Saturday, March 29, 2025

Jane

Ruth came home from Mexico on Wednesday and Jane left for California on Thursday.  She was going for a orchestra competition in California.  I don't doubt that they did amazing, but the finishing touch was a fun day at Disneyland!  




Tuesday, March 25, 2025

DC Day 3

 The day started on the subway.  They began at the American History Museum.  Supreme Court (Aunt Becky said Uncle Ben really wanted to see it--but I sensed a little sarcasm 😂)!  Over to the Capital and then on to the Art Museum and Natural History Museum.  A short rest period and finished the day at the Ford Theatre.










Monday, March 24, 2025

D.C. Day 2

They started at postal museum, this mailbox was near the world trade center on 9/11 mail inside unharmed.  Then subway travel to Air and Space Museum and the art museum.






Sunday, March 23, 2025

IL Duncans Spring Break

Uncle Ben, Aunt Becky, Jeremy and Peter are spending their Spring Break in Washington D.C. this week.






Rachel's Projects

Rachel heard about an organization called Operation Ornaments.  She said they provide Christmas Tree Ornaments for people who have lost belongings in disasters.  Here are some of her projects! 



If you are interested in helping you can get more information on operationornaments.org 

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 

Crocheting

Jane has been part of a crochet club at the high school and has turned out some amazing projects.  Eden has now joined her sister and finished this chicken.  Then Jane made one for Graham.  Thanks Lexy for working with Eden when she wanted to learn how to crochet.

Jane made this one

Eden did this one

Jane's Gift to Graham

Sunday, March 9, 2025

Miriam's Project

Miriam needed something to keep her keys and phone in so she made herself a fanny pack!

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Louis Clifford Duncan

Your great grandfather (or grandfather!) Louis Clifford Duncan was born October 4, 1913 in Centerville, Utah.  His father was Don Delmore Duncan and his mother was Anna Horspool.  His grandfather Homer Duncan and family came to Utah with the original pioneers who were driven out of Illinois.  Louis was the 5th of 9 children.  His family had a chicken farm.  He said when he left on his mission his father had 5,000 laying hens.  In 1935 he received his mission call to serve in the Mexican Mission (which encompassed all of Mexico, and Spanish speaking people in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and California.  He said in his life story he received two messages from his parents.  From his mother, "Go and be a good missionary.  If you can't live the mission rules you don't need to come home." 😃  His father was a little less harsh.  He said, "Always remember who you are."  He was a good missionary who followed rules and came back home to his mother in 1937.  In 1942 he was attending college and when World War II began he enclisted in the Army.  In 1944 he was a 2nd Lieutenant assigned to military intelligence where his first assignment was in the Phillipines.  He was to lead a group of 20 soldiers who were to raid a Japanese headquarter to see if they could find anything that would help them break the Japanese codes.  With what they found the code was broken.  He said that it greatly helped in clearing out the Japanese in the Phillipines   In 1946 he finished his military service and enrolled in the University of Utah.

Louis had started dating Gerlene Olive Ogzewalla before the war and when he game home they again began dating  The were married on January 2, 1946 in the Logan Temple.  They eventually moved to  Phoenix, Arizona where they remained until the time of their deaths.  They had four children.  Scott Louis, Kent Donn,  Rozanne, and Phillip Charles.  In 1948 he began to work for the Arizona State Land Department.  He worked there until his retirement in 1981,  After he retired they were temple workers in the Mesa Temple and then were called to serve a mission in Tampico, Mexico.  After they served a mission he went in to the Land Department to visit friends and they asked him to write a history for them of the Land Department.    On March 13, 1996 he passed away.  He was 82.  He had stomach cancer that eventually spread throughout his body.  

Your Grandpa Duncan was a very quiet, hard-working man.  Over the years he served in positions of  leadership in the church.  He, like his children was an avid reader, a wonderful gardener who grew every thing that would grow in the hot climate of Arizona.  The thing I remember most was his beautiful wall of sweet peas that grew up a trellis he built on the south side of their house.  They were all different colors and looked beautiful.  In his military record it said he was 5'8" tall with brown hair and blue eyes.  I never saw much hair since he was bald when I met him.  He generously shared his baldness with his three grandsons.  

Spring Concert

Last night I was able to attend Duncan's Spring Choir Concert.  This is not because I am prejudiced but his particular choir was the absolute best of all the performances. It was so fun to watch Duncan singing and doing a little dancing and looking pretty cool in his sunglasses for one of the numbers.