Nelda Mackay

Nelda Graham Mackay died 30 October 2025 at the age of 86 at her home in Provo, Utah. Nelda was born 4 August 1939 at her grandparent's home in Wallsburg, Utah. Her parents were Alvin Lewis Graham and LaPrele Adeline Chadburn. She was the third of four children: Rulon, DeLores, Herself, then Riley.
When Nelda was six months old her family moved to Provo, Utah into a two-room home. Over the years the family built onto the home and until it had 14 rooms. Nelda attended Timpanogos Elementary School, Dixon Jr. High School, Brigham Young High School, and Hollywood Beauty College. Her father, Alvin, worked as a Custodian at the Dixon Jr. High School and the family home was about a half block from the Dixon.
Nelda met Walter Dale Mackay at a Lambda Delta Sigma party at BYU where she brought him home for cherry pie. After a short courtship they married in the Salt Lake Temple on 25 November 1958. And made their first home in her parent's basement. They bought an old home around the corner and lived there until Dale's work took them to Salt Lake City where they lived in Taylorsville for several years then returned to Provo, where they had the old home torn down and a new one built in which they lived in for the rest of their lives.
Nelda was blessed with five sons: Alva, Lee, Brett, Richard, and Eric.
Nelda worked as a beautician after she was married until about the time Lee was born. She spent the rest of her life as a stay-at-home mother and wife. She always put her children first. She had unconditional love for all her family.
Nelda canned fruit and vegetables from her garden for years. She also painted pictures, quilted, did ceramics, and other handicrafts. She played the saxophone in school and some on the piano.
After Dale retired they went to the senior center. They also traveled a bit and went to Germany, England, Scotland, Thailand, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, Nauvoo, and other places. When their Children were growing up, they took them to the Hill Cumorah Pageant. Disneyland, the Oregon sea coast, the redwood forest, the Grand Canyon, the Black Hills, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, the Passion Play, Denver, and many other places. She always said the boys could learn more traveling than in any other way.
Nelda was a Member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She had a firm Testimony of the Church and the mission of Jesus Christ. She served in many positions. Her favorite was coordinating food for the funerals in the ward. Another was Den Mother for the Cub Scouts. Nelda was also a member of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, Camp Pioneer, and served in several positions, one of which was Camp Captain.
Nelda loved and adored her husband, her sons, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She was blessed with 7 grand daughters and 7 grandsons and 10 great grandchildren all of which survive her. She is also survived by her sons Alva, Richard, and Eric, her daughter-in-law's Jennnie and Jeannette, and her sister DeLores. Her Husband, Dale, preceded her in death in April of 2021. Her sons Lee and Brett are also deceased as is her daughter-in-law Karalee.
Graveside Services will be held 8 November 2025 at 1 p.m. at the Springville Evergreen Cemetery in Springville, Utah. At Nelda's request there will be no public viewing. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Pioneer 1st Ward, LDS Church Missionary fund or the charity of your choice.
The Histories of Nelda and Dale Mackay
The History of Nelda Graham (Mackay) As Told Mostly by Herself in 2005
My name is Nelda Graham Mackay; I was born 4 August 1939. I'm 5'2" with brown eyes. My hair was brown it is now salt and pepper, more salt than pepper.
I've lived in five homes but only at four different addresses. I was born in my Grandpa and Grandma Graham's home in Wallsburg, Utah. My grandparents were Robert Dundas Graham and Mary Elvira Mecham. My father, Alvin Lewis Graham, was working building the Deer Creek Dam. He got hurt on the job and we had to live with them. My mother, LaPrele Adeline Chadburn, sent my uncle to get the doctor when I was to be born; he couldn't come fast enough, my aunt delivered me. All they had was box numbers in Wallsburg. I have an older brother, Rulon, and an older sister, DeLores, and one younger brother, Riley.
My next home was at 856 West 300 North in Provo, Utah. We moved there when I was six months old. The house had only two rooms and from the street it looked like a shack. A few coats of white wash made it look pretty good. Our plumbing was a tap out front. We had a little outhouse in the back yard. When I was about five years old we built onto the house and put in modern plumbing. When I was twelve, a basement was added and the home became the size it is at the present time. I lived there until I married Walter Dale Mackay at the age of 19. We converted the basement to an apartment and lived there. Alva was born when we lived there.
Then we moved around the corner to 357 N 800 W into an 82-year-old home. We lived there from May 1960 to September 1961. Lee was born while we lived there. Then we moved to Salt Lake City at 1797 W Chateau Avenue. That is about 5225 South just west of Redwood Road. We lived there for four years, from September 1961 to December 1965. Dale worked for the Social Security Administration in Salt Lake at that time. While we lived there Brett was born. Dale transferred back to Provo with his work.
