Here is one of my favorite self portraits. I took this in 2011 while living in Morgan Hill. I was 54.
I was exploring macro photography. Nothing special about this except it defines what my eye color really is. Any guesses?
The first five men from the left were the ones who helped shape my young life.
There are two missing, Bishop Trotter. He was our first bishop when we moved to San Jose, CA. He was the bishop who came to my home for my baptismal interview.
DeBoyd Smith was also a bishop who helped us become more active in the San Jose 7th (now Cambrian Park) ward. He was tall, quiet, and inviting. He had many kids. One was a daughter about my age. Her name was Mildred. My mother, Mildred appreciated that.
Because Mom was a widow, the bishops took extra care to nurture our family. In my pre-teen years, we had more than usual bishopric visits to our home. Each came to make sure we had plenty in our cupboards and plenty of spiritual nourishment as well.
Dean Johnson became bishop as we moved into the new chapel at Kirk and Noreen in San Jose. There was a huge influx of members to our ward as companies like IBM and General Electric, Nuclear Energy Division were growing locally.
Norman VanWoerkom was bishop when I turned 14 or so. He really promoted youth activities. I think he wasn’t well versed in handling the ministering to widows as our previous bishops did.
Joe Lindsey was bishop when I returned from my mission. He helped me find work quickly. It wasn’t what I really was interested in (banking), but it helped me transition to real work.
Ray Bell was bishop in my mid-teens (I think). He was a “letter of the law” kind of bishop.
Lynn Shurtleff took over as bishop after VanWoerkom. Very nice guy. Quiet and spiritual, he later became Stake President of the San Jose South Stake.
The other two guys Bill Michael and Mark Lagenour are the same age as I am. I didn’t know them very well. I hear they were pretty good as bishops as well.
This photo was taken after the funeral of Mildred Smith’s sister Maude Mitchell Halterman on Monday, September 28, 1964. It was taken out in front of “Aunt Libbie’s” house.
On that day, Mildred, my mother, was experiencing waves of grief from the loss of her sister. I remember that day being pretty fun. I enjoyed getting the attention of the older relatives. They would pat me on the head and say, “Oh what a handsome young man.”
Here’s a link to Maude’s obituary from the October 1, 1964 Iron County Record.
I’m back.
Here is where I plan to archive things I want to share.