WORK , COLLEGE & MISSION - CHAPTER THREE

Summertime after graduation was so much fun. We did have to work however, which crunched our play time.We enjoyed going to movies with friends, out to great Salt Lake swimming. We went fishing with my Dad and Mom either to Strawberry Reservoir, Malad, Idaho or Fish Lake. Mother was famous for catching the most fish. We laughed so much over fun stories that they would tell us. Both Dad and Mom loved Roger and He loved them. Roger went hunting with my Dad and brothers in the fall of that year. I know my brothers would tease him a lot; but he took it well and enjoyed the hunting. I loved it when he got back from the hunt safely. I loved him in his cowboy hat and boots. He was very handsome. Roger was always a very nice dresser and always looked totally perfect. Even today he is still that way. He likes his white shirts pressed to perfection; so it's a good thing that I let him iron them. I also have him press creases in my pants; because he makes the crease so perfect. Roger continued to work at the Book Bindery and I worked for my favorite boss, Malcome C. Petrie. We were saving money for tuition to go to University of Utah. We took the college entrance exams and of course Roger passed with flying colors. I on the other hand didn't do well on the Math portion; so when we signed up for classes I had to registrar for a dumb bell math class; which was irritating to me. Our classes were the the required courses. I especially enjoyed a pre nursing class, biology and history. Roger enjoyed English and Chemistry. We both took a swimming class at a different time. The classes were in the same building but the swimming pools were separated; I later learned why. I was so shocked when he told me that the men did not have swimming suits; that was really weird. We went to school together in our 1952 Chevy and usually had lunch together. We enjoyed all of the sports and went to all of the Basketball and Football games that we could. Roger only went for the first two quarters. I completed the full year. After Roger's second quarter; he worked full time to save money for his mission. At this point he wasn't sure what he wanted to go into for a career. His father really wanted him to be a physician. I always wanted to be a nurse. I can't remember a time I didn't want to be a nurse. I heard so many stories from my grandmother about her nursing experiences and that was what I wanted too.
One really funny thing happened that year. He got tickets for us to go out to Lagoon to see Roger Williams the Pianist. When he gave them his name to hold the tickets; they kind of laughed. When we got out there he didn't have any tickets because they thought it was someone who was playing a joke. Through the years when he would introduce his self; he has often been teased about being the piano player or the great religious reformer.

