Bateman Family History
July 2017
Kent
and Sharon
We started the year planning on a
big 3 week trip to Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Dubai with some of our missionary
friends. We love these people and
decided if we were going to 'go'(die) these would be the people to be
with. It was scary to think about, but
we were brave. However, two weeks before
we were scheduled to leave, Kent ended up in the hospital with blood clots in
both lungs. We didn't know if we could
go, but the doctor cleared him and then my doctor scheduled a heart test before
she would clear me to go. Two days
before we were to leave we got clearance for both of us, so we frantically
packed and traveled on faith.
Awe the challenges of old people, we
had a wonderful time, with a few bumps along the way but we returned home safe
and sound but exhausted. Some of the
highlights were visiting Petra, of Indiana Jones fame, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, a
Nile river Cruise, temples and the Pyramids of Giza outside of Cairo. We ended our tour in Dubai in a luxurious
hotel, a jeep safari thru the Sahara and a visit to the highest building in the
world, sightseeing hundreds of historical places in between. The trouble with traveling is you should go
once to see it and go again to really experience it. That certainly was a highlight.
We stay busy the rest of the time,
going to doctors and working in the yard.
Our health is fair but we do just about anything we want so there's no
complaints here. We teach family home
evening at the jail twice a month, a Sunday school class and Sharon is an
advisor in young woman's. We are happy
and busy. Love you all.
Cheryl
and Richard
Richard remains busy as the Head
Men's and Women's Golf Coach for SUU. Although I have downsized my jobs
and obligations working with Panguitch City, that time has quickly filled with
running and keeping busy with the motel and I am still enjoy being the Drama
Coach at Panguitch High School. Justin is an audiologist and had the
opportunity to go on a humanitarian trip to Amman, Jordan and help many people
including many Syrian refugee children hear for the very first time! Kyle
graduated with his Master's of Occupational Therapy at Washington University in
St. Louis and has started his clinical work. This will be finished in December
and he can seek employment closer to home. He and his wife Laren have two
children, Michael 4 and Lia 2. Laren is currently able to be a stay home
mom. Josh has quickly climbed the ladder with TJMaxx and was recently
promoted to store manager in St. George. He and his wife Juliana have two
children, Connor 4 and Blake 1. Juliana is also currently able to be a
stay home mom. Breanne is the Office Manager for our motel (and we greatly
depend on her). Her husband Connor graduated with his Bachelor of Science
degree. He is currently working for the Forest Service and applying to go
to Medical School. They have one child Skyler 2 and Breanne is due to
have their second, a girl on July 22.
Brent
and Terri
Hello everyone. I provide this
letter out of equal parts love and gratitude for my sweet Auntie Diana and fear
of disobeying my sweet Auntie Diana. Pretty sure that if we don't shape up, one
of these days she will attach either me or Heath to her flagpole until we are
ragged from flapping in the wind. Then we'll be taken down and tossed into the
incinerator while all of you sing. We deserve that. Especially Heath.
I am still an attorney, and I still
work for the government, which basically makes me the lowest form of human
life. I did make up a good joke lately though. Here it is: What sound does a
woodpecker make? A Log-a-rhythm. Haha! I slay me.
Terri my dear wife is still
good-looking and attracted to me even though I am 50 years old. She has now
been to Peru twice with her students, and will gladly show you how to make
their national dish, Ceviche, which is raw fish fermented in lemon juice. Holy
cow that stuff is yummy.
Zoe is close to graduating from Utah
State with a degree in Psychology. Frankly I am tired of being told by her that
I have narcissistic borderline personality disorder. However, she
admits that is really not so bad because the worst thing that can result is
occasionally tweeting a word like covfefe.
Sam struck a deal with the
government that if he agrees to let people yell at him for three weeks and tell
him that he is a !@*&@$# piece of human sludge, and then for several years
afterward will march around the world in an eye-catching uniform trying to
avoid getting killed, then the US Air Force will pay for his college. So, sweet
deal.
His awesome wife Caroline has agreed
to this.
Daisy is my daughter. That is all
you need to know. Only give her phone number out to young men that you want to
die.
Jeff is about 6' 10" and
working for the summer at a scout camp, which is good because we can't afford to
feed him anymore. So donate to your local friends of scouting drive. Helps us
out a lot.
