TBT: My Father's Family

The Evensen Clan
Top Row: Wendell, Celdon, Norma, Kenneth
Middle Row:  My Dad Glenn, Agda, Maurice, Clifford
Front Row: Zada and Grandpa Axel Hermand

As far as I can determine, this photo was taken on August 13, 1950 after my grandmother Pearl's funeral in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Grandmother Pearl Stivers as a young girl

At the time of this photo, my father was 24 and had just returned from serving his LDS mission to Norway.  His two younger brothers, Wendell and Kenneth, were still in High School.  The rest were older.  The only person missing from the photo is Uncle Norman, my father's brother, whom I believe may have been living in Wisconsin by this time.

As one of my cousins recently pointed out, the boys were always in competition over who was the handsomest, who was the most athletic, who had the nicest car, etc.  They were bright and highly competitive.

Out of the ten siblings were one medical doctor, one psychiatrist, a lawyer, and two civil engineers. I figure my grandparents did pretty well for poor folk trying to raise children during the great Depression. They were all great people.

When my father passed six years ago, he had outlived every one of his nine siblings, which was a great sorrow to him.  I figure they had a pretty terrific reunion in heaven that day!

I'm grateful for the values that Axel and Pearl passed down through their posterity.  They encouraged education, love of family, love of God and service to their fellow beings.

Not bad ideals to live by.