Rigby Family Reunion - 2014

Each year my dad, along with his siblings and their families get together on or around the date of August 4th.  Why this date?  That was the day their father, Joseph Lester Rigby, was born and they have been getting together on that date ever since I can remember as a little child.  Out of the eight children born to Lester and Hattie (one daughter died at birth), there are only four remaining living children:  my dad, his brother Harold, and his two sisters, Mary Jean, and Merle.  They are all kind, wonderful, good people!

Ray, Harold, Mary Jean, and Merle

Each year, a different family is in charge of the reunion so it rotates every seven years for each family.  This year, it was the Ray Rigby family who was in charge.  We worked so hard to make it special.   

The banner which my daughter-in-law Natalie designed was such a hit.  Every family wants to use it each year from here on!

These are an artist's renditions of my grandparents which we all love, so they were on the table where people came in.

Everyone brings pot luck and we lay it out on long tables.

Although the number in the Rigby family is in the hundreds, we had 68 in attendance which was a pretty good number. 

I am the third grandchild born to my grandparents, Lester and Hattie.  Here I am with the oldest grandchild--Marilyn.  We are just two years apart and were on the debate team at Madison High School.  She was the one I have to thank for helping me become a better speaker--believe me, I needed it!  I was the probably the shyest person in front of an audience who ever took the class when I went in, but those three years of debating were such fabulous training. 

Marilyn and her husband, Gary.  He was, also, in the high school debate class with us.  We all go back so many years!

 This is Marilyn's mother, my Aunt Margaret, who was married to my Uncle Lalovi, my dad's brother.  He died many years ago, so she has been a widow for so long.  Some of the sweetest, kindest people I have ever known!

Lalovi and Margaret had two children--Marilyn and Brent who were born 20 years apart.  Brent and his wife weren't able to come today, but this is his daughter and her husband.

 Me with the second oldest grandchild, Cheryl.  She is such a positive person with such a contagious laugh.  
 

Cheryl's husband, Sheldon.  He was formerly a BYU professor and now he and Cheryl do missionary and genealogy work for the church.  Great people!
The fourth oldest grandchild is Janet.  Here she is with her husband Gordon who was, also, a BYU-I professor.  They have, also, been on a mission and are busy with their church and family.  She has worked for a candy factory for as long as I can remember!  Janet is a year younger than I, and we went to college together one year.  Great heart--would do anything for you!

Cheryl and Janet's parents have both passed away--their mother, LaRue, who is my dad's sister, just died two years ago at the age of 91.  She could cook, sew, and organize a party like none other!  She and my Uncle Vaughn are truly missed! 

 This is my dad's brother, Harold, such a good man! 

  Here is Harold's wife, Vaudys, on the right with their daughter-in-law, Janet.
Harold and Vaudys's son, Larry, and his wife, Janet.

These are two beautiful daughters of Larry and Janet.

 My Uncle Harold and Aunt Vaudys's oldest daughter, Rita, and her husband, Chan.  Rita is, also, a school teacher.  It seems to run in the family.  I love Rita's zaniness!  She is just plain fun and so caring for others!

Harold and Vaudys's second oldest child is Christine.  Here she is with her husband, Mark.  He is a retired doctor and now is a patriarch in the church. 

Linda (far left) is Harold and Vaudys's third oldest child.  Here she is with her sister, Christine and my sister, Beth.  Linda is the same age as Beth and they went to school together.  We only lived about a mile from their family growing up, so we were all in the same ward and had many fun times together.

This is my cousin, Judy, with her mother, my Aunt Merle, who is my dad's sister. 

My Uncle Boyd and Aunt Merle's son, Craig, and his wife, Laurie.  He is a fireman.  It was so much fun when their son was called on a mission and served in Gainesville, Florida.  He ended up in  our son, Craig's, ward.  We really enjoyed getting to know him better that way.  He was a great missionary!

My dad's youngest sister, my Aunt Mary Jean, and her husband, my Uncle Gary. 

This is Gary and Mary Jean's oldest son, Robert, and his wife Tracey.  He pretty much is a miracle walking.  He was almost dead due to liver disease when the family of a young man who died in Hawaii requested that his liver be donated to Robert, which saved his life.  Fantastic people!

My father, Ray.  He still misses my mother after she's been gone for over 12 years.  Not a day goes by that he doesn't talk about her!  At 91 years of age and still living by himself, he pretty much is a miracle himself!

 My dad with my sister, Beth.

Beth and her husband, Ted.

Two of the three sons of Ted and Beth--Chase, who is an attorney in Blackfoot, Idaho, and Matthew, who just returned from a mission in Brazil.  The third son just went back to medical school in St. Louis after a little summer break.

 My Aunt Merle talking to my dad.

 My brother, Jerry's daughter, Allison; my sister, Natalie's daughter, Brooke; and Brooke's friend, Hannah.  Brooke and Hannah had just completed an "Especially for Youth" week at BYU-I which they loved!