We had rented out the Provo home while we lived in Salt Lake. We saw what a shambles the renters had made of our home at 357 N 800 W. It would cost us 15 thousand dollars to redo the house. It needed new plumbing, the roof was gone, the floorboards were gone due to water damage, and it needed new electrical wiring. So we had it torn down and had a new home built on the lot. We still live in the new house at this present time. Richard and Eric were born while we lived here.
I started grade school when I was five years old. I turned five in August and started school on September 1st. The teacher said I was so tiny that I should not start school. But my mother said I was ready and that I was very smart. I went to school at Timpanogos Grade School on the corner of 500 North and 500 West in Provo. After graduating from the Timpanogos I went to the seventh grade at the Dixon Junior High School. It was only a half a block from home. After graduating from Dixon I went to the Brigham Young High School. It was on 500 North and University Avenue in Provo. It is now the Provo City Public Library. The school consisted of four buildings the only one left now is the Academy Building. It was the second home of Brigham Young University when it was still called an Academy. I graduated from Seminary. Then I went to school for a year at the Hollywood Beauty College where I became a Beautician.
I married Walter Dale Mackay on the 25th of November 1958. We were married in the Salt Lake Temple. Dale and I drove up to the Temple because we had to be there two hours before everybody else. My folks and his folks came later. My wonderful little teacher Anna Hart went with us. She was my English teacher in High School. We had several relatives, friends, and Ward members that went also. It was quite a journey then to go from Provo to the Salt Lake Temple to get married. There were no freeways at that time. We went from the Temple to his folks' and had dinner there. Then Norman took us back up to the Temple to get our car. We had left it up there so Dale's little brothers could not write all over it. We drove until midnight and stopped in Woods Cross. We were married on the 9 P.M. Session. We'd been up all day long. It had been a long, long day. Dale had gone to school a half a day and I had worked half a day before we went to the Temple. We got in to the motel and just started to get to sleep when we heard this horrible clatter. The motel was right next door to a railroad track. The whole building shook. The next day we went on up to Brigham City and got a nice motel there. We decided to drive on up to Logan and spent the day then came back to Brigham City that night. The next night we came back home. We were married on Tuesday and we were home for Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday. We had our reception Friday in Provo and one in Salt Lake on Saturday. We were blessed with five sons: Alva, born 20 September 1959, Lee, born 25 April 1961, Brett, born 28 June 1963, Richard, born 8 September 1966, and Eric, born 22 May 1970. We now have 13 grandchildren.
I worked at Salt's Grocery store when I was little. We wanted to call Mrs. Salt grandma, because she was such a sweet little lady, but she said we couldn't call her grandma and we could call her Aunt. So we called her Aunt Florence. I helped her after school. DeLores had. Mama and Daddy ran the store while she was gone to England for six months. She had been a widow and then she married another man. He was a gentleman form England and they were called on a mission to England and we ran the store for 18 months while she was gone. I also tended children for a whole Summer. I cooked their lunch hung out the wash to dry and ironed the clothes. For that Summer's work I was paid $18.50. It was not much pay. My next job was at the Beauty Shop after I finished beauty school. It was my first real job other than tending children. Mama didn't think that kids should have a job while they were in school, because she thought they would neglect their lessons. My work was at Velma's Beauty Shop. She was a very cross and mean lady. Then I got on with another lady named Hatch in Orem. I worked there until Dale and I got married and I was expecting Alva. I got terrible nosebleeds and had to quit. I quit working for a while then I got a job at Mary Boyer's Beauty Shop in Springville with DeLores. I worked on Fridays and Saturdays only. I took a few days off and the ladies wanted to know where I was and DeLores said I had had a baby. That is when Lee was born. I did not look like I was going to have a baby but I fooled them, I got a baby. Mama had tended Judi and Alva on Friday and Dale tended them on Saturday. After Lee was born I told Dale that I'd rather stay home with the children and he said that was fine. He said we could live on one wage. After that I was able to stay home and take care of the boys. When Riley had his little girls, I tended his girls. I tended Chavon till she was four years old and then Lacey was born and I tended her too. I tended them until they were both in grade school and didn't need a baby sitter.
I got an award every year when I was in Mutual. They had 100% awards. If you went to all your meetings you received a 100% Certificate. I received certificates from the age of twelve to the age of eighteen. In high school the debate team went up to Ben Loman High in Ogden. We stayed at the Ben Loman Hotel. DeLores was a senior and I was a sophomore. On the reading I gave I received an honorable mention-fourth place. I thought I did pretty darn good considering how many kids were there. I think DeLores came in second in her division. I was in the short humorous stories. I still remember it. I belonged to several clubs in High School and I received awards for those every year. I received a scholarship to the Hollywood Beauty College. We took tests at High School and the Man said according to my test I should have went out into Mechanical Engineering, but at that time girls didn't do such things, so he told me to forget about it and he would arrange for me to get a scholarship to the Hollywood Beauty College. He thought that would be better for a girl anyway. So that's what I got.
