Myrt D - Texas

Bob and Myrt took their family of seven on an adventure of a lifetime to Thailand for many years of missionary work during the 1960s.  The memories there are truly prized possessions for them and now their grandchildren as well.  Their time spent there has connected families across both generations and continents.

 

~Claire

 

 

When we got ready to go to Thailand as missionaries, our friends Pat and Archie wanted to know how they could help us. So they got together and they put on a big $100 a plate dinner at the Hilton Hotel, the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Hollywood. And in order to go to the dinner you had to give $100; some gave more.

 

We left for Thailand on January 29, 1963 and got there on February 11. We were there for seven years. Eight years total, but we spent about nine or 10 months here in the United States on leave.

We had a lot of good times in Thailand. That was a great period of our lives. I stayed in town most of the time.  We had a nice house with a big tree in the yard.

We went to language school and it was tough. But then we moved up to Chang Mai and they had already established some churches up there. So, we visited them and Bob preached for them and helped them out. Then, we started a preacher training school there in Chang Mai. It worked pretty good. But it's tough working as a missionary in Thailand. You can't make any tracks too quickly.

 

We went to Phrao one time. Bob stopped our Volkswagen microbus about 2 miles from the church building in Phrao. I looked at my children and said, "Now, look, this is not the Waldorf Astoria. We are going to sleep on the floor, on mats, and it's not going to be real comfortable. But for one night you just got to be tough. They are going to serve you some food that you're probably not going to like, but eat it, don't complain." So they had one dish; it was little old larva and they made some kind of a dish out of it and put it on rice. I said, "You need to eat that." And I ate it too.

I told them to not complain. I told them, "I want you to be optimistic. God is going to work through us on this trip."

 

It was nice, though. We liked it. It was a great decision to go there. It was really a nice place to live. It was a good experience. And it was a good experience for the kids.

Bob D - Texas

Bob and Myrt's lifelong love started quite literally from love notes.  Letters written across the country began a marriage and family that took them on unimagined adventures all over the world.  Here's how it all began.

~Claire

I got up to Camp Shiloh and I was sitting and here comes Myrt in with her nice, little old black Ford coupe. She gets out and she was beautiful. I said, "Mankind!! Myrthalene!!” So, that's kind of the way that started.

 

Myrt and I didn't know each other very well, but we had known of each other for three years at Abilene Christian. When we were there at Camp Shiloh, I watched her around camp with the young people. She was in charge of the older girls and she was really a big sister. She had a great love for them and they loved her so much. So I could tell she was just a great person. Of course, she was Miss ACU and she was a Favorite and a Homecoming Queen nominee. I was impressed.

I was the chief counselor for the boys there at Camp Shiloh. Myrt’s chief counselor was a lady named Dorothy from El Paso. We met together to work out the schedule because she was in charge of the women and I was in charge of the men counselors.

I said, "Dorothy, what day is Myrt going to be off?" She said, "Well, I've got her off Thursday." I said, "That's the day I'm taking off."

So then I went to Myrt and I said, "Myrt, what day are you going to be off this week?" She said, "Thursday." I said, "That's the day I'm off! Let's do something together!"

Our first day off we got into her little black Ford about 5:00 AM. We ate pancakes right before we got into New York City. I had never been into New York City. It was my first time. I drove that little old black Ford through the Lincoln Tunnel, we parked it, and we ate breakfast. Then we walked around and we went to see Yankees play the Boston Red Sox. Ted Williams was the star, and Mickey Mantle. Then we got through and ate a nice little lunch. And then we went to a Broadway play, The King and I, the story of the king of Thailand. I got in there and it was so relaxing, and the music was so good.

So, for eight straight days off we kind of did something together. I don't know if she got tired of me or not. But anyway I said, "Myrt, we need to do something together again."

At the end of the camp, I had to do two weddings in Texas. So, I asked Myrt, "Myrt, could I ride with you all the way to Muskogee?" She said, "Sure! I'd love to!" So we rode all the way to Muskogee.

In Muskogee, her mother cooked a fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and biscuit dinner that I'll never forget. Towards the end of the meal, I said, "Myrt, would you take me to Highway 69 south of Muskogee?" She said, "What for?" I said, "I'm going to hitchhike to Port Arthur." So, she and her little brother, Jimmy, took me to Highway 69. I shook her hand and said, "Well, have a great year at Abilene Christian." And I shook her hand; I didn't even kiss her or anything. I said, "It's been a great summer." I hitchhiked all the way to Dallas and spent the night with my aunt and then went on to Port Arthur.

