Mavis and Orr are young at heart and it is a joy to be in their home. Mavis is the perfect hostess and makes sure that one's slightest desire is met. She takes tender care of her precious Orr. He now uses a walker in the house and cart outside because he can only walk a short distance. He is blind and had a serious fall a few days before we arrived. 
They have a beautiful home that overlooks the Virgin River. We had such fun visiting, playing games, enjoying family videos, and driving around the valley to see the growth of the area. We even discovered the area where our GPS had led us astray as we were trying to find their home for the first time. 
From the back one can see how large it is. Family and friends are welcomed guests.
Mavis has always been an excellent cook and she keeps up on the latest homemaking skills. Her home is a warm, beautiful, welcoming, gathering place. 
The St. George Temple can be seen from almost every window. Mavis continues to play the organ there. She and Orr served as Ordinance Workers there and in the Jordan River Temple for 25 years.
St. George is known for its walking paths. This path begins near the Hill home and winds down along the Virgin River.
Because of recent flooding, the Virgin River has been diverted and they are putting huge quantities of rock into the river bed to shore up the land. 
It was fascinating to see what they were doing. 
John is a wonderful companion. We're so grateful we are able to share these precious years.
Notice the erosion in the sandstone rocks near the base of a dry stream bed coming from the mountains down to the river. 
Mavis and Orr have been heavily involved in the Sons and Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. Mavis is a docent and gave us a personalized tour of the Pioneer Museum with special emphasis on pioneers with whom we were familiar. 
They showed us the new St. George Airport. Even though Orr is blind, he can still give helpful directions because he knows the area so well. We drove to the Arizona border, then turned left to get to the airport. I don't think we passed a car and we only saw two people in the airport though there were many cars parked around. We saw many private planes and if we had waited two more hours, we could have watched a scheduled plane land. There were many miles without any buildings but there were signs encouraging people to build in future subdivisions. St. George is really growing!
Orr has completed his autobiography. It is delightful because you hear his voice and his humor as he tells of his experiences. I didn't realize that he went into the Navy as a medic for four years and saw most of Southeast Asia. He served on both land and sea and had many unique experiences as part of the Greatest Generation. Then he was recalled for three years on the ship Boxer for three years during the Korean War. It was a treasured experience to read the book then have time to ask questions and share feelings. 
We had a delightful visit with Karen and Hal Stead who now live in Uncle Harold and Aunt Zelma Stead's home. They are both involved in teaching and performing music. They have a wonderful family and there is a sweet spirit of service in their home. 
Their daughter Shannon teaches dance with the Tanner Children's Dance School in Salt Lake City and has danced twice with the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. Hal has a professional recording studio in their home and demonstated an arrangement they are creating which was magical. On one track Hal plays the guitar, on another he plays the bass. On still another Shannon sings the melody and on another she sings the counter-melody. As the rhythm instruments are added this will be a delightful piece which Shannon will choreograph for the children to use as they present programs at various elementary schools. Both Karen and Hal do music arrangments. When we asked about Karen's parents in Idaho they shared this incredible story of love and service: Karen's father has diabetes and her mother has Alzheimer's. The father takes care of the mother because, though she still recognizes family, she doesn't remember how to do household tasks other than making bread. However, she types well. She has indexed over 100,000 names for FamilySearch.org. She cannot download and set up the files nor submit them when they are completed, but she types very well and makes a remarkable contribution. I am amazed and grateful for the service that people continue to give even in difficult circumstances.
No comments:
Post a Comment