My Aunts and Uncles

My Mom's Side: The Peterson's

My aunts and uncles as I remember them:

The oldest was Mable. She went to live with her dad during High School. She never had children. She moved to California to begin her singing carreer or go into movies. Never happened. She was an alcoholic. Lived in an American Fork rest home into her 90's.

Then Olive married to my dad's first cousin, Leo Bowen. She raised her younger brothers and sisters when grandma went to work. Died of Alheizmer's. Aunt Olive taught me about Grandpa Peterson. It always fascinated me that Grandma never said anything negative about "Abraham." I think she truly loved him. Apparently he was tall dark and handsome. They met while he was herding sheep through the Malad Valley. He had a beautiful singing voice. Olive was in high school when he left, so she knew him well. She maintains that he was gone all week, grandma was straddled with 10 kids and would grumble a lot when he was home for the weekend. He got tired of it and looked for greener pastures.

Floyd worked hard. He was known as the son who worked all week in Lava, came home and gave every penny to Grandma but would keep a nickel to get into the Dance in Malad on Saturday night. He was fun. I remember amusing me and Marvin by blowing smoke rings. He was a grocerman in downtown San Francisco. Wow, did we love visiting him. When I was a senior, mom and Pops took me, Tim, Connie and Ned to visit him. I was impressed beyond belief at the new presidential candidate Robert F. Kenney. I was old enough to vote. I was ecstatic to be in California while RFK was there. I spent an afternoon at his San Francisco Headquarters. It was Uncle Floyd who told me the news the next morning of Robert Kennedy's assassination. I was devastated. Uncle Floyd died of alcoholism.

Then Stanley who ended up in Concord, California. He worked in Concord's Water Systems and had a daughter my age, Diane. He died of Alheizmer's. He was very active in the Church serving as Bishop of the Concord California Ward.

Emma Jean Cook who lived in Cleveland, Ohio. She sent amazing Chrismas gifts to all of us Thomas kids every year. She and my mom had a wonderful relationship. Her nickname was Raisins because that was her favorite snack and she called mom Skeezix because her hair stuck-up in front like the 1920's cartoon character, Skeezix. I loved when she and my Uncle Ed (nicknamed Cookie) came to visit. They were fun! The only drawback was the cigarette smoke that filled our house. Mom, nor Pops, said anything. She died of old age.

Josephine Hall who lived in Murray. She died in her 30's or 40's from heart disease. I spent a week with them once. I was too picky of an eater for them to enjoy my visit. I was a pain, I'm sure!

Gordon Dean died at 5 years old. Grandma Peterson was rocking him in her arms when he died from diptheria. Mom remembers being quarantined inside the home after his death. Grandma dressed him up and laid him in the front window as members of the community filed past the window to pay their respects. Grandpa Peterson, living in Las Vegas at the time, showed up to see the kids and could not get into the house to see any of them. The town shunned him. It was the last time my mom saw her dad. She was 4. Mom always thought the cat had something to do with Dean getting diptheria because the cat died the same day with similar symptoms.

Next was Mom.

Uncle Marvin. A few bolts loose. Lived in SLC. He never did pay my mom the $5 he owed her for naming my brother after him.

Uncle Clifford. Still alive. Has Alzhiemer's. My favorite. Was a lawyer in LA. We LOVED visiting him because he had his own swimming pool and what else, Disneyland. He and his family visited Grandma (and us) every summer.


My Dad's Side: The Thomas's

Lena. Lena Thomas Davis lived up the street from us in the coolest home. She worked in Rexall Drug store and the Evan's Co-op in Malad. She made wedding cakes. She knitted like no one else. She had talents galore. She had a large family. They are all gorgeous! None of them were members of the Church and did not have a great deal of money--two strikes against you in Malad. I loved my Aunt Lena. Died of a heart attack.

Ruth. Ruth Thomas Deschamps lived in Burbank, California. A school teacher. Wonderful sense of humor. Very intelligent. Her husband, Phenoi, went hunting with his sons one weekend. While on the way back home, the faulty tire on their trailer blew. The load pop and the movement of the trailer caused Phenoi to have a heart attack. Although they did not wreck, he died instantly in the trailer. It was a day before his daughter came home from her mission in France. I'll never forget that time.

My Dad. The oldest son. During World War II, certain families were given one farm deferment for a son to stay and help with the much needed farming. His family chose my dad to stay and not go to war because he had three children. Living in California, my parents moved back to the head of Malad.

Nettie. Nettie Thomas Bollingbroke. She was the sweetest, kindest lady that ever lived. She was cripple with arthritis. I remember hands and arms being shriveled up to her body. Her husband, Uncle Henry was amazing. He took wonderful care of Aunt Nettie. She was one of those kind spirits that you felt so great to be around. Died of pneumonia. It was said on her deathbed that she reached up and put her arms around Henry to hug him good-bye. She had never been able to do this because of her arthritis. She was what I consider an angel on earth.

Fred. Uncle Fred is a legend. He had just graduated from Teacher's College. Had a job teaching high school in Weston when World War II broke out. At nineteen he went to war. He was sent to the Pacific. It was devastating to the family when they received news that he had been captured and sent to a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp. Most Japanese POWs were starved or worked to death. It was a long time before anything was known about his condition or whereabouts. One day a young soldier from Portage, Utah showed up. He had been in the same camp as Uncle Fred. The Japanese were retreating in the Philipines and hurriedly tried to move the American prisoners from the island to the mainland Japan. In route they met an America ship. Not knowing it was full of American Soldiers, the US Navy sunk the ship. Uncle Fred was shot on deck. The young soldier from Portage got into the water and was eventually saved by the Americans. It was later that my grandparents received the official news of Uncle Fred's death.

Tom. Thomas Marion Thomas. Lives in Soda Springs. Uncle Tom is a hoot. He traveled to Malad often and we enjoyed his visits. Always smiling, always friendly. Was road foreman for the Idaho Department of Transportation. Currently lives in a rest home in Soda Springs.

JD. Joseph Dean Thomas. Died at age 5. I was always told he ate too many green apples from the tree and it poisoned him. Never heard much about JD.

Boyd. Uncle Boyd lived in Malad. He and my dad had a special relationship. I can still picture him in his green coveralls, standing in the backroom of the store drinking a coke and watching my Dad and Bud cut meat at th end of the day. He was extremely intelligent. He fixed TVs and later went back to college to become a math teacher. I loved his sense of humor. He and Aunt Edith were very good to me. The most amazing family in every way. Jon grew up as his next door neighbor. Died of old age. The youngest son, of the youngest son, of the youngest son.

Lucille. Lucille Thomas Deschamps Keene. The most beautiful woman in the world, and classy. She always has a smile and a teasing comment. Incredible person. Lives in Bountiful!