ROGER AND LEANN

MARCH 1965

For me that year went way too fast which meant his mission time was coming.We had talked about getting married; but I really felt strongly that he should go on a mission. I knew he wanted to go too. We will forever be grateful that he made that decision. He had a dream in high school about me and he felt that I held his future in my hands. I just knew deep in my heart that a mission would be one of the greatest blessings of our lives. It was a risk in not knowing whether the time a way would change our feelings for each other; but if anything it strengthened those feelings. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my entire life. I loved him deeply and two years was a very very long time. We were faithful in writing one another and as I look back on those two years I will always be grateful for every letter received because not only could I feel his growing testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; but it strengthened mine more than words can express. Roger was called to the Northern California Mission. I will never forget going with his family to take him to the Mission Home. The Mission Home was a large older home up near the Salt Lake Temple. He was to be there for 2 weeks. When I went in with him; I met the Mission Home President and his wife. Their names were Pres. and Sister Brown. She took me aside and talked with me for a while about waiting for a missionary and the importance of not being a distraction to his missionary work. She said it in such a kind and loving way that I felt good that she would talk with me. It was so hard to say good by; but I was able to go to the Missionary testimony meeting held in the Assembly Hall at the end of the two weeks. It was a wonderful meeting. The day that Roger left for his mission; I went with his parents to take him to the train station. We were both nervous and we held hands on the way to the train station. My parents came to the train station to say good-by along with Roger's siblings. As he boarded the train; his sister Gloria pushed me up the train steps to have a few moments alone to say good by. He did give me a kiss and asked me to wait for him; but he actually told me to date if I wanted too. We both cried; it was so hard. I immediately ran down the steps of the train and then just started to run away from the train. I cried so hard and for a really long time. It was just so very hard; because I loved him so much and I did know and feel that he loved me too. At first our letters were often filled with homesickness for one another. Finally, Roger had to tell me to not write emotional thoughts because he couldn't do what he had to do on his mission. He also had been calling me. There weren't as many rules about writing and calling as there are now. I can see now why there are more rules. It is hard to keep your focus if you are writing love letters. He did however call me on Holidays and my Birthday. We were such good friends that we shared so many thoughts about what we were both doing during those two years. Roger fulfilled a productive and wonderful mission and had a great impact on many lives. He taught and baptized many investigators. He served in some great areas of the mission. At one time he was in Ely, Nevada for a short while; which was not that far from Salt Lake. I thought for a moment or two how wonderful it would have been to drive there and see if I could see him tracking; rather unrealistic I know and wishful thinking on my part. He had leadership responsibilities as a District and Zone Leader. At the closing interview President Peterson his mission president told him that at one point he was going to make him an assistant to the President. However, one of the Elder's said there would be problems if he chose someone from Salt Lake to serve. As usual there were some politics. I know that Roger didn't care either way; he just enjoyed working hard. He had some awesome companion's and a few that he struggled with. The first year around Christmas he had a companion that didn't like for him to be writing to me; so he made it difficult for Roger. I didn't get a letter for a couple of weeks; and it was really hard. He finally sent me something and called me on Christmas; just hearing his voice and I knew all was well. He also, had me type his missionary journal; which gave me a chance to really share with him his experiences. Sometimes, his journal entries would be my letter for the week; but it always gave me strength to go on when I would read of his experiences and feel of his testimony. He served in San Francisco for three months. At that time there were some riots going on. His apartment was just a few blocks from the Haight Ashbury district which was know for the Hippies and drug culture. Often times he and his companion could hear gun fire. I was pretty nervous for him while he was there because it was more dangerous than some of the other areas he served in. In later years he shared a big obstacle in his life that I was unaware of. He had a fear of giving talks. He had prepared a talk for Primary and when he got up to give it he froze and was speechless. After that experience he never gave another talk until a brief farewell talk for his mission. He learned to overcome this while serving on his mission. Since his mission he has become a very dynamic speaker. He says that he still feels nervousness when he speaks or has to conduct meetings. However, you would never know that because he seems so confident.

Roger While Serving in San Francisco

While he was gone I had several friends that were waiting for missionaries. Roger was one of the last one's to come home and all of us married our missionaries. It was wonderful to have friends to do activities with. We called ourselves the I'll Be True Club; which sounds really cheesy now. I loved those girls and it helped me so much to have them as dear friends. We did so many activities together, we laughed together and just had a lot of fun.
Meanwhile, I transferred from University of Utah to BYU to finish my nursing degree. I attended most of my classes at the BYU center in Salt Lake. I did have a few classes down at BYU. The classes were held in the old Mccune Mansion on Main Street; then later when taking the nursing classes they were held in the old Veteran's Hospital. It was kind of a creepy place; because there were so many empty floors and rooms. We did go down to the morgue and goof around; which was very scary. We played hide and seek sometimes and that was frightening to me.
I enjoyed all of my classes and did really well. I even passed the math portions; which were a challenge. I remember my Biology class well because we worked on a human cadaver; which was really gross. The bodies were donated for research. I can tell you that I was glad when that section of study was over. The only real struggle I had while going to school was I had a tendency to fall a sleep during any film. Luckily, I had good classmates that would give me the information needed to study.
I got in my first car wreak on the way to school. At the time I was driving an old jeep of my Dad's that was painted by Roger and I, red. I was coming down the hill on a very snowy day and plowed right into a park car. I was devastated but my Dad was kind about it. I had one girlfriend from nursing school and we did quite a few things together. We did drag State Street a few times; which was a big thing in those days. We met a few guys; but I was never interested. I did date a couple of times the last six months of Roger's mission; because I wanted to see if I could get a date just in case things didn't turn out well. I also did quite a few things with Roger's sister, Gloria. We became good friends. She was waiting for her missionary, John Yeates whom she married after he came home. We did a lot of fun things together. I was deeply grateful for friends and school which helped me pine a way the time.

I graduated from BYU with a Nursing Degree in May of 1967 and passed my nursing board in July of 1967.

LeAnn Graduation

May of 1967

I wish I could say that the two years passed away quickly; but it didn't. We both missed each other. Keeping busy was the key to less loneliness at least for me. Roger always had a companion which I know helped a lot. However, neither of us would ever regret those two years; we are forever grateful for the growth that came through that era of our lives.