When Dale and I got married they needed a teacher for the seven and eight year olds in Sunday School. They were all about the age to be baptized. They were such mean little stinkers that they said they needed to have a couple teach that class because they were too unruly. So Dale and I taught Sunday School. The first week we were there they were all over everyplace. There were two little boys that caused a lot of problems. I put the two little boys beside me and one on each side of them and put my arms around all four of them. You can't put your arms around children anymore, they think you're going to hurt them or do something to them. But I did it then. They thought hugs were something special. Those boys were as good as gold. We didn't have a problem. They told us they felt sorry for us having those boys in class. But for us it wasn't hard.
I've been a visiting teacher off and on during our marriage. I've been a Cub Scout Den Mother. I served in the Cub Scouts for 15 years in various positions. I've been Secretary, Den Mother, and Webelos Leader. At one time I had both Den's and the Webelos at the same time. There were 19 little boys at that time, but we got along fine.
In the Relief Society I arranged for the food for funerals and took care of the serving of the food, at funerals, over to the church. I did that for seven and one half years. I was a visiting teacher supervisor for over nine years.
I'm a person of many hobbies. I've learned how to tat. I learned how to crochet with a little knitter machine. I've made hats with a hat maker. I've done ceramics. I've sewed. I've oil painted. I do the things I like. I loved to do the ceramics, but the dust bothers me so I have not done that for a while. But I have decided to find a way to do it again. My main hobby was taking care of boys. You have to learn to play games with them. When we were kids we played baseball, football, and climbed trees with the boys. That prepared me to be a mother of five boys.
My favorite color is blue. Most of my wardrobe is blue. My favorite food is a fresh peach off of a tree. My favorite season is Winter. I love the snow. I would rather walk out in the snow than anything. I loved to run my little snowplow but it broke. I did everybody's sidewalks in the area with it, especially the older people's. It was a good excuse to play in the snow when you get too old to play in the snow.
The thing I want most to be remembered for is loving my husband and five wonderful sons, my grandchildren, and my adopted daughters. If I had not had five wonderful sons I would not have had my four wonderful daughters. I also want to be remembered for never complaining when I was in pain and I am thankful for the joys of each day.
I'm neither Democrat or Republican. I'm kind of independent. I vote for who ever I want to. If I see a guy and I like his platform, I don't care if he is Republican or Democrat, he gets my vote. I have never voted a straight ticket and I never intend to. I vote for the person.
We had so much fun growing up. We hunted up frog eggs and brought the frog eggs home and put them in a five gallon bucket with a little board floating in it. We added fresh water to it each day from the irrigation ditch. They hatched and we had lots of little frogs in our yard all summer.
I'm a person of musical instruments but not a master of any. My folks wanted me to play the accordion, but it was too big and heavy and I couldn't do it. I could play a little tiny one but they couldn't afford a second one so I couldn't learn to play. I did master the saxophone. I played an E-flat alto saxophone all through school. I played the piano until I was in the eleventh grade. Then I told Mama that I did not want to take lessons any more. My grandfather, Archie Chadburn, taught me how to play the steel guitar. He gave me a little guitar, because he did not want to take it home. He had made the payments and not told Grandma about it. He had me bring it over once a week and we would play together during the school year. In the Summer I would go over to his home, every day, after the chores were done, and I would play the guitar with grandpa so he would have an excuse to play it too. He had a beautiful steel guitar but he saw this one and he thought he'd like it and bought it on the sly and we took turns playing each other's guitar. Grandma thought it was mine. I still have the guitar. We all learned to play the fluteophone in Grade School. It was called a tonette then. It was short, about eight inches long. I still have it and my little book. We learned to play the Jew's Harp when we were kids. My grandmother Graham, Mary Elvira Mecham, used to play the Jew's Harp. She played it so pretty. One time when we were up to her house we were watching her play and Daddy decided to buy us each one. He bought four of them, one for him, Rulon, DeLores, and myself. Riley was not born yet. We played the Jew's Harp. You had to watch it or you would catch your tongue in the wire and it did not feel very good.
I've been Captain of our DUP Camp, Camp Pioneer in Provo, for six years. When I joined the DUP I got a generation award. My grandmother, Clara Maria Holt Chadburn, was a member of the DUP Camp Pioneer. My mother, LaPrele Adeline Chadburn Graham John was a member of Camp Pioneer. My mother was Captain of Camp Pioneer for six years. And I am a member of Camp Pioneer. Two years ago I conned DeLores into becoming a member of Camp Pioneer. She was coming down once a month anyway so I got her to go. She likes all these little ladies that she grew up with. We have several in our Camp, that are in their 90's, whose children were the same age as us and we knew them well. It is just like having fun with out grandmas. They are so special. In High School I belonged to many clubs but none were as special as our DUP.
