Roy and Sylvia Richens

 

Charles LeRoy Richens and Sylvia Louisa Bodily were my Mom’s parents.  I have many memories of them because they moved to Mesa in 1961 when I was nearly four years old, and bought a house on the next street close enough for us to walk to on our own.

I love my grandparents and I felt especially close to my grandmother, who I loved to talk to.    She often wrote me in college and would occasionally send me some cash, which saved my sorry hide at times when I was just sure I was on the edge of starvation and poverty.  I remember telling her about the young men that I dated and I loved her for being interested in me and what was happening in my life.

I have been reading my Grandpa’s autobiography and was so surprised to find the history behind this photo of them on their wedding day in October of 1913. 

In 1911, at the age of 21, he received a call to serve a mission to the Eastern States, which included all of New England and as far south as West Virginia with mission headquarters in New York City.  On his way to the mission field in October of 1911, and before he was set apart as a missionary, he stopped for a few days to visit with Miss Sylvia Bodily in Provo where she was attending the university. 

His first testimony meeting in the mission field was attended by all of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir members.  At one point in his mission, he was instructed to work without purse or scrip.  He said that he and his companion were one of only two pairs of elders out of a total of twelve pair who actually did missionary work without purse or scrip.  He said they never went hungry for more than one meal at a time and it made him aware of the fact that the Lord fulfills all His promises.

One rather interesting experience Grandpa shared was one time when they entered the little town of Florence in western Massachusetts.  Because of their particular height, weight, dress and general description, along with the suit cases that they were carrying, he and his companion, Elder Ellis were taken for two murderers who were last seen in the vicinity of Florence.  While Grandpa and his companion were looking for a room in the town, they had left their suit cases at some man’s place, and while they were gone, the suitcases had been weighed and found to be the same as the two escaping criminals.

However, by this time, Grandpa and his companion had gone to the police station looking for information to help them in their work when they received word of the capture of the two criminals some distance from there.  The Chief of Police then told them the story of how THEY had been suspected of being the murderers, and how the police had been following them, and then had a good laugh,  treated them very kindly and supplied them with the information they were asking for. Grandpa and his companion had had no idea what was happening behind the scenes as they walked through Florence.

Now, in his own words:

“During the summer of 1910 I became acquainted with a lovely slender brown-eyed brunette young lady (Sylvia) with whom I had a more or less casual acquaintance while attending grade school back in 1906.  Soon after commencing to keep company with her a number of young people of the ward, ourselves included, almost always attended parties and dances as a group.  This was a splendid group of young folk, and we always had lots of good wholesome recreation together.

Both of us were officers in the ward M.I.A. organizations.  Because of this we were usually at meetings a little bit early.  Almost without exception after we entered the chapel and were seated a group of both old and young people gathered around us while we talked and joked with such splendid older persons as Brother Virtus McConkie.  He was a wonderful friend to us and all young folks and was always conspicuous in our group.  It seemed that Brother McConkie was a special friend to us.  Together we seemed to be the center of fun activities and attraction before Mutual took up.  Certainly both of us, Sylvia and I, feel most grateful for the host of friends we had among both the old and the young.

In 1913 enroute to Salt Lake City from the mission field I stopped off at Provo, where I had planned to attend the Brigham Young University, and arranged for a place to live during the winter.  Here I met Miss Sylvia Bodily, as previously arranged, and we went to Salt Lake City.  There we met Thomas E. Hall and Miss Leona Ashby and went together to the Temple where we were married on October 2, 1913, by Elder Adophus Madison.  Sylvia and I were married first and then Thomas and Leona.  It was a happy occasion to which all of us had looked forward for some time.

Brother and Sister Hall returned to Vernal, Utah, to live while Sylvia and I went to Provo.  Here we attended the university during the next year before returning to Vernal and our folks.”

I thought for sure there had to be some missing details in his account of returning from his mission and picking up Grandma ON HIS WAY HOME, to take her to the Salt Lake Temple to get married, but that, my children, is EXACTLY the way it happened.

My memories include the feeling that Grandpa always loved and adored my Grandma and it made me very happy.