Letter home & baby name

Dad would always write letters home to his parents while he was at BYU.  He did this even after getting married.  Amber scanned these letters into a digital format.  I will post these letters and transcribe them here, from time to time.  This letter is one of my favorites because it mentions my arrival, and shows that my parents decided on my name at very early stage.  I really like envelope for this letter.  It was written in November, 1982.  The back of the envelope says p.s. baby's name - if boy - Spencer Ryan, if girl -  Brooke Suzanne.  I wonder why Ashleigh was not named Brooke. 

Here is what the letter says:

November 1982, Provo, UT (Sunday)

Dear Mother and Daddy,

It was a real pleasure talking to you yesterday on the phone.  You made me feel like you really miss me and I am glad, because I know you do.  It is so good to have parents who care.  You are always there when we need you and we appreciate that.
You were telling me about the opportunities of becoming a Computer Programmer.  That is a possibility that as you know, I have considered.  I don't know why I became up in the air about teaching other than the concern that money is and will continue to be scarce for teachers.  We read an article on how poor a pay scale there is for teachers (13,000-30,000).  This is the national average.  I am sure the top is for areas w/ a high cost of living like cities in California.  I am going to check at the career center again to what job opportunities are available for Math teacher and also Computer Programmers.
I was thinking that since I enjoy working with figures and such that Accounting sounds interesting, so I signed up for a beginning accounting class next winter.  Who knows what I will end up in?  Maybe I'll become a nuclear scientist and the build the first nuclear powered prosthesis (haha!!).
Putting all joking aside, I do need to decide soon because school is expensive for you and will be expensive for us with a new arrival in July.
The problem is that I love to teach, (Or is that preach?)  I love to interact with people, and I can't see myself at a computer terminal eight hours a day and not interacting w/ other people.  That is my main concern.
As it stands right now, I have a math class + computer science class this semester + next, so I am getting a good feel for these areas.  I will let you know my definite plans and goals for graduation by next April.  that is my goal for when to decide on a career.  Please write and tell me your plans + feelings.  Sorry this letter is so short, but I promise to write more soon.  Tell everyone hello for us.  Dixie sends her love.

Your son,

Calvin.

Singing me to sleep

I probably remember the least out of all the kids because dad died when I was only three. However, there is one memory of dad that is very vivid to me. I remember when I was little, dad holding me and singing to me as he waited until I fell asleep. He was always so kind and caring to everyone.

Memories of a Mother-in-Law

I remember when Dixie called and told us that she and Calvin were dating seriously, and she was concerned about our attitude of his having only one arm.  My response was, "There are a lot of things in life that are worse to deal with than that."  Calvin proved this to me over and over.  I was amazed to watch him play tennis, baseball, swim, drive a car, etc.  He had figured out how to do everything - nothing deterred him!  Calvin loved life and he loved people.  He was a great teacher and was so good at explaining things.  I was told that he spent many hours beyond his required hours in school teaching helping his students who struggled.  He had a great knowledge of the gospel and loved to read the scriptures.  He was so proud of his family and loved them very much.  There were countless times when I saw him pull one or more of his children aside and quietly explain something to them to help them with a problem that had occurred.  One of my last memories of him was when I observed him sitting on our couch with Ashleigh and Tanner beside him and he was reading to them.  I have wished over and over that I had taken a photo of them at that time.

As remembered by Rhea Tiffany (mother-in-law)

El Paso

My dad fondly remembered growing up in El Paso, Texas.  As a family we went there a couple of times when I was younger.  One time we went there for his parents' 50th Anniversary.  I remember that the celebration party was held in the red brick chapel that my great-grandpa was in charge of building.  We played hide and seek with our cousins in the large and uniquely built chapel.  All of the twists and turns in the chapel allowed for great hiding places.  If I remember correctly, it was the first LDS chapel constructed in Texas.  My dad was very proud of his family's heritage and its history with the church in Texas and Mexico.  We got to hang out at the house he grew up in.

Another time we went to El Paso just for fun.  I think it was on this trip that we spent a lot of time at the house my dad grew up in.  We hiked up the this big hill that was just up the street from the house.  We played games in the court in the backyard, and swam in the swimming pool.  I vaguely remember a pinata in the backyard.  It seemed to me that my dad felt very comfortable being back in El Paso even though he hadn't lived there for a long time.

I might be making this up, but I feel like I went to El Paso with my dad by myself on one trip.  I remember going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Pierce in the care center they lived in.  This must have been shortly before my dad passed away.  My dad was very patient with his mother, and able to comfort and calm her.  Her eyes lit up when she saw him come into the room.  I don't think her memory was very good at this time, but she was very happy to see him.  

    

They remember the man.

Over the years, I have run into people that remember Calvin from his mission or BYU days. When I start to describe him, it isn't the lack of arm they remember. In fact, it often takes them a while to remember that he didn't have an arm. They remember the caring and loving eternal missionary that loved the Lord and his family. That was what Calvin would have wanted to be remembered for. He never wanted to be treated different because he was born "different". This only made him try harder to be the best man he could be. He always gave his all.

Holidays

We didn't have any family close by to celebrate holidays, so often we invited the missionaries or the Steve Farley and his family. They also had nobody nearby. One year for Thanksgiving we had bought a new table, nothing fancy, but new. We had to hurry and get it put together so we could enjoy the dinner and have somewhere to sit. This table had bench seating on both sides, so we could easily fit a large group.

For Christmas we often went to Utah, but as the kids got older the gifts took up so much space that we left them home. One year was "bike" year and we had the neighbors put the bikes in our living room while we were gone, so when we got home, Santa had left the gifts at our house. Other years, we planned small gifts that were easy to pack. Our tree was nothing special, but on a few occasions we made garland out of homestrung popcorn. Talking about popcorn, a fun treat that we made often was carmel popcorn. One year we made enough to give as gifts to the neighbors.

Games on the Computer

Unfortunately, I have very few memories of Dad (even fewer than one would expect a 10 year old to have). However, I recall playing a game on our computer called "Storybook Weaver Deluxe". You would use templates for characters and scenery to make stories. On one occasion he helped me by providing the narrators voice for a story I had made about Spider-Man. While he attempted to narrate the story, he misnamed one of the characters. I corrected him and he kindly responded with, "Oh, I am sorry...that is [correct name of the character]." He must have loved being silly and enjoyed reading the stories I would write. We had that recording of his voice on the computer, and I would listen to it on occasion after he died. That may be why it is one of my few lingering memories. His voice was imprinted on my ears for several years after we lost the recording when junking the computer.

Late Night Movies

I guess Dad was kind of a night owl like myself. I remember staying up late sometimes with him watching movies. I particularly remember one weekend when they had a series of James Bond movies in which we watched a couple of them. On many occasions he would pile up a bowl of ice cream and watch a movie. I don't remember the movie so much other than that the two we watched were the Spy Who loved me and Goldfinger.