When I was little we didn't travel much. It cost a lot of money for gas. Gas was about ten or fifteen cents a gallon then. Daddy decided we were going to go to Yellowstone. His mother and dad wanted to go with us. This was in 1947. So we went to Yellowstone. On the way we stopped in Idaho and stayed with his cousins on the Hutchison line. We stayed one night. The next day we went on to Yellowstone. We only stayed one day in Yellowstone because it made my mother deathly ill and we had to leave. We came on home and that was our vacation. We stopped in Idaho on the way home and stayed with the Robinsons, they were some of my dad's other cousins. When we got home Mama felt so bad that she ruined our vacation she cried. She thought she was going to die and she wanted to go back to St. George. So we decided to load ourselves in the car and we went to St. George. We went to Gunlock and saw Uncle Francis and Aunt Annie Bowler. We swam in his irrigation ditch and caught frogs so tiny that they could fit on a nickel. He told us to leave them alone because they ate all the mesquitos. They had lots of mesquitos in Gunlock. We didn't hurt them; we'd hold them in our hand and they would hop back into the ditch. Daddy had three weeks off. We had spent about a week in Idaho, we were home for three or four days, then we spent a week in Washington County, at St. George, Gunlock, and Veyo. That is about the only vacation we had when I was a kid.
When I was sixteen we went up to Vashon, Washington in June, before my mother's birthday, to see Rulon. He was on the Vashon Island in the Puget Sound off of Seattle, Washington. He was based there with the Nike Missile base in the Army. I remember two things about that vacation. We were on the beach digging clams and we kept walking down the beach. Some people claimed the beach was theirs even thought there was a road between the beach and their homes. A man came out and said you're digging my clams, they're mine and I want them. My dad said, "Oh, I'm very sorry," and he gave them the clams. Then we went back up the beach the way we had come. Daddy did not want a fight with him or anything. Rulon had made arrangements for us to stay in a man's home and rent out some bedrooms. When we got back from the beach he told us that those people did not own that beach. It was a public place if there was a road between the beach and the houses. He said we could have kept our clams and he would have cooked them for our supper. The other thing I remember was on Saturday Night there was a huge dance. Rulon had told all his army pals that his sisters were going to be there for the dance. When dance time came Rulon told us to put on our Sunday Dresses and that we were going to go to the dance. DeLores and I ended up dancing all night long. We learned how to do the Twist, which we'd never seen before. There were some guys from New York that had learned the Twist back there and they taught us to dance it. You don't hold onto anyone when you do the twist, we were encircled by boys in uniform dancing with us. We had all kinds of fun that night. Another thing I remember about the trip is on the way home in Eden, Idaho, Daddy hit a pheasant. He pulled off the side of the road, opened the trunk, and put the bird in a paper sack. That night in the motel room he cleaned and skinned the pheasant and we cooked it for dinner.
Dale and I took our five sons and went to the Black Hills and saw the Passion Play in South Dakota. It was a wonderful play. It depicted the crucifixion of Christ. We've gone to the Oregon Coast. We've gone to the California Redwoods. We've been to Disney Land twice. We went to Arizona and Mexico with the three oldest. We've gone on many trips with the children. They can learn more on one trip then they could out of a book. We have gone camping in the hills many times with them.
There are so many things that you stop and see on a trip. We had to stop and watch a geyser explode at a place in Southern Utah on the way back east to Fort Leonardwood, Missouri, when we went to see Norman when he was sent off to Vietnam. One funny thing was the kids caught fire flies at Fort Leonardwood, Missouri, in a bottle. They took them into their bedroom that night and let them loose. They shouldn't have but they did. They had little fireflies all night long in their room. It was so humid that you were soaking wet when you got up in the morning. Your clothes you had on were damp and your hair was wet. It was just like you climbed out of the shower without drying yourself and laid on the bed. We went clear back to the Hill Cumorah and saw that pageant with the boys. We went to Niagra Falls on that trip. We took Riley with us. We also went to Nauvoo, Carthage, and to Hannibal, Missouri.
Dale and I went to Australia four times. On the way over the first time we stopped in Tahiti. On the way back we stopped in New Zealand. We never went back to Tahiti, but we did stop in New Zealand for a week of so each time we went to Australia, because New Zealand was such a pretty country. We really enjoyed New Zealand. We went to Australia because Lee lived in Australia for fifteen years. Now they have moved over here. Brett decided he wanted to go to Thailand to see all the kids he taught English as a second language to at Snow College. So we went to Thailand.
