times he was mostly at Kolob Rehabilitation -- home only a few days before he was back.)
At that time, with fluid crowding both his lungs and heart, they started kidney dialysis 3 days a week, and that has resulted in him feeling so much better. We thought he would be just fine continuing that when about 4 weeks ago he had problems swallowing, and had an endoscopy. That showed esophageal cancer, something totally new! So right now he has radiation 5 mornings a week, and then 3 afternoons a week he goes for dialysis. He hasn't felt any different yet, but today at our visit to Dr. Ray Richards, a wonderful radiation oncologist doctor, he tells us before his radiation will be done on October 8th, he probably will be very sore in his stomach, where the cancer is being diminished, etc. He may have to take medicine to sooth the raw sore which the radiation will cause. We haven't considered Chemo, and that may be too much with dialysis also. So we are taking one day at a time.
Sam and Becca coming out of the St. George Temple.
We have had very happy times in between all these health problems. On May 15th we had a grandson Sam Lieske marry Rebecca Francom in the St. George Temple. Also his brother Ben returned home from Taiwan on a mission. We have had a visit from Angie's family and seen Austin and Cameron whom we hadn't seen for 2 or 3 years. Also Missy, Wayne M.'s daughter came down with her dad Wayne 2 weekends ago when he came down to help do a concert in the Tabernacle here with his accordion. We hadn't seen her for 5 years since her wedding, as she lives in northern California. Allen's daughter Marion, and her husband Mike, and Allen Jr. came and visited also. Other grandchildren and children drop in now and then, and they are the highlights of our lives. We've had Delsy's daughter Amanda and her husband Brent get their BA degrees, and Tacy's son, Jordan, also get his this year. Lots going on!
The big excitement is that in just 3 days, Saturday, Sept. 5th, 2015, we are having a big family reunion for our 60th wedding anniversary, which will officially be on Sept. 24th, 2015. I'll post pictures after that! We should have almost 60 people there for our 60th! ! !
I guess from time to time I should tell some about our own lives, Pal and Wayne Eckman. Actually my full name is Paralee Miles (maiden name) Eckman, and Wayne's is Wayne D Eckman. I was born Oct. 6, 1934, in St. George, Utah and Wayne was born Sept. 18th, 1930, in Murray, Utah, just south of Salt Lake City, in the same valley. I have noticed some of our readers live in foreign countries, and that is fascinating to me! How small our wonderful world is! And I truly feel love and friendship for each one of you, whether we have met or not. That seems to be something that comes with membership in the true Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!
I grew up in St. George, when it had only about 5,000 people, and the Temple was on the south end of town. Now it is in the center of town, with many homes all around it. In it's first days, Brigham Young prophesied that one day the Temple would be in the center of town -- then it was way south of most homes -- that prophecy has indeed come true! My father, Orson Pratt Miles, (you can read a lot about him by checking on his name under "labels") also was born and raised in St. George, the grandson of original pioneers here. He was in World War I and suffered from "shell shock" the rest of his life. My mother was Ruth Allen, born and raised in Panguitch, Utah, a small town near Bryce Canyon in Utah. They were both very musical, and sang duets together, and in quartets before they were married. There is quite a lot of information on them in these blogs. Check on their names in "labels."
I was the oldest, (except for my older half sister from my father's first marriage -- Delsy, who died when I was 12). I have 2 sisters, Vina, 18 months younger than I, and Mavis, 5 years younger than I. We lived a frugal but happy life growing up.
left to right, Mavis, Vina, and me (Pal) taken in 1955.
My father was very over-protective of us 3 girls, as he had seen so much violence in the war, he was so afraid of us getting hurt somehow. I didn't learn to drive a car until after I had 2 children! I started taking piano lessons at age 8, and music has become my interest all my life. I have taught piano lessons off and on since I was in high school, and also accompanied numerous soloists and musical groups. I enjoy oil painting, and especially love and have a passion for Family History, finding names for the Temple, etc. I have musical arrangements for the piano, and choirs, on -- www.musichousepublications.com -- if you'd like to check it out. If you are interested in any of my music, I would love to give any of it FREE to you or your choir, if you'll e mail me at: paralee.eckman@gmail.com -- I can send PDF copies which you can print.