And finally, I miss grandma.
Kirt
and Jerry
It’s Oscar, 24-7-365. Whether
that’s for ill or for good; I guess we will see by his therapy bills later in
life.
The year we lost
Grandma-Cookie.
Despite our joy that Grandma is no
longer suffering, we (like most all of us, I suspect) miss her a lot. And
have some regrets about the amount of time we spent with her over the last
several years. Our photo this year includes the day Grandma met Oscar.
Having just returned home from South Carolina after adoption finalization, we
brought Oscar to Grandma’s 90th Birthday Party.
Oscar is a rambunctious and smart 4
½ year old. The Bateman-Rapiers continue to live in the Marmalade
District of the Capitol Hill Neighborhood of Downtown Salt Lake City (say that
three times fast). Jerry is still running the most successful
small-professional theatre company in the state, Plan-B Theatre Company and
Kirt is in his 10th year as CEO of the Davis Arts Council in Layton.
Oscar spent his last year at his
current pre-school with an amazing and life-altering teacher, Miss Stephanie,
at CCNS (Community Cooperative Nursery School) and will be moving to Open
Classroom Pre-school this fall. Although, because his birthday is in
November, he won’t head to Kindergarten for another year.
Jerry and Oscar returned from
visiting the Rapiers in Arizona in June (while Kirt had to work). No
other major trips this year except the several back and forth to Levan whenever
we can.
Despite some challenges and minor
difficulties, the Bateman-Rapier family is very grateful to have health, lots
of love, a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, gainful employment, and a
support network of hundreds of loving friends.
Love, Kirt W Bateman (41), Jerry L. Rapier (45), Oscar
G. Bateman-Rapier (4)
Gary and Brenda
Our
report begins on July 20, 1916, our arrival home from our two-year mission.
Our first goal at home
was to get our upstairs rooms redecorated (paint, wallpaper and carpet about 20
years old). To help us get a jumpstart on the project, our kids spent one day
in the initial steps—clearing two of the three bedrooms of everything and
putting all of that stuff in the third bedroom (destined to become an efficient
home office) ripping down wallpaper and tearing up carpet, and wallpaper off
bathroom walls. At this writing (June
17, almost a year from our arrival home date) the two bedrooms (now filled with
all the stuff from the office) and the bathroom are done. Only a few weeks ago,
we painted the office and installed the new carpet. The two beautiful new bedrooms are still
filled with stuff. What could have
caused this terrible delay? you may ask. Here are the sequential events of this
full year:
·
Unpack, put away, inspect house and
gardens (lots of work ahead). Talks in Sacrament meeting. We have still not
unpacked boxes that were stored in the sewing room.
·
Interwoven throughout the remaining summer
and fall months was helping with Mom, who needed quite a bit of care, and Diana
and Ralph certainly needed respite. Mom’s care was a big deal, requiring many
hours per week, despite the help coming from Hospice. Without Hospice, we literally could not have
done what was required. Diana and I (and husbands) learned an enormous amount,
including different perspectives about our elderly parents trying to stay in
their own homes until the day of death. There is much to be said about the
advantages of a Care Center or Assisted Care.
·
I did a true house cleaning on the main
floor rooms, especially the kitchen
·
We hired kids in the ward to help us get
gardens cleared a little, trees pruned, etc.
·
October Conference week: we hosted our
good friends Mike and Chris Roberts, from New Zealand, who had been called as
Mission President and Matron in the New Zealand Temple. We had shared our first
20 months in Hawaii with the Roberts.
·
October 19: I had a total shoulder
replacement surgery, right shoulder. I had learned while in Hawaii that the
joint was partially worn away, so the surgery was a reversed total replacement.
Crazy, huh? Physical therapy followed
for 12 weeks until the end of the year.
·
Thanksgiving at Brad and Myrissa’s in
Boise. (Thankfully)
·
We hosted two young families from Mongolia
(students at BYUH) for two weeks during December. These days were shared with
two other missionary couples who live in Utah Valley.
·
Throughout these weeks and days, Mom
continued to decline. She also continued to want the medications that would
sustain her life.
·
We fit our own children’s families’
Christmas celebrations (all individual gatherings) in the spaces in between. We
did not see Brad’s or Neal’s families for Christmas this year.
