August in Denver

During the week of August 12-15, we spent far more time in the car than we normally would ... driving first to Southern California for our final farewell to my mother, then immediately upon our return to St. George heading to Denver.  Jan'L was with her family in Tennessee (for Nascar), David needed to work and the boys were in school ... all on different schedules.  While in Denver, we were able to attend the open house for the Ft. Collins Temple which is to be dedicated in early October.  It was a fun 5-6 days.  Enjoyed spending time with our oldest son on his birthday, catching up with the boys and having a day or two to be with Jan'L.

The 40,000 square foot Fort Collins Temple, the 2nd in Colorado, will be dedicated on October 16, 2016.  The Denver Temple - the Church's 40th operating temple - was dedicated in 1986.  

Construction of the Fort Collins Temple was not without its problems.  On Sunday, August 23, 2015, significant vandalism was carried out at the construction site. Suspects damaged parts of the building, exterior structures, and construction machinery by driving one piece of equipment into a structure and spray painting others pieces of equipment. The financial loss from the damage is not yet known. Evidence suggests the destruction may be connected to previous burglary and vandalism at three other Fort Collins churches in late July and early August.

California Fire Prevents Dedication of Mother's Grave

My mother Doris Henion passed away peacefully in the afternoon of Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at the age of 92 years and 11 months with her beloved 16-year-old cat Penny by her side.  I was there and watched as she breathed, and breathed, and breathed … then did not breath again. 

I notified my kids by text of her passing and in the afternoon, Stacy rang our doorbell.  She stayed until late in the evening offering solace and figuratively holding my hand, then returned on Wednesday with soup and rolls for dinner.  These little gestures were so appreciated and, reminded me, once again, how sweet it is that I am always able to count on my children’s support when I am in need.  

Larry was able to catch a flight into Las Vegas where we picked him up on Wednesday afternoon.  Kris arrived on Thursday evening driving 12-hours from her home in Sonoma, CA and stayed the weekend at our house.  Kelly and Gary arrived on Friday afternoon, driving from their home in northern Utah and stayed in Stacy and Rick’s air-conditioned camper.    

Larry and I had talked numerous times about how to celebrate our mother’s life since she didn’t know anyone in St. George and most of her friends in California are her age – or older – and can no longer travel.  We finally settled on a family gathering on Saturday evening at Spilsbury Mortuary where we viewed our mother for the last time.  She looked beautiful – with her hair styled and make-up on - after more than five years in bed.  She was dressed all in white except her fingernails which Stacy painted pink to match her final resting place named “Plush Pink.”

At the mortuary, we pulled chairs into a circle and spent an hour or more simply remembering our mother and grandmother.  We laughed, shed a few tears and celebrated her life together.  After Ed gave a family prayer, we met up again at Stacy and Rick’s where we enjoyed hamburgers and a Dutch oven dinner, then played Phase Ten until we all went our different directions for a good night’s rest.

I decided not to put Mother’s obituary in the newspaper since she didn’t know anyone in St. George but mailed copies to about a dozen of her friends … and members of Dad’s family in Washington.

On Tuesday, August 16 we traveled with Larry to say our final goodbye at the National Cemetery in Riverside, CA where she will rest next to our father, getting within 40 miles of the cemetery but not actually arriving there. 

Traffic on the I-15 freeway began to slow a little south of Barstow where we saw a fire on the horizon.  The Blue Cut Fire spread very quickly (ultimately to more than 40,000 acres with dozens of homes and businesses incinerated and more than 82,000 evacuated).  By the time we reached the Ranchero Road off ramp, traffic was at a standstill.  After nearly 2 hours sitting in the middle of hundreds of cars and semi-trucks, we were re-routed off the freeway south of Victorville.  It only took us a minute to decide we would just turn around and head back toward Las Vegas where we were scheduled to drop Larry at McCarren Airport on Wednesday for his flight home to Seattle. 

It was a busy week with many details to address, but we have been anticipating this day for several years.  Nevertheless, losing a parent is a difficult experience no matter how old the surviving “child” is.

Rest in peace, Mother.

PS:  The following morning after arriving home from CA, we left for Denver to be with David on his birthday, to attend the open house for the Ft. Collins Temple and to transport the kids to and from school and other activities while Jan'L was in Tennessee with her mom, dad and sisters. 

Til We Meet Again, Doris Henion

Doris Mae Bradford Henion passed away quietly at the Brookdale Southgate Assisted Living Facility in St. George, Utah on Tuesday, August 9, 2016 with Penny, her beloved 16-year-old orange tabby cat by her side. Our mother was 92 years and 11 months old at the time of her passing.

