Family history stories

My grandparents on their wedding day with their parents

My grandparents, Harold and Beverly, with their siblings as attendants

The other night I attended the viewing of my great Aunt Ruby. She was my father's aunt, my maternal grandmother's sister. My brother, Steve, and I went to represent my parents who live out of the country and by extension, my grandparents who have passed away. While we were there, we saw our Aunt Pat, another one of Grandma's sisters and she told us some great family stories! We loved listening to her and seeing her vibrant personality and sparkling blue eyes. She looks so much like Grandma!

Aunt Pat told us that she was close with all of her sisters growing up, but had an especially close bond with Beverly (my grandmother). They looked alike and lived close by each other (one on Hubbard Ave. and one on Wilson Ave.) They shopped at the same grocery store and the cashiers would get confused and ask, "What did you forget?" not realizing that the person they had seen earlier was a different sister! They often would wear similar outfits to events without coordinating it- they once showed up to a wedding in identical clothes! They both drove gigantic Packard cars. They even had the same watch! One time when Aunt Pat and Uncle Dee were serving a mission in Canada, my grandparents went to visit them. Aunt Pat's watch was in the bathroom and Grandma put it on, not realizing it wasn't hers.

On that same trip to Canada, my grandpa was wearing a pair of Dockers pants, which were a new casual khaki style. Uncle Dee (who only had dress clothes with him on his mission) kept commenting on how great the pants were, asking, "What are those called again? They sure are great pants!" When Grandma and Grandpa left to go home, Grandpa left his Dockers for Uncle Dee.

My one of my favorite stories about my Grandma came from Aunt Pat at Grandma's funeral in 1999. She said when they were growing up, they'd play with baby dolls and Grandma's babies were always girls. Aunt Pat asked what she would do if she had a boy one day? Grandma replied, "I'll throw him in the "banure" pile!" And of course, my grandparents ended up having five sons and no daughters!

Aunt Pat and Grandma were expecting babies around the same time and ended up delivering within days of each other at the same hospital. In those days, women and newborns stayed for five days. Aunt Pat said she remembers sneaking into each others' rooms to visit. Aunt Pat had a girl and my grandma had her fourth boy (my Uncle Matt). My grandpa kept teasing, "You got OUR girl!" and apparently mentioned it a lot throughout his life!

Aunt Pat told us that my grandma dressed her five boys so immaculately. They always looked so nice. But she and her mother (Lily Watkins Searle) noticed that there was always a pleat or ruffle somewhere on their dress shirts. Aunt Pat thought Grandma just had to sneak something girlie in there! Grandma Lily wasn't as positive- she thought that they would turn out to be "sissies".

After Aunt Pat brought up Grandma Lily (my great-grandmother), Steve mentioned that he has a daughter named Lily, who has quite the vivacious personality. Aunt Pat said that's just how her mother Lily was! Her family would be laughing at the dinner table about something and her father (Keros Searle) would say, "Now, hasn't this joke gone on long enough?" and Lily would look at him like he was crazy! She was the spunky one and he was the reserved one.

Lily was the 32nd child of John Watkins, a Mormon pioneer (he traveled in the Martin handcart company across the plains) and a polygamist. Lily was his youngest child. He had a dream before she was born of a beautiful baby's face nestled in a calla lily. When he awoke, he said the expected child is a girl and her name will be Lily.

Aunt Pat has a granddaughter and a great-granddaughter named Lily. We chatted with Uncle Dick, Aunt Ruby's husband and he said he also has several progeny named after Grandma Lily. Aunt Pat told us she has 57 great-grandchildren! Uncle Dick and Aunt Ruby have 140 grandchildren and great-grandchildren combined! What a wonderful legacy! My grandmother didn't live to see any of her great-grandchildren, although my Grandpa was alive to meet his first great-grandchild, Kate. Now my grandparents have 36 great-grandchildren (including those expected this year).

It was such a wonderful opportunity to be there and talk to my relatives that I never get to see and hear such wonderful stories! I'm so glad I had that chance!