The Ross McGee Family Story: Installment 5
(In the words of Myrna McGee Smith)
After the war was over Ward
and Irene [Despain] moved to Granite while he attended school at the University of Utah.
They later moved to Coalville where Ward was Principal and teacher at the North
Summit LDS Seminary. After leaving Coalville, Ward was
Coordinator of Seminaries in Southeastern Utah at Price, Utah and then
Coordinator of Indian Seminaries in Provo, Utah. Later they lived in Pullman,
Washington where Ward received his doctorate degree. Then to St George, Utah where he was Director
and teacher at the LDS Institute at Dixie College. They had many church
callings from Bishopric, High Priest Group Leadership, teaching opportunities
for both of them. Prior to his retirement they went to Hilo,Hawaii at the LDS
Institute for four years. It was an enjoyable experience for them. Since that
time Ward and Irene have served at the St George Temple.
Ward and Irene are the
parents of three children. Mary Ann, Steven and David.
School began for the family
of Ross and Elsie McGee during that year of 1943 in American Fork, Utah. Lloyd, LaRaine and Colleen were at the
American Fork High School and Leola and Myrna at the Harrington
Elementary.
Lloyd and LaRaine both had
jobs very quickly after we moved to American Fork. They worked for Bob Crookston
hauling hay and later LaRaine worked for Mutual Creamery which was later
called Arden Dairy.
It was an adjustment
especially for Myrna after attending a school in Granite with three grades in
one room to a school in American Fork that seemed so large and overwhelming to
her. She was in Miss Rasmussen's class (who was very stern and irritable) She
went to school with Leola and wanted to stay with her, but she couldn't go
in her class so she left the school and walked home and told Ross that she
wasn't going again. He very patiently
told her that she had to go to school and he would take her. The next day she would go to school and then
end up going home again and each time Ross would take her back to school.
Then she told the teacher she
was sick so she would spend time in the sick room until the door got locked and
she couldn't get out and she screamed out the window for someone to let her
out. After that she decided she would
have to go to class and finally seemed to adjust.
The next year in the fourth
grade she did much better because she had Mrs. Hill for her teacher who really
gave her special love and attention that she needed and she like school after
that.
Solon was married to Louise
Christiansen, a daughter of Henry Oscar and Eloise Christiansen on November 14,
1943 in Salt Lake City. On May 12, 1944 they were sealed in the Salt Lake
Temple. They are the parents of six children: Diana, Kathleen, Michael, David,
Melody and Rosemary. Solon died on October 4, 1983 and was buried in Kearns,
Utah.
Ross didn't work at Geneva
Steel very long because of his age he had to quit and find other work. In 1944
he was working for Walker Construction as a night watchman near American Fork
Canyon. Walkers Construction was putting in a big pipe line and had been
filling in the trench over the pipe by taking one of the construction roads and
pushing the dirt from it as a fill. We
had heard that there was a big fire up the canyon so Lloyd and LaRaine drove up
to make sure that Ross was alright. As they drove along in LaRaine’s Model A
the dirt road came to a an abrupt halt
and the road dropped 10 feet. Lloyd’s
head hit the rear view mirrow necessitating several stitches in his forehead. He woke up the next morning in the hospital
with a sore knee which resulted when his knee put a dent in the area of the car
under the dashboard.
After living in American Fork
for a time Ross became active in the 4th Ward where he became close
friends of those in the High Priest Group and enjoyed their friendship. Elsie became involved in genealogy and family
records and they began attending the temple very often.
After working at different
jobs Ross began selling McNess Products and worked at this for sometime until
his health didn’t permit him to do very much.
Lloyd worked at Geneva Steel
for a time when he was a senior in High School working the swing shift for six
months. He graduated from American Fork High School in 1945 and the
following month was drafted into the
Army. His basic training was at Camp
Roberts, California. He later signed up for three years in the regular army
joining the Corps of Engineers. In January 1946 he was sent to Germany where he
was with an engineering company and was assigned to guard the war prisoners.
LaRaine graduated from
American Fork High School in 1946. He
stayed with Ward and Irene for a time when he worked for Al Despain on his
farm. Later he lived in Salt Lake with a friend Paul Hansen. After Lloyd
returned from the service he also lived with LaRaine and Paul. LaRaine
eventually had his own business in construction and under ground telephone
lines.
On November 16, 1949 LaRaine
married Dolly June McCandless, a daughter of Gene and Hazel Green
McCandless in the Salt Lake Temple. They made their home in Salt Lake City where
LaRaine continued with his construction business.
LaRaine was active in the
Scouting Program in their Salt Lake City Ward for about fifteen years, which he
enjoyed very much.
He and Dolly have enjoyed all
of their antique cars which he started getting even when he was still in High
School and through the years. They have enjoyed traveling with a group of
friends driving the antique cars on many trips.
LaRaine and Dolly are the
parents of four children: Susan, Gary, Kenneth and Kerry.
Colleen graduated from
American Fork High School in 1948. After her graduation she was employed at the Mt States Telephone
Co. She worked in American Fork and later was transferred to the Telephone Co
in Salt Lake City where she lived with a group of girls.
On January 17, 1952 Lloyd
married Marna Ruth Maynes, a daughter of John Alexander and Sarah Louretta
Despain Maynes. Marna was a cousin of
Ward Despain and a sister of Fred and Colleen Maynes. They were married in the
Salt Lake Temple.
They lived in Salt Lake City
where he was going to school at the University of Utah. They later moved to
Wilmington, Delaware for Dupont Co. as a Research Chemist. In 1959 they returned
to Utah where Lloyd worked at Thiokol in Brigham City until his retirement.
Lloyd and Marna are the
parents of eight children: Larry, Karen, James, Linda, John, Robert, Patricia
and Heidi.