Born prematurely on September 20, 1923 in San Pedro, California, the second of three children of Elgie James and Verda Carol Godwin Bradford started life weighing only 1.5 lbs. with little hope she would survive. But, with the tender care of her mother who used a shoebox and a warm kitchen oven as an incubator, Doris grew to be a strong, healthy child.

She attended school in San Pedro, California and later in Portland, Oregon where, after graduation from high school she took a job at the Swan Island shipyards during World War II. She had a beautiful singing voice and at age 18 she competed for - and won - the title of “Sweetheart of Swan Island.” Although her father nixed the idea of his daughter pursuing a career in show business, she continued throughout her lifetime to sing whenever the opportunity presented itself. 

At age19, she met a handsome soldier on a bus ride home from work and three months later on June 26, 1943, she married U. S. Army Sergeant Dexter LeRoy Henion from Randle, Washington.  He passed away on June 17, 2008 just 10 days shy of what would have been of their 65th wedding anniversary.  

Doris was employed for much of her life. A year after the war ended and Dex came home from the Pacific theater to his 18-month old daughter Linda Carol, his young bride gave birth to a son, Laurence David Henion. When Larry started school, our Mother took a job as a bank teller, where for many years she maintained an almost legendary, perfect daily record for balancing her cash drawer - then she became interested in the new industry of home party sales. For nearly a decade, she was a top salesperson for Coppercraft and later for Beeline Clothing where she won nearly every award both companies gave to their top sales people.  She also earned an impressive income for a woman in the decade of the late-1950's and early-1960's.

Doris was also an amazing seamstress and tailor, beginning at a very young age to make her own clothes, and later sewing for her husband and children. During more than 20 years when she and Dex square danced several times a week and on numerous cruises with their square dance friends she designed beautiful matching outfits for herself and her dance partner.  She also created square dance outfits for many other dancers, earning high praise for her workmanship as well as filling her legendary "shoebox under the bed" with cash. In addition to sewing and square dancing, she excelled for a number of years in ceramics, creating beautiful works of art for her own home and for friends and family members.

Doris is survived by her daughter Linda Henion (Ed) Sappington of St. George, Utah; her son Laurence Henion of Seattle, Washington; six grandchildren - Kelly Sappington Yocum (Gary) of Clinton, Utah; Stacy Sappington Welch (Rick) of St. George, Utah; David Sappington (Jan’L) of Henderson, Colorado; Kris Sappington of Sonoma, California; Michael Sappington of Pleasant Grove, Utah; Kaytee Sappington Postma (Josh) of Anaconda, MT; 15 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandsons; four nieces - Judy Rickards (Bob) McAlpine of Dallas, Oregon; Janee Rickards (Gordon) Ryan of Powell Butte, Oregon; Jamie Bradford Grimmett and Julie Bradford, both of Kelso, Washington. She is preceded in death by her husband Dexter Henion; parents EJ and Verda Bradford; her only sister Mildred Jean (Mickie) Parker and her only brother William Keith Bradford.

The family wishes to express gratitude to those who watched over her for the last year and a half of her life at Brookdale Southgate Assisted Living Center in St. George, UT; her square dance friends who she considered her best friends ever; and to Dave and Janene Bills, her bishop and visiting teacher, from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Corona, CA who regularly reached out to help her after Dad passed in 2008.

Interment is alongside our father at the National Cemetery in Riverside, CA. 

Charlene, Bob and Tiffany ... David and Jan'L Visit

Charlene, Tiffany, Bob and 6 of their 8 kids (Ben is on a mission in Uruguay and Ayami - actually Todd's daughter - is with her dad in Japan for the summer) came to St. George for a day long visit on August 2.  They are staying in a timeshare in Las Vegas which also includes Bob's parents and some friends from Italy.  We enjoyed the chance to get reacquainted, to hear about the adoption process for the little boys and Abby, and break some bread together.  We spent time at the Town Square, playing in the water and riding the merry-go-round.

To our surprise, in the late afternoon David and Kaler dropped in.  It has been long enough since the cousins - David and Tiffany - have been together in the same room, David admitted he had never met Bob.

We didn't take many pictures (darn it) but we did manage to get a picture of our 3 sets of twins - all together in one room.  Selwin and Simeon Lovell, Josh and Phillip Nelson and the baby boys Ashton and Sawyer.

David, Jan'L and their boys were here for a few more days.  We enjoyed lots of good visiting and a fun evening playing a rousing game of Phase Ten with David, Kyle, Kole, Simeon and his girlfriend Stephanie (she's a killer Phase Ten player).  Ah, good times!