Now for Wayne's growing up years -- He was an identical twin, and he and his twin Blaine were responsible for quite a few shenanigans during their childhood! He was a very hard worker, and his parents raising their 9 children during the depression of the 1930's was not an easy thing. His father was Roy Waldamer Eckman and his mother was Gladys Tregenna Dayton. Wayne remembers cleaning chicken coops (not pleasant!) for 33 cents an hour, and delivering newspapers on a bike for many years, during cold snowy winters, etc. He and his brother, Blaine, had perfect attendance at all their Church meetings from ages 12 to 19 -- before they went on a mission. They were both sports lovers, especially baseball. They both were called to Sweden, and served 2 1/2 years from Dec. 1950 to July 4, 1953. He came home from the army just 2 years later -- on July 4th, 1955!
During the short interval between coming home from his mission and going into the army, we were introduced on a blind date by Pal's best friend, Rose Mary Snow, who married one of Wayne's best friends, Richard Hasler. Wayne said he would write to me, and I told him that he could write to "Pal Miles, St. George, Utah" and it would get to me. (Which it would in those days.) He went in the Army in September, and it wasn't until the next May when he was in Trieste, by Italy, that he remembered "Oh, Pal Miles, -- I said I'd write to her"! So I received a letter long after I had expected he wasn't interested. We wrote letters for 14 months, most of which we kept and have had printed in a book for our posterity. Those letters are how we truly got to know each other, and our desires and goals in life, and our testimonies of the Gospel, etc. All those things filled those letters.
We got engaged just 3 weeks after he got home, and the next morning I left for one month to go back and participate with BYU students in the Hill Cumorah Pageant. When I got back, Wayne had not had any college, and he decided to start at Dixie College (now a university.) We got married on September 24, 1955, in the St. George Temple, and spent our first 4 years of married life living on the G I Bill, and Wayne working a part time job. We had two children during those 4 years, Wayne Miles and Delsy, and our 3rd child Anita, was born in September just after he graduated from Utah State in Logan. He was a high school coach the first year, and then went to summer school, and became an elementary teacher for 31 more years. Later he received his Master's Degree from BYU.--
(I'll add just a bit about that year. During his Master's study year he worked part time at the Utah State Penitentiary as a teacher of those who hadn't graduated from the 8th grade. He would go and have to be locked in behind several doors to do his teaching. I used to worry he may start a riot, as Wayne has always been outspoken. Two examples that happened there are: At Christmas time he took some chocolates in a pocket of a coat. When he went to find them they were gone, and he said "Which one of you con's took my chocolates?"! Another was when he heard one inmate brag "My grandfather was on welfare, and my dad was on welfare, and when I get out I'm going to be on welfare too!" Wayne spoke up and said "I have just one word for that! LEECH! I don't know whether it is leach or leech, but you are are a Leech!" All was quite, and then someone spoke up and said "Nice going Eckman!" Needless to say I was relieved when that job was done. I went to the Penitentiary with him to an 8th grade graduation, and those men were thrilled to finally be able to get high school training. --- added today)
This is a photo of Wayne as "Mother Goose", which our daughter Delsy made. He loved to dress up at Halloween for his students, and had a lot of spirit as a great teacher! (He still does! He loves to go to the local baseball games and have fun teasing the umpires and opposing coaches.)
We moved back to St. George in 1981, where we had wanted to live for quite some time, and Wayne spent his last 10 years of teaching here. My mother, Ruth, was still alive, and also Wayne's mother, Gladys, was still alive in Murray, Utah, at that time.
After Wayne retired in 1991, he worked for a newspaper for about 3 years, and then we went on an LDS mission to Sweden during 1994 - 1995. (Sweden was the ancestral home of his father.) We came home, and my mother, Ruth was needing care, so she lived with us until, because of health etc. we got her 24 hour care in a nursing home. We went to visit her daily, until she passed away in 1999. We then went on another mission, which originally was a call to Portugal, and we studied Portuguese in the Senior MTC for 2 months. But our visas didn't come through, so we were assigned to a Portuguese speaking branch in Danbury, Connecticut. That was so exciting, because between us we had 27 ancestors who had lived in Connecticut. That mission resulted in getting 9 thick books which have provided many names for the Temple.