·
Sunday, January 8, 2017, noon. Mom passed away, finally relieved of the many
discomforts she had been enduring. We followed a typical check list of all the
things that must be done. Funeral was
the following Saturday, January 14th.
·
In February, Gary became really sick and
weak. It was a GI bleed; he had lost about half his blood without knowing
it. Two days and nights in the
hospital. He also saw a lung specialist
for the terrible cough he has had for 20 years; it is a nasty combination of
viruses in his lungs. This is unusual, but it the virus lies dormant or mostly
so for years, then jumps up into full force.
He is under treatment for both conditions. He has full oxygen count now,
better strength and color, but he is not cleared by either doctor as being
“cured.”
·
January through June: With the boys’ help, we eight kids and
spouses cleared out Mom’s house—100 years of saved documents, boxes, zippers,
cotton balls, Neosporin, twist ties,
corks, coats, spools of thread, dental floss, 18 or 20 bottles of lotion, 20
calculators from organizations asking for money, and all manner of
clutter. Then all the outbuildings of
trashy stuff. Alverson’s, the metals
recyclers, give only 2 or 3 cents a lb. for metals. We pulled out enough
throw-away metals (5 pickup loads) to profit $60! We used it to pay some of the
hired help, which we had to
have. Couldn’t have been done without
them.
·
Legal and financial matters. Many of those required professional help!
·
Sybil’s house is currently on contract,
but not closed.
·
In the same manner as my right shoulder, I
had gone too long with a failing right hip.
Easiest of all joint replacements, I chose May 1 for that surgery. All went well, and I was released to go home
three days later. Upon exiting the car
at home, another bone in the hip snapped in two! The next day was a second
surgery, followed by four weeks in Aspen Ridge Rehab, and another four here at
home, all eight weeks incontinent and in
a wheelchair, with no weight on the
right leg, June 21 is the eight-week
deadline for the fracture; I think it will show in x-ray that it is healed. The
incontinence issue improving, but not back to normal just yet.
Our
two mission years’ experiences were from heaven, but this last eleven months
have been really hard!
Chris
and Allyson
2017
will go down in the books as our family’s toughest year to date. We’ve had an awful time….which means we’ve
grown a lot and learned important lessons and have learned to focus on the
wonderful blessings we have (of which we have many).
Chris spent the
entire year (from last July till now) in Baghdad with his work while Allyson
and the kids spent the year at home in Wellsville Utah. We learned that life is pretty miserable
while separated. We learned how much we
depend on each other for reinforcements.
It would have been a memorably tough year even if we were together. Allyson independently and heroically managed
all the family crises while Chris pulled his hair out from across the globe in
helpless frustration. Between a
twice-flooded basement, denied insurance claims, two new teenage drivers, a
graduating senior, an Eagle Scout saga, and a full-time job, Allyson has both
proven her superpowers and earned an endless coupon book for spa treatments.
Through
it all, we have learned to rely on each other and on our Heavenly Father who
continually blesses us despite our unworthiness most of the time. Our family is closer than ever, drawn
together by difficult trial and growth.
We’re glad this year is over but will remember it a year of growth for
all of us.
The
family is now off to Lisbon, Portugal where they will be for the next 4
years. There is an open invitation to
anyone who wants to come for a visit!
Brad
and Myrissa
Last
summer, my boys decided that while they enjoyed life on the small farm we moved
to three years ago in Kuna Idaho, they did not enjoy the constant work that
went along with it. Logan and Gabriel were both in high school and had
challenging courses and extracurricular activities that made it hard for them
to spend much time helping me.
So
Myrissa and I decided that it was time to make a change from the farm life and
move into Boise, closer to where the boys had been going to school and frankly,
closer to everything. We enjoy it, but I must admit that I do miss many things
about our little farm (not including the endless supply of cheat grass and
thistles!). Much to my family's chagrin, I have the garden beds full of
vegetables and a chicken coop where the basketball court should be.
As
they say, you can take the man out of the farm but you can't take the farm out
of the man. It's funny how you find so much truth in a cliché country song.
Myrissa
is teaching high school theater and the kids love her. Logan has graduated and
is heading off to BYU Idaho in the fall. Gabriel is starting his senior year
after finishing his junior year with a 4.1 GPA. Addison will be in ninth grade
and has an early jump on his future career as a standup comedian. Tanner is our
resident artist/scientist, constantly creating and experimenting, and will be
headed into the seventh grade. I am still working as an engineer, nerdier than
ever, but enjoying life.