Later, I caught a ride back up to Dallas and went up to New York City to go to Camp Shiloh again. Well, when I got up there I was single and the prospects for a Christian girl up there were pitiful. And so on the way up from Dallas I called Myrt and, I mean, it was so good for me to talk to her. I said to her, "If I write you, will you write me?" She says, "Yeah, I'll do it." So when I got to New York, I wrote her and she wrote me.

Finally, one day I said to myself, "I really would like to marry her. But how can I do it? I'm making $200 a month and I can't get to Abilene." I went to St. Patrick's Cathedral, a famous Catholic church in New York City, and I got down to the front of the left side with a bunch of those women that were using the beads and I got down on my knees and I prayed the longest prayer I've ever prayed in my life. I said, "Lord, I want to marry her but how in the world can I?"

Finally, I decided I'd write her a letter, a proposal. I went back up and I wrote that letter. I said, "Dear Myrt, I know this is unusual, but I want you to be my wife. Would you marry me?"

I signed that thing, I licked it. I was upstairs on the fifth floor, I took it downstairs, I put the letter in the postal box and I flicked it down and I thought, "What have I done? She's going to think it's an April Fool’s joke or something. No one proposes by mail."

The next week I was just miserable. I couldn't get my mind on because I was just thinking I could just see her going down the hall at McKinsey thinking, "This guy! He thinks he can marry me! Ask me to marry him by mail!" It got bigger and bigger in my mind.

One day, old Bob (he preached one Sunday and I preached the next), he said, "Bob! You got a long-distance call from Abilene, Texas!" My heart started racing and I thought," This is it. My whole future."

I go downstairs, two flights of stairs, and I had to hold the phone while I got my breath. I said, "Hello?" She said, "Hello." I said, "Is that you, Myrt?" She said, "Yeah." It was quiet. I said, "Did you get my letter??" She said, "Yeah." It was still quiet. I said, "What do you think??" She said, "I think it's a good idea! I want to marry you!"

That was one of the best moments of my life! Because here I was, she was just exactly what I wanted.

 

To be truthful, our love for each other when we got married, it couldn't be real strong because we didn't know each other well. But, our commitment was strong. And every year, every year our love for each other has grown until right now, 60 years. Our love is stronger than ever. You can't give up on love. I love her now more than I've ever loved her. That's just the way it is.

Dennis D - Texas

“It is proof of high culture to say the greatest matters in the simplest way.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dennis was a man of not too many words.  But when he spoke, it was with purpose and intent.  He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather, an intelligent man and a hard worker. 

Here is the story of how he and his wife, Mary, met and the story of their sweet - and kind of funny - wedding day.

~Claire 

My wife's name is Mary. I was in high school as a junior when she moved to our town as a sophomore in the middle of the school year. About three or four weeks later, we had our first date. We went by ourselves and saw a movie.
 

I guess what drew me to Mary, more than anything, was the love of Jesus that she had and how it was exhibited through her life. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. One of the things that excited me about her was just the attention that she would give to others. She was willing to share the spotlight. 
 

At the time I was very seriously contemplating asking her to marry me, I went and ended up asking her father. He was the "loose cannon" because I wasn't quite sure just what kind of remarks I would get back from him. I talked to both him and her mother, and both of them were overjoyed. They said "Yeah, no problem."
 

My parents were the first ones I told. That came up as a topic of conversation on the way to church one Sunday morning. I ended up raising the question to my folks, "What would you think if I asked Mary to be my wife?" Mom, of course, turned around with tears in her eyes and said, "That would be great!" 
 

After Mary graduated from nurse's training, we got married. I had figured I'd ask her to marry me on New Year's Eve. She knew that I was going to ask her to marry me; the only thing she didn't know was when. So when it got to be about that time, we ended up sitting on the couch, I pulled the ring for my shirt pocket and I asked her if she would be my wife. She said "Yes!" I expected her to say yes, but I didn't expect her to say yes so quickly.
 

