Aunt Anna is a remarkable person, and has been a special woman in my life. She was born in Talmage just a year after my Dad, and eventually married my Dad's brother (Uncle Albert). The two brothers moved their families near each other in West Mountain and helped one another on their farms until my Dad's death in 1964. Uncle Albert and Aunt Anna had six sons and two daughters, plus a son who died in infancy. Their older children were quite a bit older than us, but then the youngest was younger than Judy. So we did have quite a bit in common with them, and spent many holidays and family occasions together. As we've grown into middle age, I've been grateful to live in Utah; it's been wonderful to interact with that family and become even closer.
When Bonnie and I were married in the Washington D. C. Temple in 1987, Uncle Albert and Aunt Anna were just completing a temple mission and were able to participate in the ceremony, with Uncle Albert serving as a witness to our sealing. It was a thrill to have them there as "surrogate parents" since neither mine nor Bonnie's parents could participate. (We have a wonderful photo of them on that day, but unfortunately I can't find it right now.) Uncle Albert passed away in 1994, and Aunt Anna continues as the wonderful matriarch of the family.
Today started with a family meeting and temple session in the Manti temple. Aunt Anna's first birthday desire was to have as many of her family as possible together with her in the temple! There were probably at least 60 there, including all of her children except Karen who was ill.
Following the temple session, we all drove back to Levan for the traditional family lunch and party in the church building. That's when things got lively with all the children! Aunt Anna told us she has 55 grandchildren and 117 great-grandchildren, and she thinks there are three more on the way. The oldest great-grandchild is 15 years old, so she may live to see the next generation as well! They fill the whole cultural hall as they gather to eat — looks like a ward social:
This clever cake was made by Laurel, Blaine's wife; the decorations included many symbols and memories of her life:
Alan is the "acting patriarch" of the family and offered a tribute, along with leading everyone in singing "happy birthday" to the honored guest:
There was time for some formal photographs, too. I tried to take a few on the side while the official photographer was getting his shots. Here's Aunt Anna with 7 of her 8 children (Karen was stuck in Magna with bronchitis). I think Gordon wasn't quite ready for this one:
This photo shows Aunt Anna's grandchildren who were in attendance (out of the 117 total):
Unfortunately, for the whole combined family photo, they insisted Bonnie and I also be in the picture, so I only got this photo from the side as I was coming to join the group:
Wow, what a posterity! And what a day — we were very grateful to share it with dear Aunt Anna. Happy birthday, and many more!!
3 comments:
What a wonderful woman she is! I have many wonderful memories of her well-kept home, complete with the ever-present smell of baking bread. We have been lucky to have her and Uncle Albert in our lives. Thanks for sharing the day with us, Dave.
I agree with Judy. Aunt Anna was such a strong example in my life. She is an amazing woman! That's for a great post.
I'm in the process of setting up my profile on mormon.org. The first question is "Why am I a Mormon?" or something like that. The answer for me has to start with the influence of Oma, Grandma, Aunt Anna & Uncle Albert, and Uncle Heinz. What would have become of us without these wonderful people.
Thank you for the wonderful report.
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