Neal and Lori
The Neal Jeppson family
has had a good year! We are completing our second year in San Antonio and are
loving it here. Meg finished 6th grade which is in middle school here, Kate
finished 4th, and Avery survived Kindergarten! Lincoln is 18 months and full of
energy! I know a lot of you knew Neal when he was little and I am guessing he
was the same way. Not cool! Maybe I am not used to boys or something but this
kid never stops! He is also bald, like Neal, and they look identical. Its
adorable. I, Lori, and loving staying home with the kiddos and learning about
balance and mindfulness. We love visitors so if y'all are ever in Texas please
come see us!
Camille
and Dustin
The Haights continue to strive
forward every day despite regular trials and hard roads. After Dad's death,
there were some difficult transitions that created some family division, but we
are finally beginning to come back together, for the most part anyway. However, for me personally, losing
grandma this year took a heavy toll. Part of me felt like I lost that
final link to our father. I know it is an irrational thought, but that is where
my heart first wanted to take me. I am not sure I can truly express the depth of
my emotions toward all of the Batemans that have reached out to me and my other
siblings to help keep that connection alive and strong. It has meant so much.
It is a strange thing to be parentless. Even though I am a grown adult the urge
for parental guidance is still there. I have a certain truth that without
my faith for greater things to come, and my family I would crumble.
My children continue to grow and
change faster than I would like, but every day they still amaze me. Kalie
has made the choice to drop swim team in favor of more college courses. It is
her final year of high school and that realization is a difficult one for her
mother. She will be one math class short of her associate's degree when she
graduates. She is already trying to find an online class to get that math class
done as well. She is making plans for Southern California University to
study film. She still wants to be a director. She obtained her first job this
year at the movie theater and loves having her own income and a few free
movies.
Cassidy is exploring her talent as
an artist more than ever before. She still plays soccer and since she is a freshman
this year, she is trying out for the Salem Hills High School team. She spent a
week at the school soccer camp and looks like she will make the JV team!
She is excited. Cassidy is dead set on going to BYU in a few years and when I
asked what she would go for she said, "Soccer." I reminded her she
had to actually take classes to play. Now she is considering graphic design,
classical art, or some other art major. She still has time to work all that out
though.
Emily still loves Irish dance but
has taken up mixed martial arts for a little while. She saw her younger sister
Aspen loving it and wanted to give it a go, to which Aspen said, "You know
you have to hit people and you can't cry." Emmy is my gentle girl
always has been. She is not fond of the sparring as Aspen predicted, but she is
loving the class and I love the self-defense they teach. They are also very
good at helping to build confidence. She loves music and still plays the piano
which I love hearing. She will be 11 years old this July and cannot wait for
Young Women's next year.
Aspen will be eight in December and
has taken to martial arts like a fish in water. It took a few different
activities to find her niche, but I think she is there. She went to her second
tournament and managed 3 gold medals in sparring, and 1 silver in forms
and 1 silver board breaking. (Not the same boards black belts use.) The
divisions are broken up by sex, weight, age, and two belt ranges. As a mother,
I worried for her opponent when she knocked a girl down with a snap kick,
but Dustin was thrilled. There is the difference between men and women for
you.
Kendra is becoming a little artist
too. She loves having Cassidy teach her things and at 4 years old really tries
hard to pay attention. Her efforts will last for ten minutes then she moves on
to her own ideas. She really can spend all day at the table with some project
or another. She loves playdough, coloring, and learning letters.
Dustin and I are still happy down
here in Salem. It is good to be closer to the family and seeing most of you
more often has been so fun. The highlights of the year for us have been my
recent book release of The Truth of
Victory. Also, our visit to FanX
where we got to meet Jason Mamoa among others of our favorite nerddom shows and
books, and most importantly our 19 year anniversary this July. It has been a
good year.
Ralph
and Diana
The one item that will mark this
year for us is that Mom/Grandma Sybil passed away on January 8th.
I am thankful for some tender moments at the last that will stay in my memory
and sweeten her passing. I, Diana, am surprised at how much I think about
her; Friday afternoons when it is time to do her hair, Saturday morning
breakfasts that I want to share with her, questions I wish I had known to ask
about her life, her letters, her recipes. I miss her.