Dale and I went to Hawaii twice. The first time we took Mama and Floyd. We had the time of our life. We saw four islands. We flew from island to island. We saw something on each island. But I think the things that I liked the best was the Polynesian Cultural Center and the Session we took at the Hawaiian Temple. It was lovely. After Mama passed away DeLores said, "Oh, I'd love to go to Hawaii, but I don't want to go by myself." So Dale and I packed our suitcases and we all went to Hawaii. We only went to one island, where we saw the Polynesian Cultural Center and Pearl Harbor. We had the times of our lives. We have also gone to Idaho and gone through the Idaho Falls Temple. We have gone to the Logan Temple. DeLores, Dale, and I are going on Temple tours. We get in our little car and away we go and we go to the Temple. DeLores said she would sure like to go to Nauvoo. I said, "Let's do it." So we did. It had been a long time since Dale and I had been there, with the kids, and there have been lots of changes. Hannibal is the same. Nauvoo has more buildings restored and the Temple has been rebuilt, we went to the Temple there. We went to Far West and Winter Quarters and through the Winter Quarters Temple. We also went to Carthage, the Liberty Jail, and to Branson, Missouri. We saw Mel Tillis and a Chinese Acrobat Show in Branson.
Dale and I also went to Germany. Dale had promised me that on our fifteenth anniversary we would go Hawaii and on our twentieth anniversary we would go to Germany. He had gone to Germany on his mission. We went to Hawaii on about our thirtieth anniversary and made it to Germany on about our fortieth anniversary. Richard was stationed in Germany in the Army, so we went over. He said come over Dad and you can stay with us. We saw Wurzburg and some of the things that Dale had seen on his mission. We saw Mad King Ludwig's Castles, the Black Forest, Frankfurt and Rotenburg. We had a very good time. We also took a trip one time to England and part of Scotland.
The History of Walter Dale Mackay As Told Mostly by Himself in 2006
My name is Walter Dale Mackay. I am known as Dale. I'm about 5' 6" and Nelda says I have shrunk to about 5' 4". I had blond hair as youth. It turned to brown and now I'm gray. I have hazel eyes. I'm built like most of the Mackays, heavy in front.
I was born in the Cottonwood Maternity Hospital just out of Murray, Utah. My dad had been shoveling snow every night in the month of January just in case Mom needed to go to the Hospital to have me. On the January 31st, when they decided to get over to the Hospital, it was raining. Dad didn't have to worry about shoveling snow. I was born 1 February 1932. My parents were William Lloyd Mackay and Eva Clegg. Dad went by Lloyd.
We lived at Route 1 Box 117 out of Murray. It later became 5635 South Redwood Road in Salt Lake County. I grew up on the farm. Dad worked at the Smelter in Midvale. I had many chores as a boy. I had to bring in kindling wood for the fire and make sure the bucket of coal was filled before I went to bed so there would be coal for the morning fire when Dad got up to build the fire.
When I was about six going on seven my folks decided to put running water in the house. They decided that the pantry was large enough that they could tear out all the shelves and things there and put a bathroom in there. So we had a bathtub, a wash basin, and a toilet in what used to be the old pantry. Since there were no cupboards in the kitchen we had to build some to hold the dishes, breadbox, and a few things of food. Where the old wash stand was they put the sink so the water would be on one side of the wall for the kitchen and on the other for the bathroom. The first time we took our baths in that new bathtub was a real joy and a blessing, because we now had running water in the house. We still had to have a fire in the stove to heat the water to have a warm bath. It was still better than the old tin wash tub that we used to bathe in, in front of the stove, on Saturdays.
I lived at home until I was called into the Army at the age of twenty. I went to Fort Ord in California for my basic training. From there I went to Fort Benjamin Harrison just out of Indianapolis, Indiana to Stenography School. From there I was stationed at the Underground Pentagon in the Catocton Mountains just out of Washington D.C and Baltimore, Maryland. I stayed there the rest of my stay in the Army.
When I left the Army I enrolled at BYU and lived in Provo until I went on a Mission to the West German Mission. Its headquarters was in Frankfurt, Germany. I received a Mission Call to serve in the West German Mission and to report into the Mission Home, in mid January, in Salt Lake City.
I accepted the call and left my schooling again for another two and a half year period to serve as a Missionary in teaching the gospel to the German People. After spending a week in the Mission Home Training Center in Salt Lake City, we boarded the train at Union Pacific Depot in Salt Lake and journeyed from there to Chicago where we changed trains and journeyed from Chicago to New York City. We spent a few nights at a hotel there and were able to go to a Broadway production and to visit the United Nations Headquarters and several of the landmarks that were in New York City. Then we boarded the SS United States for a journey between New York and Bremerhaven, Germany. During the five and a half day voyage we ran into some rough weather. Things were tied down and prepared for a lot of sickness on the ship. As far as I know not many people got sick on the ship because the dining room at meal times was a pretty packed house. During this time we associated with the five missionaries going to Germany and several going to Switzerland and several going to the British Isles. So the Missionaries got together every day. We spent the time learning German and memorizing the Missionary Discussions.