Lloyd and Marna have served
in various callings in the church over the years, Lloyd serving in the
Bishopric and High Priest Group Leadership. Marna has enjoyed serving in many
teaching and other callings. Since his
retirement he and Marna have served in the Ogden Temple and at St Louis,
Missouri serving a Temple Mission during 1998-99.
Leola attended American Fork
High School through her Jr year and then moved to Coalville, Utah to live with
Ward and Irene during her Sr year and graduated from North Summit High School
in Coalville.
Leola married Roger Ball,
son of William Alton and Mary Rogers Ball, on April 17, 1953 and lived in Salt
Lake City for a number of years and then moved to Pleasanton, Calif. They are
the parents of three children, Connie,
Mary and Diane. She worked in banking while she was there. Roger and Leola were
later divorced. She later moved to St George, Utah and there she continued
working in banking.
On July 7, 1992 Leola married
Elwin (Pink) Rees in the Jordan River Temple and lived in Salt Lake City and
recently in 1997 built a home in Hoytsville, Utah.
She has served in many
position in the Church through the years. Primary and Relief Society and in the
Young Women MIA program.
Myrna graduated from American
Fork High School in 1953 and began working at First Security Bank in Salt Lake
City. A business teacher from the high school referred several girls to work at
that bank to give them experience.
On Oct 12, 1953 she married
Kale Smith, a son of Clyde and Florence Jeppson Smith. They were sealed in the
Salt Lake Temple June 24, 1955. They lived in American Fork until Kale was
called into the service training in Ft Hood, Texas and later at the Hanford
Works in Richland, Washington. They lived in Kennewick, Washington. In 1958
they returned to Utah and lived again in
American Fork. Myrna worked in Provo at Deseret Federal Savings and Loan.
In 1962 they moved to Salt
Lake City, Utah and lived there for ten years and then in 1973 returned to
American Fork. Kale worked for Gibbons and Reed Construction Co. as a
Superintendent for highway construction until his retirement. Myrna worked
again for Deseret Federal Savings and Loan and then from 1973-1999 at Bank of
American Fork.
Kale served in the Elders
Quorum Presidency in Salt Lake City and American Fork and Counselor in the High
Priest Group and Temple Assignment Coordinator. Myrna has served in the Primary
in Salt Lake City and American Fork and in the Young Women MIA program and
Missionary Coordinator.
Kale and Myrna are the
parents of three children: Judie, Marcia and Carol.
Colleen married Frederick
Despain Maynes, a son of John Alexander and Sarah Louretta Despain Maynes on
Sept 10, 1954 in the Salt Lake Temple. (Fred is a brother of Marna Maynes
McGee. and cousin to Ward Despain). Fred and Colleen lived in Salt Lake City
and then built a home in Granite, Utah.
Fred worked at Jordan School
District as an electrician and building inspector over construction of new
schools. Through the years he served as
Scout Master Elders Quorum President,
Ward Clerk and in the High Priest Leadership. Colleen served as MIA
Secretary, Primary, cub scouts, Librarian.
Fred and Colleen are the
parents of five children: Mark, Kurt, Jolene, Kevin and Brent.
Ross spoke so often of his
early life in Missouri and Oklahoma and always had a desire to return there one
day. He was able to realize that desire
when Leo and Gladys took him on a trip
back to Oklahoma in October 1962 and it was such a thrill to him. They went
into Kansas and then to Oklahoma and Ross knew his way. He was only fourteen
when he left there but he recognized it. It had been modernized some and he was
so thrilled at the thought that he could go out where the old garden was, where
they raised melons. The farm wasn’t
little anymore, it was now a fifteen thousand acre cattle ranch but the well
they had dug in his youth was still there.
Ross was a great story teller and he enjoyed telling about his life
there. He remembered so well the Dalton Brothers, the famous racketeers and
told how they would greet them in their fancy saddles. They gave these brothers watermelon they had
raised and he thrilled to tell the story. He remembered the pond they played in
but now it was a big lake with a dike. He talked about the ducks and geese they
used to hunt there and as they traveled along he seen many ducks and geese and
thought what a beautiful sight that was to him.
Ross would tell about the
missionaries who came to teach them the gospel of Jesus Christ and how they
enjoyed being around these Elders and how they got converted to the gospel and
about their baptism.
He remembered how they just
left their home there in Oklahoma and traveled to New Mexico and told how they
got into Blanco Canyon and run into the Indians, who were all painted and they
would scare people and how they ran out of food and how they had faith in the
Lord that they would get through this situation and how they ran into a Mexican
sheepherder and how he provided them with flour so they could make bread to
eat.
Ross remembered moving on to
Richfield and Springdale and into St George and the struggles they had through
the years. And after moving north to Draper and Granite, how he would always
talk of returning to St George again, how he had loved it there and always
wanted to go back.
Ross has enjoyed the
closeness of his family through the years and has loved each one very dearly.
He was proud of everyone of them. His posterity was eleven
children, forty-one grandchildren, one hundred- twenty great grand children and
the number of his great great grand-children will continue to grow.
There is much mention of the
lives of his brothers and sisters and his own children and not just a story of
himself, but his family was his life whom he loved so much.
Elise lived with Ross and
Elsie through her life time until they had to live at Alpine Care Center and
then she lived with Leo and Gladys for several years. She was very devoted and
gave much service to her parents.
Ross’s health continued to
fail through the late 60's and 70's and in Nov 1975 was unable to care for
himself and for Elsie so they then went to the Alpine Care Center. Elsie passed away on April 28. 1976 and for
the next two years it was very lonely for Ross without his wife. His health
became worse and he passed away September 6. 1978.
Ross was now able to return to St George,
Utah where he and Elsie McGee are buried at the St George Cemetery.
