It took us awhile to get the "3Ms" straight -- Laddie and Shirley Martin, Ron and Betty Miller, Ernie and Betty Morgan. This was further complicated with two of the wives having the same name. But in time we got them all straightened out and now, looking back, we wonder why it seemed so complicated.
Fast forward to this year. In the past few months, all three of the husbands have passed away. Our Crescent Heights family has really felt their loss. I want to tell you a little about each of them.
Ernie and Betty Morgan lived just down the hall from us. Both were in poor health, but every time we would see them in the hall, or on the rare occasions when they were up to going to church, they were both very friendly. Ernie had a wry, almost pessimistic sense of humor, which I found just different enough to be appealing, coming from someone you know had been struggling with poor health for several years. The Morgans had several daughters living close enough to drop in on a regular basis to check on both of them.
Now that Ernie is gone, Betty has, reluctantly, moved to a care center. Their condo is now empty, and we miss them.
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Laddie and Shirley Martin lived on the second floor of our unit. The first thing we learned when moving in was "Everybody knows Laddie." And that was literally true. Severely bent over, unable to take one step without his walker, he was, nevertheless, so full of good cheer that everyone was always glad to see him. He and I would trade jokes from time to time and one of the jokes got to be a standing one between us. Three years after sharing it, one or the other of us would use the punch line as a way of saying goodbye.
Laddie had been a long distance truck driver for several years and had been all over the country. He and Shirley had been tour guides for a travel agency and involved with the Good Sams club. He had often driven over the old scenic drive through the Cascades and could tell you all about the water falls. No wonder we liked him so much. He served as an LDS Scoutmaster for 32 years, earning the Boy Scout Silver Beaver Award. (Talk about service!)
He was so friendly and smiling during the years we have known him, I can only imagine what a good friend he must have been to those who knew him in his prime. Ladddie would have been 97 in January. We hope his wife, Shirley, will be able to stay in her condo.
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On our first meeting in the Crescent 11th Ward we were greeted at the door by two of the biggest smiles you can imagine: Ron and Betty Miller. The Millers lived in the building next to ours, but we soon became good friends, particularly after Ron and I became Home Teaching companions. We were about the same age, had both served in the Navy, and loved the same kind of music. In fact, we would often sing snatches of some song as we walked from one home teaching family to another. (Ron sang in the choir; had a very good voice; made me sound better than I was.)
He and Betty raised a large family --9 children, 38 grandchildren, 43 great-grandchildren. He had served as a bishop, and a temple sealer. He and Betty served missions in New Zealand and Zimbabwe. (Talk about service!)
In the last two or three years Ron had begun to show signs of short-term memory loss. He was well aware of it, but coped with it so well it didn't seem to matter. If he didn't remember who you were, he would always smile and say "Hello, friend." During our last months as companions we were all aware that Ron had no idea who anyone was, but he liked everybody. When he would ask where we were going, I would say "We're going to see the Girsbergers" or "We're going to visit the Maxfields". His reply was always "Oh, they're good people."
A few months ago it became apparent that Ron would need to be moved to a care center near by. I visited him three or four times and he became more and more unresponsive. In a best-of-all-possible endings, Ron did not have to linger long. He passed away in just two or three months, which is a great blessing for his wife, Betty, who had watched over him so well.
Here are a few pictures to help you get to know some of them a little better.