We arrived at South Hampton, England and then went from there over to Cherbourg, France, and then through the English Channel to Bremerhaven, Germany. When we disembarked the ship in Germany we caught the train to Frankfurt where the Mission Headquarters were located. It was an all day journey to Frankfurt. We were met there by President Dyer and other Missionaries that worked in the Mission Headquarters. After a few days assessment and introduction to the Mission in Frankfurt I was sent to Nurenberg to work with Elder Loren Davis. I spent my first period of time in Nurenberg. As the April Conference occurred for the Service Men President Kimball was there visiting the Missions in the European Theater and spoke to the Servicemen's Conference and all the Missionaries were assembled there in Berchesgaden. This was in South Eastern Germany it was a very beautiful area.
My assignment after the Conference was to return to Frankfurt and to become Personal Secretary to President Dyer taking dictation and typing all of his English Letters, which was a rather overwhelming experience at times. While doing this we would frequently travel in the car. Sister Dyer drove and President Dyer sat in the back seat dictating letters to me so that he would not be interrupted by telephones and visitors. We could accomplish the work that needed to be done without interruption. Doing this I was able to see a lot of the areas in Germany that the Mission covered. At this time there were some areas where almost all the ruins from the War still existed. This was almost ten years since World War II was over. Large areas in some city centers were total rubble yet to be cleaned up and new buildings erected. However the Germans are an industrious people and everywhere you went there was construction and cleaning up of the damage from the War.
After spending a year in the Mission Headquarters first as President Dyers Secretary and then as Mission Bookkeeper, I was sent to Wiesbaden where I worked with Elder Wilde, then Elder Harry Fisher who was a native German boy, and then with Paul Richards. Then I was transferred from there to Heidelberg for a few weeks and then on to Karlsruhe. My time in Karlsruhe was primarily with Elder Joseph E. Lee. He and I got along very well and did a lot of work there in the area.
My parents had picked up a new car in Detroit and met me in New York when the ship the SS United States docked there on my return trip from Germany. We traveled across country and stopped at many of the Church Historic spots: Nauvoo, Far West, Independence, and Carthage Jail. We had a real fine trip across the United States and it was good to be back in Utah when we arrived home.
When I returned home I went to BYU to finish my education. I graduated in 1959 with a degree in Accounting with a minor in Business Administration. I got a Bachelor of Arts because I was able to use my training in German as my language. Which gave me a Bachelor of Arts rather than a Bachelor of Science degree.
After Nelda and I got married we lived in Provo in Nelda's parent's basement. Then bought a house around the corner at 357 North 800 West. Then we moved to Salt Lake in 1961. We lived at 1797 West Chateau Avenue. It was just off Redwood Road about a block. We lived there for four years. Then we moved back to Provo in 1965. We had our old house torn down and a new house built on the property at 357 North 800 West. We have lived in this house ever since, about 40 years.
When I started school they had no Kindergarten so I started out in first grade. My mother thought I should start school a year earlier because I was reading some words in books. But they wouldn't let me start because I was not born before January 1st. I went to school at the Plymouth School at 4800 South on Redwood Road. I was there until I finished the ninth grade. Then I went to Granite High School on 500 East and 3300 South. We were bussed seven miles, each way, from home to Granite High School. When I finished High School I secured a Scholarship in Metallurgical Engineering. I spent two years at the University of Utah and found out that Engineering was not for me. After two years my friends and neighbors sent me a letter saying it was time for me to serve in the Army. I spent two years in the Army and came back and started at BYU for one quarter in Accounting. Then I went on my Mission and came back to BYU and graduated with a degree in Accounting.
Nelda and I were married on 25 November 1958 in the Salt Lake Temple. We have been blessed with five boys, Alva, Lee, Brett, Richard, and Eric. Now four boys are married. Lee married Jennie Fornaro from Australia. Brett married Karalee Ostler from Springville. Richard married Virginia Voorheis from Pleasant Grove. Eric married Jeannette Roundy from Provo. We have 13 grandchildren seven boys and six girls. Five of the grandchildren were born outside or the United States. Lee's four children were all born in Australia and Richard's forth child, Johanna, was born in Germany while he was there with the Army. The oldest, James, is twenty and the youngest, Benjamin, is a little over two months.
My first work was just around the house and the farm. I used to pack a bucket of pig feed to the pigs. I had to feed the chickens and gather the eggs and get them ready to be taken to market.
I had a paper route and had to ride the bike about ten to twelve miles a night delivering the paper all over the old Bennion Ward. There are now about two or three Stakes of the church in that area.
When I was twelve years old I was able to work for my Uncle Sam thinning beets. What a thankless job that was. You'd have to chop, chop, chop and hope you could get two of them that were together so they would grow properly and provide the kind of a beet that would produce sugar. I was so proud of the money that I earned, I had my mother take me to J.C. Penny's and I bought my first suit so I could wear a suit to Church.
I worked farms all my teenage years. I worked for Samuel S. Smith a few summers on his farm. I milked Darrell Mackay's cows on and off for about a year. Before I went in the Military I spent a summer working for W.W. Gardner and Sons who were road contractors and built roads and laid asphalt in many different areas. My next job was being a soldier. I spent two years in the Army. All those years were spent in the United States. It was during the Korean Conflict.