Other than that we had the car
stolen out of our garage while we were going back and forth carrying in the
groceries. We no longer leave the keys in the car even in the
garage! To make up for the nasty feelings we had about the car thief, we
painted pretty much the whole upstairs. Ralph is still serving in the
high priests group, and I am still teaching primary. Both of us are
content and thankful for all of our blessings including our immediate and
extended family and for the church and the gospel. We can’t think how we
could pass through the vagaries of life without our faith in Jesus
Christ.
We love you all and are thankful to
belong to such a noble family!
Anne and Mike
The summer of 2016, the Sampsons
decided to count their blessings...the hard way...again. This time it was
up over the Notch past Wall Lake in the Uintahs. First blessing: that we
brought a first aid kit (came in handy when Jonathan almost chopped off his
thumb), second, that we did get to see some fish (unfortunately, mostly not on
the end of our fishing line) and, last, that some wonderful person created Benydryl
(it was extremely helpful for the itching associated with the, literally, 40+
mosquito bites on a certain mommy's derriere). In all seriousness,
though, we are truly thankful for the beauty of the earth and strong, healthy
bodies that allow us to see even just the smallest part of all of God's
creations!
Other notable things we're thankful
for during the past 12 months are:
#1 That we were able to find
Ella's map. Truly, she might not have made it to her 11th birthday!
I mean, who would paddle pirate ships through Blue Raspberry Lemonade Lake and
who would comfort the lions, tigers and cats that can't make it to the Animal
Castle on Fridays because of the Cat Detour River and just who, tell me, could
explore the Marsh River Maze without that map?
#2 That Jonathan bore his testimony in
church again after years of declining to. He totally made up for those
years, however, when he warmly greeted the unfamiliar congregation with,
"Aloha, Brothers and Sisters!" He confided to me afterwards
that he felt prompted that if he would bear his testimony, he would do well in
the upcoming Pokemon Regional Tournament. Good enough for me!
#3 That Daniel
successfully navigated his way through several complex social situations.
Mostly they were solved by treating the hallways of the junior high like the
freeway and weaving in and out of the fast lane, but he was also able to stand
up for a classmate being bullied, stay friendly with someone who was
contributing to the bullying after telling him to stop, and report the bullying
appropriately to the proper person.
Christmas Eve 2016 brought a sweet
blessing for the Sampson family. For 12 years we have spent Christmas Eve
with Grandma Bateman. This past year was no exception, only it was more
tender, more poignant, more exquisite as we served Grandma a meal, sang
Christmas carols with her, gave her a gift, and wished her Merry Christmas and
goodnight as we left. To me it felt like an early goodbye.
Since Grandma's passing, I've had
the opportunity to be involved a little in sorting through some of the boxes of
family history she left. What a thrilling legacy we have through Grandma,
and Grandpa too! It's exciting to read journals, histories, and letters
and feel like I know not just Grandma, but her mother, father, and the other
people important to her.
Sara and Dustin
Our family is growing bigger but happily, not
in number. We have two boys in school who are learning to speak Chinese and two
younger children not yet in school who sometimes sound like they are
speaking Chinese. Dustin has been at his job with CH2M for two years and is
putting in extra hours and extra effort in hopes of getting some upward
movement. He is also, after four long years serving in the young men’s
organization, now the Young Men’s President! It is a difficult calling to
fulfill and we are all anxiously hoping our ward boundaries change in order to
get more youth and more help. I am cleaning house, doing laundry, reading
stories and running errands. It’s a hard calling for me to fulfill and we are
anxiously hoping my efforts pay off in the long run. Dustin and I are healthy
and happy and glad to be able to work each day, good or bad. As I raise my
family I am reminded of how lucky I am to have come from a long line of strong,
hard working mothers. I will miss Grandma, and I am glad at least a couple of
my kids knew her well enough to miss her too. She was tough, smart, charitable
and dedicated. She taught my mother to have these same qualities and more. My
mother tried her best to instill those same qualities in me and I’m currently
trying to beat them into my daughter as wellJ. I was blessed to enjoy many short visits with
Grandma, reading to her and helping her through her last couple years. But, the
true blessing is the legacy she leaves in the families she raised. I’m lucky to
be one of them!
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