My Amazing Parents!!

I think that anyone who knows my parents, Jesse and Ann Udall, will agree that they are two amazing people. At 83 and 75 years of age, they manage to run circles around the rest of us. They continually serve, love and pray for us and we will always be grateful for their many sacrifices in our behalf.

Last week they went off on a trip to Kirtland and Palmyra for a week. My mother called me on Sunday afternoon and said she was sitting outside the Smith family home in Palmyra and enjoying the lovely afternoon and setting. "My dad," she reported, "was prowling around in the Sacred Grove." No surprise there!!

When I offered to pick them up at the airport she said that they wanted to ride the light rail and to meet them at the last stop. I think you get the idea of what kind of people they are. I just wish I had half their energy.

Back in March our family met at ASU for a memory tour with my mom and dad.
While students at Arizona State College, they met each other at the LDS Institute which was then located on the north side of University. My dad graduated in 1953, they were married in 1954, I was born in 1955, my mom graduated in 1956 and the rest is history!! They had many wonderful friends and experiences during those years.

My mother lived in West Hall which is located just west of the current library. She said that the girls had to be in by a certain time in the evening. The guys and gals would all hang out in front and wait around until the last minute to say goodnight. Smooch!!

My mom is in the 2nd row and she is the first girl on the left. My Aunt Pauli Perkinson is the third girl from the left. My aunt may have helped set my parents up since she was friends with my mom first.

My dad was very involved in student government on campus and at the LDS Institute.

Don't you love that smile!!

I think this is a sing-a-long at the institute building. My mom is the girl on the left.

Below is a picture of campus as it was then. Click to make it larger.

The east/west street at the bottom of the picture is Apache. The north/south street in the center is College and is labeled on the map as Cady Mall. Hayden Library is located today in the center of the picture about where the clump of trees are. The MU is now where the empty space is in the center. The football stadium pictured is has been replaced with a large parking garage often used for Gammage events.

In the picture below, my mother is on the back row and is third from the right. She is identified as Shirley Udall. I have always been proud that my mother pushed forward and graduated from college even after she was married and especially after she had a baby.

She said that she took a sewing class while she was pregnant and made maternity clothes. At the end of the semester they had a fashion show and all modeled their projects.

The picture on the left is from the 1954 ASU yearbook. It is a delightful picture of Shirley Ann Evans and Pauli Udall-- two young, single, Arizona girls-- obviously thrilled to be able to enjoy a rainy school day. Who would have thought that they would go on to be the wonderful aunts and moms that they are to all of us. Thanks Aunt Pauli for getting my parents together.

A great big thanks to my amazing mom and dad!!

We love you!!