REMEMBERING FATHERS:LE ROY ALVIN WIRTHLIN

Dear Family

We had a great Father's Day yesterday with the phones ringing, many coming to the house. My granddaughter, Maryanna Fredenberg, capped it by coming up and saying she had a clean face and clean hands and wanted to hug and kiss me on Father's Day.

My thoughts turned to my own father, your grandfather, Le Roy Alvin Wirthlin, whom most of you never met or even saw. He was always my hero growing up. He was a collegiate athlete starring in track and football. He was on the University of Utah football team that won its first conference championship. He went to med school and transferred back to graduate from Harvard Medical school in 1928. He trained in general surgery at a prestigious New York Hospital, the Lenox Hill hospital.

He interrupted his training to serve a eight month proselyting mission "without purse of script" in the backwoods of New Jersey. That meant he had no apartment or finances and he and his missionary companion traded gospel messages for food and a place to sleep. They had success.

He finished his surgical training and started a practice in New York and married my Mom. From the time I was old enough to carry his medical bag, I knew I wanted to be a doctor and I wanted to be like him. He also had many callings and served in the Church as a Patriarch and on the General Welfare Committee in the days they travelled around to stake conferences. He was just a good man!

When I went back to Harvard Medical School, I was interviewed by a psychiatrist... I believe this was routine for all new med students. The Psychiatrist asked me a lot about my parents whom I enthusiastically described. At the end of the interview he observed, "You really identify with your Father". I asked, "Is there anyone better that I should identify with?" and that stopped the discussion cold. So we remember Father's and Grandfathers on this day we honor those remarkable men in our lives.

Alles Gute, Dad

REMEMBERING FATHERS; GREAT GRANDFATHER LEOPOLD WIRTHLIN

Dear Family,

As we remember Fathers, my thoughts went back to my great grand father, Leopold Wirthlin. Here is his p[icture.

I had written a blog about my great grandfather's baptism. but did not tell more of the story. In those days, when you were baptized it also meant that you packed up and came to Utah Ths was about 1863.

He and Anna Hirschi combined funds, bought passage to America, dodged Civil War conflicts as they made their way to cross the plains. They went with a covered wagon company to Salt Lake. They essentially walked across the plains. They married in Salt Lake and began their family. Leopold found work in the granite quarries bringing the huge blocks for the construction of the Salt Lake Temple.

They had several children and then one day Leopold went to Conference and President Brigham Young got up and read the list of new missionaries and Leopold was called to return to Switzerland. There were no interviews and in those days if you had been a pioneer, left your homeland and made your way to the West, you were ok to go back.

Leopold left his young family and filled a 18 month mission in Switzerland. He had some sucess as was reported in the Desert News on his return, He was a man of faith and conviction. I received the follwoing note on Facebook from someone who had found my blog post. On this Father's Day, I feel connected to my Great Grandfather Leopold Wirthlin.

"Bro. Wirthlin, I was surfing the net and found your post on your blog, about your great grandfather Leopold Wirthlin.He baptized my Great Great Grandparents Michael and Elizabeth Knutti in Därstetten, Bern, Switzerland in 1877. They emigrated and settled in the Bear Lake Valley, Montpelier, Idaho. Will always be eternally grateful for Elder Wirthlin bringing the Restored Gospel to our family. We are also related to the Hirschi family."

Gene Knutti, Montpelier, Idaho

Alles Gute, Dad

AUSTIN HAS HIS FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTTY

Rebecca's son, Austin Le Roy Hatch, had his first birthday party. Here he is enjoying all the commotion and the food. Some of the Wirthlin family were there in addition to the Hatch family. Rebecca and Emily organized a great party with Paul doing the barbecue honors.

It hardly seems like a year had gone by since the drama of Austin's birth; there seems to always be a little drama. Austin was in a hurry to get out and face the world and when it was time, he came in a hurry. It was late at night and Becca said they had better hurry because she was going to have a baby any minute. Paul raced to the hospital, went through a few stop signs, yelled for help when they got to the hospital and prayed she would not have the baby on the elevator.

The nurses were saying that there was no doctor present but nevertheless when they placed Becca in her bed, Austin just jumped out and has been a little dynamo since.

I remnded Becca that she repeated the drama of her own delivery back in Michigan. She was #13. I had taken 11 kids to our place in northern Michigan with some dirt bikes and they rode around until they broke all motorcycles. I called Mom and told her we were coming and noticed that she was groaning a little every minute by my watch, "Are you in labor?" This was two weeks early! "I want to get our of this" was the reply. I called Roy to the phone (he was 18 and at home for work) and gave him instructions to take Mom to the hospital immediately and do not listen to her stories of why she could not leave right now and if he did not he would have to deliver one of his siblings in the back of the Pinto car. He screamed!.

After an hour of driving, I found a phone in a remote little town and called into the delivery room of the hospital. The Doctor informed me that Mom had just arrived and was having the baby, (little Becca) on the stretcher (without anesthesia) as we spoke.

I talked to Roy later and wondered why it took so long to get to the hospital. He said Mom would not leave until she found matching shoes for 12 children for church the next morning and they had to stop for gasoline. He totally freaked when the nurse came and told him that he had a nice baby girl!

Well Austin and all the cousins had a great time at his first brithday party.