My brother Blair and his wife, Denise.  Since it was Blair's birthday the very next day, she had brought a big birthday cake and we all sang, "Happy Birthday."

Such a fun couple--great parents of five children and grandparents of six.

Blair with their daughter, Emilie.

Blair and Denise's second oldest daughter, Lisa, with her husband, Logan, and their two children, Cruz and Ella.

Those two little kids had more fun at the reunion.  Here they came to talk to their Uncle Doug.  He is always entertaining!

 Here little Cruz was trying to sneak up on some birds!

 One of the games we had for the younger people was a scavenger hunt in the park which my niece, Lisa, helped with.   Little Ella actually won it and came to tell Great Grandpa Ray that she was the winner.  She was so proud and had worked so hard! 

Great Grandpa Ray giving Ella a big hug.

 These were the refrigerator magnets we gave to those who won the games we played.  We put the theme of our reunion inside:
"Like branches on a tree, our lives may grow in different directions, yet our roots remain as one." 

We, also, handed out bookmarks for everyone attending as a remembrance of our family reunion.  (Special thanks to my daughter-in-law, Natalie, for designing them, and to my daughter, Alison, for helping me put them together.)

Thanks, also, to Beverly for these candid shots taken during the day.

Facing us is Joyce's daughter, Michele, with her husband, Brian, and next to him their daughter McKenna.  The next young man is, also, their son.  In total, they have six children.  Another of Joyce's daughters, Heather, was also there with her husband and three children.  Sadly, we didn't get a picture of their cute family.  

We had a special program where Joyce first told about the museum there in Rexburg which has many items of interest to the Rigby family.  Our Great-great grandfather was William F. Rigby who was an early pioneer in the area from the Wyoming area, to Idaho, and down to areas in Utah--sent out by the Prophet Brigham Young to help colonize these valleys and to help in the leadership of the Mormon Church.  The city of Rigby, Idaho, was named after him.  Although he never lived there, he did so much for the area that they named the city in honor of him.  In the museum is, also, a sword given to William F. Rigby by the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Joyce is a guide in the Mormon Museum in Salt Lake City and has always loved history and learning more about it.  She was a great one to talk about museums.

My brother Jerry then told about how Grandma Hattie had spoken at his Missionary Farewell at church right before leaving for Taiwan for two years.  He actually had a recording of Grandma Hattie.  It was just like she was standing right there--so sweet and yet baring such a powerful testimony of the gospel.

Jerry got quite emotional talking about Grandpa Lester and Grandma Hattie.

Joyce helped me as we directed the group in a friendly game of Family Feud.  We divided everyone into groups of four and then asked them questions about Grandpa Lester and Grandma Hattie's lives.  Not only was it fun for everyone (hopefully), but I think everyone really learned a lot from it.  (Yes, I know, mouth opened shot.  Hah!)

 After the game and awarding of the prizes, Beth talked a little more about their lives--especially the time they spent three years in Samoa serving a mission for the Mormon Church.

Beth did a beautiful job of reminding us of how blessed we all are to have the heritage we have from these wonderful grandparents.
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Grandma Hattie was a beautiful young lady who planned to go to Ricks Academy to become a school teacher.  However, she had met a young man who she had fallen in love with.  Although she was only 18 at the time, she decided to be married to Grandpa Lester since he would be leaving on a three-year mission for the Mormon Church to Samoa, and she reasoned that she could finish her schooling while he was gone. 

Grandpa Lester

 Hattie and Lester were married on May 28, 1913, in the Salt Lake Temple.  The next day he left for Samoa for three years.  To her surprise, she received a mission call four months later from the Church calling her to the Samoan Islands, too.  Since Samoa was occupied by the Germans and she had taken German in school, she would be very valuable there in helping the missionaries with their German, she could be the mission secretary, plus it would reunite her with her husband.     

Of course, she accepted the call.  It took one month by the time she left her home in Idaho, traveled to Salt Lake City by car, then by train to San Francisco where she boarded the ship as the only sister missionary with several young male missionaries.  She was so lonely and so sick on board.  They sailed for five days before reaching Hawaii, then on to Pago, Pago-Samoa, and finally by a small boat to Pesega, Samoa, where she couldn't wait to see my grandfather.  To her great disappointment, he wasn't there.  Unbeknownst to Hattie, her letter to Lester telling him she was coming was on the same ship she had sailed on.  It was five days before Lester learned that Hattie was on the island.  After teaching school, he wand two other elders were walking down a path when they saw her coming in a horse drawn cart toward them.  Imagine his surprise and the sweet reunion they had!  (Picture is of the three missionaries in the cart Hattie came riding in.)