Since that mission, we have been Temple Ordinance workers in the St. George Temple, and after a foot operation I went on 2 family history missions here. Wayne still is an ordinance worker. We live just a 5 minute walk from the door of the St. George Temple, and love living in St. George, which is quite well known as a good place to retire, as we almost never have snow! However, this last December (2013) we did have the most snow they've had here in probably over 50 years.
That doesn't even scratch the surface of our many trials, blessings, and experiences, it seems. By reading these blogs, we have mentioned quite a few thoughts and feelings about life, so you probably know some about us if you have been reading them. You can check out blogs, # 13, 21, and 24, for other stories, and also # 3 and # 9. Some were back in 2013. Also blog # 4 which tells of an extremely stressful time in my life, almost a breakdown.
I'll certainly tell more about our lives, with more details from time to time. We love having our lives immersed with the Gospel, with 4 grandchildren having gone on missions in the past, and 2 presently out, (one a granddaughter in the MTC right now!) and another grandson to get his call in a week or two. I'll write about those missions when he gets his call. WE LOVE MISSIONARY AND TEMPLE WORK!
(Update, Skye our granddaughter went to Irvine California and is home now, and Jacob got his call to Indonesia and will be there almost one more year. -- Check our "labels" for information on them.)
------------------------------------
That ends the blog I wrote then. I'll give a brief update. In September, 2014, Wayne was in the hospital for 4 or 5 days with pneumonia. He got out on his birthday, Sept. 18, 2014, his 84th birthday, and was on oxygen for a few weeks. Just 2 days later, we had a celebration for my 80th birthday which would be on October 6, 2014, and this picture below was taken that day.
Then Wayne was in the hospital 2 times during the Christmas holidays, 2 days before Christmas, home on Christmas, and then in 2 days after Christmas -- mostly because of high carbon dioxide levels in his blood. Then he was in the hospital 4 times from February 15th to April 15th, 3 times for 4 days, and 1 time for 6 days. Two of those times he was in intensive care for 1 or 2 days. (In between times he was mostly at Kolob Rehabilitation -- home only a few days before he was back.)
At that time, with fluid crowding both his lungs and heart, they started kidney dialysis 3 days a week, and that has resulted in him feeling so much better. We thought he would be just fine continuing that when about 4 weeks ago he had problems swallowing, and had an endoscopy. That showed esophageal cancer, something totally new! So right now he has radiation 5 mornings a week, and then 3 afternoons a week he goes for dialysis. He hasn't felt any different yet, but today at our visit to Dr. Ray Richards, a wonderful radiation oncologist doctor, he tells us before his radiation will be done on October 8th, he probably will be very sore in his stomach, where the cancer is being diminished, etc. He may have to take medicine to sooth the raw sore which the radiation will cause. We haven't considered Chemo, and that may be too much with dialysis also. So we are taking one day at a time.
We have had very happy times in between all these health problems. On May 15th we had a grandson Sam Lieske marry Rebecca Francom in the St. George Temple. Also his brother Ben returned home from Taiwan on a mission. We have had a visit from Angie's family and seen Austin and Cameron whom we hadn't seen for 2 or 3 years. Also Missy, Wayne M.'s daughter came down with her dad Wayne 2 weekends ago when he came down to help do a concert in the Tabernacle here with his accordion. We hadn't seen her for 5 years since her wedding, as she lives in northern California. Allen's daughter Marion, and her husband Mike, and Allen Jr. came and visited also. Other grandchildren and children drop in now and then, and they are the highlights of our lives. We've had Delsy's daughter Amanda and her husband Brent get their BA degrees, and Tacy's son, Jordan, also get his this year. Lots going on!
The big excitement is that in just 3 days, Saturday, Sept. 5th, 2015, we are having a big family reunion for our 60th wedding anniversary, which will officially be on Sept. 24th, 2015. I'll post pictures after that! We should have almost 60 people there for our 60th! ! !
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