The Controller position at the Colton, CA, Deseret Industries (near San Bernardino) was available, and I applied for it. I was offered the position, which included a generous moving package that covered the cost of selling the home I was leaving, professional packing, and closing costs for the new house I bought. I needed to be on the job before we could close the Kaysville home, so I went to Colton, leaving Kathy with the kids in Utah. I was also tasked with finding us a home in the new area. I found a brand-new house in Colton right across the street from a city park. I bought it and selected all the finishes without Kathy ever seeing it. Fortunately, she liked everything I picked out. We later realized, though, that the area fed into junior and senior high schools with bad reputations, probably requiring a future move to better schools when we got beyond elementary schools.

The sale of the Kaysville house finally closed, and I returned to Utah to drive the family to Colton. It was early December, and the roads were in blizzard driving conditions from Kaysville to St. George. We could not close on the Colton house yet, so we had to move into a hotel for a few weeks. With Christmas coming we packed the Christmas items and immediate needs in the car. The movers brought everything else and temporarily stored them in the garage of our new house. We couldn’t close on the new house or move into it yet, so we moved into a hotel. Living in a hotel with a young family of four children was a challenging experience. The home builder showed mercy and allowed us to move into the house on December 24th, before closing, making an exception to their policy. We spent the entire day before Christmas moving our belongings from the garage. With everything moved, we decided to go out to buy dinner. No one was open after 6 on Christmas Eve. We finally found a Pizza Hut that stayed open and all had dinner. A Christmas tree was mysteriously left on the front porch (probably from co-workers at Deseret Industries). We decorated it and had a lovely Christmas in our new home. 

Not everyone liked the management style of the local Deseret Industries manager. He was good. He was fair. I have always been disappointed in myself for not being more assertive in standing up for him when he was criticized. That’s a mistake I never repeated. This job was far less demanding than my previous payroll position had been, and I continued to look for more to do. I taught myself BASIC programming skills and developed applications used for facility management and marketing.

One morning, the kids moved very slowly as they got ready for school but finally got out the door. A few minutes later, Melissa came home to report that they had missed the bus. But 5-year-old Aaron did not return. Kathy checked all around, and no Aaron. Our only car was at work with me. She called the school to see if he had arrived, but there was no Aaron. He had decided to be “responsible” and walk to school by himself. The school five was miles away, crossing a freeway overpass and passing through a terrible part of town. The school principal, upon learning that Aaron was missing, started at the school and worked towards us. By this time, I was home with the car, and we worked from home towards school. The principal found Aaron first, after Aaron had crossed over the freeway walkway and had gone more than a mile on the correct path to school, nearing the scary part of town. The principal asked Aaron to come with him to see us. We had a safety system back then and they would not go with someone who didn’t know the password. “What’s the password?” Aaron asked. Aaron wouldn’t budge on the password. (No cell phones back then to reach us.) Aaron ended up walking back towards us with the principal following closely behind in his car because Aaron would not get in without a password. They finally caught up with us.

We were at a T-ball game, watching Aaron play. Adam was a very energetic 3-year-old boy who was starting to push his skill level. He played alongside me in the bleachers and then moved higher up unnoticed by me. He then started climbing on the bar at the top of the bleachers when he lost his grip and fell headfirst to the cement below. When I got to him, Adam was unconscious. Someone called 911, and paramedics came, but Adam was still unresponsive. I gave Adam a priesthood blessing while still at the ballpark. They took him to the hospital by ambulance, still unconscious. They wheeled him into the emergency room, where he suddenly sat up, wondering where he was and why. He wanted to get down, which they finally allowed him to do once they finished their examination. There were no serious injuries, and Adam acted as if nothing had happened. They sent us home, instructing us to keep him inactive for a few days. (They didn’t know him.)

In the hurry to get him to the hospital, we left the kids in our nine-year-old daughter’s care. We asked our home teacher from the Church to help us with the kids. He quickly went to the house, but the kids wouldn’t let him in without the password. So, he “watched” them by sitting on the front porch.  

Ben’s injury turned out to be quite severe. There was a chipped bone that stopped his pulse every time they tried to set the break. They finally transferred him to Loma Linda University Hospital, with much more advanced facilities. He had to stay in traction at the hospital for a week while the swelling went down. Halloween was during his stay. The healthcare workers there held a Halloween celebration in which they visited patients’ beds, dressed in costume, and gave them candy. 

While there, they wanted Ben to drink lots of milk, but he refused their milk. We finally realized that he was used to the half-regular & half-powdered milk from home. (Living on a budget.) We had to keep smuggling the home-brewed stuff for him. 

When he went into surgery, we were given forms for our signatures. Included was an authorization to amputate his arm if they could not resolve his problems. Having a decision like this placed in your lap is a heavy experience. We signed the form. In our prayers, we put the outcome in the Lord’s care. His surgery went perfectly, and he has never had any further effects from the injury. 

Our insurance only covered 80% of medical costs, leaving us with about $30,000 to pay (in 1986). We didn’t know how we would ever pay for it. After a few weeks, the hospital called us. They told us that the injury was unique and had been used for training purposes. They informed us that they charge off the entire balance due as a training cost—blessings from God.

In 1987, the Church needed to close the Deseret Industries in Fountain Valley as it redefined the role of DI in Southern California. The controller of the Fountain Valley Deseret Industries was losing her job. She actually lived near the Colton DI and commuted daily from her home in San Bernardino to Fountain Valley. I had already started a job search, seeking a role with greater skill depth. Most potential job opportunities came from advertisements in the Los Angeles Times. An employer in Lancaster, California, saw my resume and interviewed me. He was impressed and hired me as the company’s controller. My exit created an opening at Colton Deseret Industries, which the Fountain Valley controller then filled. My new employer covered the cost of packing, moving, and most of the closing expenses. Kathy was then 8 1/2 months pregnant with Jacob. (There is a theme to these pregnancies and moves.)