"Words of Richard"

I, Richard, am linking Lois's early years to her married years, and to her diary. I copied her early years from her "Treasures of Truth" book, and tried to insert her pictures in the appropriate places.

I was present with her during the school year of 1958-59, at Ricks College. I met her after I dated her room mate "Budgie" (Margaret Budge).

Her boyfriend, Ivard Budge, as she said, went on a mission to the Western States Mission during the Spring of 1959.

I had grown up in Raymond and Taber, Alberta. Taber is five miles from Barnwell. Even though we lived only five miles away, we didn't know each other. By the time this school year was over, her parents, and my mother had moved to Lethbridge, Alberta. So, both of us returned from Ricks College to Lethbridge.

She was waiting for Ivard, and I was planning to go on my own mission. We sort of "dated" during that Summer, but not really. Her mind was on Ivard, and mine was on my prospective mission. We became good friends. I eventually received a call to serve in France for two and half years, and left in November of 1959. She, as a nurse, worked in the hospital in Lethbridge and lived at home with her parents.

Ivard strangely decided on someone he knew in Idaho, and not Lois. After recovering from this difficult experience, Lois was led to go on a mission herself. She was called to the California Mission for a year and a half.

My mission ended in May of 1962, and in the meantime, my mother, Leah Jones married William Pilling and they moved to Provo, Utah. So when I returned, I went to Provo. Lois finished her mission the end of December 1962 and came to Pleasant Grove, Utah to stay with her brother Dale, so she could attend Brigham Young University in Provo.

After Lois returned to Utah, I dated her several times but she had her eye on someone from her mission I think, and she had gotten used to thinking that I was like her "brother". While dating her, I received a special experience or witness, which gave me the faith that things would work out. I didn't tell her that until after we were married, but I let her know that I was very interested in her. She kind of put me on a "backburner" for a few weeks, and then she had an experience of her own, that told her that if she dated me again she would be able to know. I suppose the rest is in fact, history. We were married on Friday, September 13, 1963.