Then I worked as a Missionary for two and a half years. Then I worked part time while I was going to school at the School of Nursing. After I graduated from College I had the opportunity to work at Geneva Steel in their Accounting Department. I worked straight nights, which was not a pleasant time for working. I had to compile a report that was on the Assistant Superintendents desk every morning when he got to work. It was comprised of all of the batches of steel that they had run through open-hearth furnaces. There were usually fifteen or twenty batches of steel that ran through there a night. I had to compile length of time for the various parts of the process as part of the report. While I was working there, there was a talk of a strike coming up in July. I had worked there from mid April to almost the first of July. Then I received a job offer from the Social Security Administration to work with them. I accepted that offer. I left Geneva on the first of July. They didn't go out on strike till about the twelfth of July but they stayed out until about November before they finally went back to work. So I was grateful to have work with the Social Security Administration. During that time our first baby, Alva, was born.
At Social Security I worked first as a Claims Representative. I helped people file claims for Social Security Benefits and process those claims so that they could have a retirement check sent out each month to them. Later I was made a Supervisor and was the buffer between people working with the public and the Management that always wanted better and more accurate results. I retired from Social Security in 1987 after 30 years with the government. I had worked for them in Provo, Salt Lake, and back in Provo during this time.
I worked three tax seasons with H&R Block doing tax returns. After that I picked up a job with the Heat Program. This program helps people with low-income pay their utility bills in the winter. At first I was a regular technician interviewing the public, then in my second year with them they made me the Assistant Manager of the office. Some of my obligations were to authorize payments to clients that needed some assistance immediately and make a paper for them to take to the utility company showing some assistance was coming so the utilities would not be disconnected. I also processed claims and authorized payments for others and supervised the rest of the office in doing their work and interpreted the rules and regulations that we had to use in determining claims. I worked there for five winters before my health reached the point that I had to quit.
When I was in High School I belonged to the Math Club. It was a group for those who were in the higher math classes in High School. I was also with the Future Farmers of America. My last year I took farm management and got along quite well in that class. During that period I studied seeds and went to the State Competition in Crop Judging. We mainly judged seeds, potatoes, and vegetables. I came away with a silver medal for second place in the state that year. It was the year I graduated from High School. The competition was in Logan, Utah. In the Army I got the Good Conduct Medal and the Korean War Ribbon when I was discharged. I received a few awards while I worked for Social Security for outstanding work performance.
I got an individual award each year I was in the Aaronic Priesthood, from age twelve to nineteen. I've always been active in the LDS Church. I have been involved in many things. The first year I was in High School they were doing a commemorative program on the Aaronic Priesthood. Throughout the valley some were selected from each ward to participate in the program. I was in the choir. It was held in the Tabernacle and I sang in the program they put on for the public. I was interviewed to go on a mission in 1950 or 1951. The papers had gone into the Church and all at once the draft board said we have a war going on in Korea and we can't let these boys all go on Missions. So those that had not received their call and entered the Mission Home had to go get physical exams for the military and only those that were judged as not qualified for Military service were permitted to go. The Church sent my papers back to me. I was quite disappointed at that time. So I went in the Military and after two years came home and was called to Germany on my Mission. I was there for about two and a half years.
After Nelda and I got married we taught Junior Sunday School. Then I was called to be the Young Men's MIA ward President. I spent a year of so there until we had a new Bishop installed and he called me to be the Ward Clerk. I spent several months as Ward Clerk before we moved to Salt Lake. We had only been in Salt Lake a couple of weeks when I was called to be the Ward Financial Clerk in the Taylorsville Second Ward under Bishop Richard P. Lindsey who later was a member of the 70's. I spent four years in that position. Then we moved back to Provo.
I was out shoveling snow one morning in front of the Social Security Office and President Stagg came by and talked to me for a few minutes and asked me to come have a visit with the Stake Presidency that night. I went and was called to be the Financial Clerk of the West Utah Stake. I spent two or three years in that position. Then I was gone with a training assignment with Social Security and was gone for about a year or a year and a half teaching classes and helping in other areas. When I came back I was promoted to Operations Supervisor at Social Security. They realigned Stakes and we became part of the Provo Central Stake. I was called as an Assistant Clerk in the Stake under President Ross Denham. I worked there for three or four years and was called to be on the Stake High Council. When the Executive Secretary for President Denham moved from our area they selected me to be the Executive Secretary of the Stake. I was there for about two years. Then they put me back on the High Council. I had also spent about ten years as High Priest's Group Secretary under several different High Priest Presidencies. Later I was called to be an Ordinance Worker in the Provo Temple. I worked there two days a week helping there and after two years I had some health problems and had to be released.