Lester and Hattie in their little bungalow in Samoa.   They loved being on their mission together where they were kept extremely busy.  Some of the many assignments Hattie fulfilled were:

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Play the organ and piano for the church meetings, as well as accompany the choir and individuals; teach school; be the mission secretary; take care of the sick, sew for others; quilt blankets; help take care of the church store; help make caskets for infants who died; clean the mission house; teach English to the Chinese Consul; teach music lessons to many of the natives.

Some of the many duties Lester performed in addition to teaching school to the native children as seen in the picture above, were to plant and care for a garden, paint, build fences, and repair any items that needed attention.  He put shoes on horses as well as mended shoes for people.  He, also, ordered items from the mainland, picked up supplies at the dock, and maintained a little store to provide money for the school.  All of this, plus he traveled from island to island in conducting church service and attending to the sick and needy.
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In addition to all of their missionary responsibilities, they were blessed to have their first child born there in Samoa--a son who the islanders helped name as "Lalovi," which meant "beneath the Vi tree," a native tree of Samoa.  They took him everywhere with them as they fulfilled their missionary assignments.

One other of Lester and Hattie's assignments was to care for the church cemetery some ten miles from their home.  Buried there in that little cemetery were six elders, a mother and a baby, and four small children.  When Lester's appendix ruptured and he was in the hospital for 17 days, plus little Lalovi after getting over whooping cough earlier in his life, now contracted elephantiasis, a disease usually fatal to babies, Hattie was so saddened and worried.  At this great time of despair, she walked to the cemetery and knelt in prayer.  No one prayed more earnestly than she did that if her husband and baby had to die that she could at least take them home so they wouldn't have to be buried in this far away land.  She said she felt so close to her Father in Heaven there that day and then promised that if their lives could be spared that she would faithfully serve the Lord the rest of her life.

Lester and Lalovi both survived due to priesthood blessings and Hattie made good her promise to the Lord.  Her life would be one of service--to family, to the Lord, and to her community.

Hattie and Lester Rigby Family Picture
(l to r on top row:)  LaRue, Alden, Ray, Lalovi, Merle
(bottom row) Mary Jean, Lester, Hattie, Harold
(One more daughter died at birth.)

Ray, Harold, Alden, Lalovi, Lester, Hattie, LaRue, Merle, Mary Jean

Hattie and Lester at the 50th Wedding Anniversary

Grandpa Lester died in 1976.  Hattie grieved so much from that day forward for nearly three years after his death when she died peacefully in 1979.  At the time of her death, Lester and Hattie had 35 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren.  This time, we are all certain that Lester knew she was coming and was waiting for her in Spirit Paradise with open arms.  What a beautiful reunion that must have been!

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In addition to talking a little about his parents, my dad, also, talked about the war memorial that he had helped be built here in this very park.  He told the family about it because he and two of his brothers, as well as other family members' names are on it because of their military service.  After the reunion, many of us went across the park to see it.

Then each of the other three remaining children spoke about their parents and what they are doing in their lives now.
  My Uncle Harold.   Even with Parkinson's disease, he still manages to accomplish so much, including being a sealer at the temple.  He's always been such a hard worker.

My Aunt Merle

Merle's husband, Boyd, is in a rest home because he pretty much needs constant care.  Merle goes every day to see him and spend time with him, as well as all the other "friends" she has met there who count on her daily cheery greetings.

My Aunt Mary Jean.

She still works at a medical office and is loved so much there, they probably will never let her retire.

After the clean-up was over, we took a few pictures with some of the cousins who were still there.
Beth (my sister); Christine (cousin); Beverly (my sister); Linda (cousin); me; and Joyce (my sister).

We got a few more in this picture:
Judy (cousin); Beth (sister); Christine (cousin); Denise (sister-in-law); Linda (cousin); me; Joyce (sister); Beverly (sister); and Rita (cousin).  
So happy to see these cousins who I haven't seen for years!

We then walked over to the military memorial which contains the names of people in the area who served their country in any capacity of the military.
Going through these walls always makes my dad so nostalgic because he knows most all of them.
 
And looking on all those names, we found my dad's.

My dad has always been so proud of his military service.  He made so many friends there and learned so much about his country and patriotism.  As a prosecuting attorney for 14 years, state senator for 8 years, and throughout all the community service he has given through his legal work, he has certainly extended that love of country and his fellowmen his entire life.

We all loved walking through the rows of memories.  Because these are the names of those in our community area and with it being such a small area, we all knew so many of those whose names are here.

 

Here was our "Uncle Ace."  Not really our Uncle, but we always called him that.  He was such a good friend of our dad's as well as our entire family.  He had quite the experiences while he was in military--it was a miracle that he came out alive.

These three plaques along the bottom are the three Garner brothers who served in the military--the far right is my brother-in-law, Doug's, dad.  Until the day he died just a few years ago, he still had  several pieces of shrapnel in his body that had never been removed.

Going to this Military Memorial was a wonderful way to end the day of family reunions and togetherness.  It made us all more aware of the blessings of our wonderful family, country that we live in, and those who serve our country to keep our families safe.