We got married September 2, 1966. It was a Saturday night and the sun was going down. That day was bright and shiny. When Mary walked down the aisle, that was probably the biggest thrill in my life - to watch her being escorted by her father down the aisle. 
 

 

I didn't know it at the time, but we weren't going to have her father for very long. And that was sad. As I look back on it, he ended up not only enriching my life and Mary's life but also our children’s lives. He was one of those people that never had a whole lot to say but when he did say it, it meant volumes. He was quite a man. Without him, I don't know where Mary would stand or even where Mary would land as far as being comfortable.
 

We had the wedding ceremony and had the reception. Unfortunately, I think it was my cousin Delmer who took my 57 Ford and he took red lipstick and put it on this white hood. I want to say it was nothing more than a heart with an arrow through it. On a window it's nice, but on metal it's not. I think it was Paul who ended up clueing me in on what was on that hood. And so, after the wedding ceremony, we ended up going up to Mary's uncle and aunt who lived nearby because I didn't want to get the car any hotter than it needed to be. We drove to the spot that they had for a garage and I grabbed some wax and waxed the daylights outta that hood. It finally got rid of the lipstick. 

 

I admired Mary's composure on our wedding day. She was the one that ended up keeping me "under control" instead of going for a stick for Delmer. 

 

Jeff B - Illinois

Arthur Rubinstein once said, "To be alive, to be able to see, to walk...it's all a miracle. I have adapted the technique of living life from miracle to miracle."

Jeff has witnessed many miracles. His children are three that have left him in wonder. As he's facing cancer, his desire is for each of his kids to know just how very, very proud he is of them all. And, that he wants grandchildren. Grand-girls, as matter of fact ; )

~Claire

The first time that my wife, Roberta, and I found out that we were going to be parents was Christmastime of 1982. We were so excited that we couldn't stand it. We wanted to have children and we were looking forward to it. A boy or a girl, it didn't matter. To have a boy and a girl is totally perfect, I think. So, we were excited. Very, very, very excited.

Back in those days, you didn't do any tests to find out it was a boy or a girl. So, you had to get two names ready and everything else.

Our son, Paul, was born first. We were so excited we couldn't stand it. There were lots of friends that we had that had babies at the same time. One, matter of fact, was a woman that was in the hospital when we went to the hospital. They had just had their son, Isaiah, and then Paul was born the next day. We went to visit her on our way to the Labor Department.

Our daughter, Susan, was born almost three years later, on Memorial Day. We had to get the doctor from a picnic, a Memorial Day picnic. He got there just in time, literally just put on his gown to catch Susan as she came out. We were very, very excited that she was a girl.

Our third child, Alexander, came around 10 years later. He was born in 1993 in Russia to Russian parents and ultimately ended up in an orphanage, put up for adoption by the government. So, in 1999, we set out on an adventure to adopt a boy from Russia. And here came Alex. He was 6 1/2 years old. We didn't want a baby because we were older; we were 46. Matter of fact, it was on Roberta’s 46th birthday when we got Alex.

To me, there is nothing like seeing God in the creation of a human being. That's what I thought of most on the days that each of our children were born. Immediately. And then with Alex, we were taking him out of an orphanage. We were delighted and in wonder with all three of them.

We had a blast with our Christmas traditions. A long time ago when Paul and Susan were very young, we started it. I would give everybody five dollars and we would have to buy presents for each other. You had to come in under your five dollars and whoever was closest to five dollars got an extra prize. It was always Susan. She could calculate it like she does now, with her shopping and blogging about it. Back then, she shopped and bragged about it but now she blogs about it.

Our family loved going to the beach together. If there was anything that we loved going to do, it was going to the water. We had two houseboat vacations that were a blast. And we had several vacations to beaches that were really, really a lot of fun that we either went to with another family or other friends. We had a blast planning it and we had a blast going on them, driving to them. It was a lot of fun.

Family devotionals were a blast here at our house when the kids were younger. We would act them out and do all kinds of crazy things like shaking the couch like it was a boat in the sea during a storm.

I love to be with my children. I love to go out to dinner or other places, shopping, with them. When we go downtown to see Paul and his wife, Sara, it's fun to just walk around, walk down the street, go to ice cream places or restaurants. It's fun to go visit Ben and Susan because they are in their element there. We love it. And Alex and I go on little trips; we've been on several little trips to go ATVing. We've gone four wheeling in Wisconsin. We've gone skiing several times. Alex, Paul and I have played paintball and we have a blast.