Alles Gute, Opa

MISSIONARY WEDDING

We are fortunate to be invited to wedding receptions. Many are to our former missionaries with whom we served in Austria and Germany.

This one is Matt Davis who married Ashley Graf. Matt was one our great missionaries who served in Vienna.

Before going on his mission, in High School, Matt was the fastest sprinter in Utah. After finishing his mission, he was accepted to the Air Force Academy.

The rule there is that you cannot be married while attending the academy. So he and Ashley were engaged for 21 months. I thought this was rather smart of Matt; to take such a wonderful catch out of circulation with the official engagement ring.

He graduated from the Academy and they promptly got married. Good luck and best wishes to this newly wed couple.

Here is a video of Matt and Dario Dzierzon in Vienna, four years ago singing one of my favorites of all time, Jesu Dir Gehoert Mein Herz (Jesus Lover of My Soul). Danny Gledhill (concert pianist) is on the piano. (this was taken with a digital camera so is a little amateurish).


Alles Gute, Opa Wirthlin

A VISIT FROM SCHWEINFURT

We had a great visit last night from Kristin Pfister, now Evert, and her husband Daniel.

We knew her and her family in Schweinfurt when we were on our mission in Germany. Sometimes we had an odd number of sister missionaries and one time I asked Kristin if she would serve a "mini mission" for six weeks. We sent her to Vienna to work with Beth Webster who was one of our stars there and they did a great job.

She later filled a full time mission in the Washington Temple Information Bureau.
She then married Daniel who is an engineer and they live in Elwangen. It was great to see them again and catch up on the progress of the church in the Stuttgart area. They were over here as Kristin's brother married an American young lady. I admit that a big part of my heart is still over in Germany and Austria.

Never a dull moment.

Alles Gute, Opa

MEMORIAL DAY

This is what I call a "Family Room". Here we are gathered after Mom's surprise birthday party to watch the video. 70 were present and there were little kids everywhere. Our home is perfect for such gatherings.

We did have a short family night and watched a collection of photos through the years. It was a little like the Christmas slide show we used to do in the mission field. You are reminded of such great times.

Afterward, the kids all went on the front and back lawns and played football. Our neighbors love watching us to see what unusual things are going on. We invited our neighbor across the street to join us for Sunday dinner and she called and wondered when she should come she did not see the usual nine or ten SUV's parked in front of the house.

On Monday, we took a contingent to the grave yard to put flowers on the family graves. Here are three if the grandchildren by the Wirthlin grave lot. It is always a poignant moment and one remembers those who have blazed the trail before and one is reminded of our heritage of Faith.

Several then began to fly back home. But Rick and Gemina took and treated 24 to a lunch at Hires, a hamburger shop that I took Mom too when we dated. There was no rationing this time and Rick let them order whatever they wanted so there were burgers, onion rings, french fries, malts, floats, fizzes, pop, and corn dogs galore. It was a feeding frenzy and when it was finally all over, there was not one scrap of food left over. It was like a cloud of locust descending on a wheat field. I am always amazed what kids can put away.

Well the festivities were finally over and it was great. Alles Gute, Opa

MOM'S SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY

We finally did it; we surprised Mom. This has not happened in 49 years of marriage. Mary would always somehow find out what was going on; she would sneak down at Xmas and open her presents so there would be no surprise. I can't think of a time when she was surprised by anything we did. This time we got her good.

Her 70th birthday was coming up and the daughters were planning months in advance sending sneaky emails around not to give anything away. Cheryl planned the get together evening, Becca prepared the DVD honoring Mom, Mary wrote everyone to send in photos, Emily and Al saw to details and planned strategy.

14 of our 16 living children came back for this mega event some alone, some with their families. It was impossible to get them all together but we were so thrilled that as many came. They came from Spokane, California, Michigan, Florida and those far away places in Utah, Mapleton and Bountiful. They came in secretly like troops quietly parachuting on the scene. I planned the boar hunt mentioned below as cover to have John and Bryan stay at our home.

When Saturday came, we could not think of a good reason to get Mom out of the house at 4PM to drive her to the park where all had secretly assembled. She had put two roasts in the oven and would not leave the home. Finally I proposed that we visit the family graves and pick up two of Al's kids at the park to go with us. She was plenty ticked but agreed and we drove to the park and when she saw the banner and all the kids from all over she was totally surprised and it was such a great moment.

We gathered for a picture which is always an ordeal but there were 70 of us there and there was so much joy, I cannot describe it.

We then went over to the H offices where Cheryl organized a great dinner brought in by Cafe Del Rio and the Pointe. Scrumptious!

The videos equipment was on the fritz there so we headed back to our house and all 70 went into the basement family room where we watched a touching DVD honoring Mom with background music like, "Well Hello Mary Lou, Goodbye Heart, Mary Lou we're so in love with you" There were photos sent by all on the various stages of our home from the start. It was heart wrenching!

This reunion never stopped and continued for two more days with another big Sunday dinner with goodies from everyone including Dutch oven ribs from Doug, Smoked ribs from Opa and goodies all around. We managed to quiet the throng for a short Family Home,e Evening. When one talks about "Having joy and rejoicing in your posterity" it certainly includes these moments and even better ones to come.

We thank all for coming and for all those who helped so much. This time we surprised Mom.

Love, Opa