One of my hobbies consists of reading. I have many books. The library bookshelves are completely full and I have many boxes of books also. Many of them I have read and some I am familiar with their contents but have not read them. I have a collection of Readers Digest Condensed Books and have read practically every one of them. There are approximately 250 of them that have been issued. The last few years I have not kept up on the Readers Digest Books, but I have pretty well read all their earlier books.
My favorite color is blue. My favorite food is homemade ice cream. I like the fall time of the year, the weather is consistent. Spring is nice because it's a reawakening after wintertime. But the temperature and weather is not as consistent as they are in the fall. The fall is the ending time of the growing season after the fruits and vegetables have been harvested. It is nice to enjoy the pleasant weather at that time of the year.
My earliest recollection of life was I think my third birthday, it could have been my fourth, I remember waiting for Dad to get home from work on Sunday. He worked every other Sunday or something of that nature. My birthday fell on Sunday and he was working that day. When he came home we sat down to supper and we had a little Birthday cake that my mother had made for dessert. They lit the three candles and I had to blow them out.
I had a lot of fun growing up. Living on a farm we sometimes covered a lot of distance in a day. I remember one special day of the year that Mom would cook some chickens and we'd go up in the canyon for the day. It was nice and cool and the stream was flowing there and we'd all have a picnic lunch.
Like any other boy on a farm I had to milk cows, feed pigs, feed sheep, and take care of the chickens when I was needed. I had to help Dad with the irrigation at times, rake the hay and pile it, and haul it into the stack. I didn't have much free time, but kept quite busy.
I remember the family going to Idaho, on a trip to see my mother's relatives who lived there, when I was about five. Vella Clegg, Uncle Afton and Aunt Anna's girl, was baptized in the Magic Reservoir while we were there. It was nice to be there for that event.
We went to Yellowstone Park with the Aaronic Priesthood from our Ward. We were all in the back of a big truck. We sang and joked back and forth. We saw the areas of the park and that was quite enjoyable. I was about twelve or thirteen at the time, maybe even fourteen.
The musical instrument I played the most was the radio. I did take band in fourth grade through sixth grade. I played the trumpet. I never became very proficient with it. Other classes looked more interesting when I got to Junior High School so I did not continue with it.
When I was a boy we went to my Grandparents in Elmo, Utah. We drove down though Price canyon. Elmo is south of Price. There was a tunnel a few miles above Helper. Helper is just north of Price. When we went down I always waited for that tunnel to come. It was always one of the highlights of the trip for me. We visited with my grandma and grandpa. My mother's youngest sister, Bertha, was my age. Some of the other cousins lived in the area and we always had fun playing.
As a boy they thought I had a heart murmur. So they didn't let me do a lot of the things that they thought would upset that. If I ever had one I outgrew it by the time I was eight or ten. When our ninth grade graduated at Plymouth School it was customary to take the day after school ended as an outing. Our class chose to go to Storm Mountain up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Soon after we got up there some rocks were being tossed by boys on the top of the mountain. I had the misfortune of being hit on the head with one. I fell over and had another rock on the ground go through my cheek and break my jaw. I was in the Hospital for two or three weeks. They thought I had a blood clot on the brain because the spinal pressure stayed high for so long. So they transferred me from St. Marks to the LDS Hospital and the Brain Surgeon did surgery on me. He drilled through the outer layer of the skull and went in with a little instrument shaped like a hockey stick with a little light on the end of it. They cut through the outer layer of the brain and probed underneath that layer. They did not find any blood clots. After the surgery I got well and was able to resume my studies at Granite High School that fall.
As a boy I only went on a few trips, but they were always enjoyable. Since Nelda and I got married, we have taken many trips. We went down to the Grand Canyon, we went to the Uinta Mountains and Flaming Gorge, we went to the Oregon Sea Coast, and the Redwood Forests in California. In California we saw Paul Bunyon and his blue ox, Babe, that they had made to attract tourists. We went to Mount Rushmore and saw the Presidents carved on the Hill there. We went to the Passion Play in Spearfish, North Dakota. We took some of the boys down to Southern Utah to the Parks. We especially liked camping in Snow Canyon just North West of St. George.
After the boys were older and Lee got married and went to Australia, Nelda and I made four trips to Australia to see Lee's family before they moved here. We took a trip in each of the four seasons there. I think November is the best time to go to Australia. It is in late spring and everything is beautiful and green. The temperatures did not get below 45 degrees at night in the winter, but with the heavy humidity there you never did get warm in winter.
Nelda and I have been to Hawaii and Tahiti, made stops in Tonga and Samoa, and been to New Zealand. We went to Thailand with Brett. Nelda and I have gone to Germany when Richard was stationed there. We also have been to England and Scotland, that was enjoyable. We have enjoyed our travels and learned much about life in other countries and their customs. I have learned to respect their customs and not to do anything that would mar the customs that they have.
To view the services online for Nelda please click here. www.walkersanderson.com