The happiest time for our family, for all of us, was when Paul got married and Susan got married. Those were happy times because we really like Sara and we really like Ben. Both weddings were fun and we had a blast together. I can't wait to go on a vacation all together.

I think what makes our family special is that we are together and that we like each other; I think that makes our family special. I love it.

I think that there is nothing that makes me happier than my children. I'm proud of them all the time, all of them. I don't just have a moment, I'm proud of them all the time. I really am. I'm proud that they love us. I'm proud of what they do. I'm proud of Paul and Susan for graduating from college.

I look forward to having grandchildren. I want grand-girls, just so you know.

I think the most important thing for my children to learn from me is faith in God. And, to take care of each other, to always pay attention and think about one another in our family.

What I want people to remember most about me is that I cared for them, that I really, truly, honestly care for people. When I'm gone, I just want people to feel that I really loved them. That's what I'd like.

I want Paul and Susan and Alex to care for one another, to care for other people, and to love God. "Love the Lord with all your heart, and mind, and soul, and strength…" and don't ever stop. Sing songs and be happy; be joyful. Live a joyful life.

Elizabeth F - Pennsylvania

Elizabeth knows how to turn lemons into lemonade. From living through the Depression, to moving her family here and there around the country, she has always found fun through it all. Enjoy her story...

~Claire


My husband was one of the first ones back from World War II. His name was Keith. He was a Sergeant, and they asked him if he wanted to stay in the service and they would make him an Officer. But he said, "No, I want to go home." He had been in two years. He had been in Africa, Italy, Sicily, France, Germany, and Belgium. So, he came home. He was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star.

During the war, there were 50 men and 1300 women on the campus at Ohio U. Everybody was after Keith, so I was lucky that I got him. We met on a blind date. There were three guys and three gals, and we went out together. Then, the next day, my best friend and the guy that she was with said that Keith wanted to go out with me. So, we started dating. We both went to Ohio U, and in the summers he would go to Syracuse and I would go to Cleveland. So we just dated and dated for a year and a half.

I proposed to him. I just said, "I think we should get married!" I didn't have a ring at the time, but he got one and gave it to me.

I admired Keith's sense of humor. Everybody just loved Keith. He was like my father; everybody loved my father. Keith kept a notebook of all of his jokes that he knew. I still have it. When we would go to parties he always had to tell jokes. He was a good dancer too.

Our first daughter, Nancy, we named after our song "Nancy with the Laughing Face." Frank Sinatra sang it; he sang it to his wife Nancy. That was our song, so we named Nancy after it. She was born early and we hadn’t picked out a middle name. So we just went through a book and when we got to Nancy Lynn that sounded right. So that's why we named her that. She wasn't due until July, but she was born May 16.

Two and a half years, plus a few months later we had our second daughter, Janet. She was named after my best friend in Syracuse. Her middle name is after my sister Lucille. She was born just outside of Washington in Landover, Maryland. My brother was at Fort Meade and came every weekend. Keith drove there every weekend to pick up my brother and brought him back to our apartment so he didn't have to stay where he was. My brother was crazy about Janet. He would say, "Get her away from me! Get her away from me! I can't stand it; she's too pretty!" And she was cute.

Every minute was a proud moment for me as a parent; there wasn't just one proud moment.

Keith, the girls and I danced every night in our living room. They liked that. And Keith would play ball with them too.

The saddest times for us as a family were when we got moved. I remember when we left Syracuse. Keith called and said that we were going to be transferred. I was scrubbing my kitchen floor and my friend Janet came over. She was beside me and we were both scrubbing and we were both crying. It was tough. I didn't have a car and Keith traveled all the time. So I got very close to my friends, wherever we lived. And then I had to uproot and move somewhere else. I wasn't able to keep in touch with many of them because by the time we got settled we would get moved again.

But we always had a wonderful life. We were always doing things together because we were the only people that we knew. It was all that moving that made us so close because they didn't know anybody else and they would stay home. We were a very close family.

The key to having a successful marriage is having a husband like Keith, and girls like Nancy and Janet.

One thing that I want to pass on to my family is that you can get through anything. You can get through anything if you really try.