BRADFORD FAMILY NEWSLETTER – Dec 2024
DALLAS AND MARGIE BRADFORD
Dallas and Margie have a lot going on. They will not write the newsletter this month. Dallas is feeling much better. He is out of the hospital and will be driving home Jan 3rd. Thank you for all the prayers in their behalf.
KENT BRADFORD
Dear Family,
I’m writing this newsletter from Minnesota. Originally, Karen and I planned to stay here with Kimberly's family until January 2nd, but unfortunately, our plans have changed due to some unexpected events.
A few days before Christmas, I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. As I reached for the wall for extra support, I misjudged its location and fell. It wasn’t a long fall, and thankfully it was onto carpet, but it was still a fall. Fortunately, Kimberly and Mark were there to help me. I felt significant discomfort in my left leg, which couldn’t bear weight. Mark, his sons, and sons-in-law helped get me back to bed, and Kimberly borrowed a wheelchair so I could get around the house. It was nice to have lots of family around to carry me up and down the stairs.
After a nice Christmas morning with presents and a great meal, we decided it was best for me to go to the hospital. The doctors confirmed that I had broken my hip. A few days later, I underwent partial hip replacement surgery. While my body can now bear weight when walking, my muscles still need time to recover. The plan is for me to extend my stay in Minnesota while I focus on strengthening my muscles so I can move around independently. I spoke with my Bishop’s executive secretary, who has had both knee and hip replacements. He told me that the hip recovery was much easier than the knee, which I can relate to since I’ve had knee replacement surgery. I’m hopeful that the rehab and recovery from the hip replacement will be more manageable, and I’m curious to see if I’ll be able to walk up stairs again.
Karen will still fly home to Vienna on January 2nd, as she has a busy schedule with school and other commitments. It’s possible that Kimberly may fly back to Vienna with me later on; we’ll see how things unfold.
I’ve made a first deposit on a room in an assisted living facility in Mapleton, UT, which will be available to me starting February 1st. However, I may not move in right away as I still need to finish up some business with the Treasure Tower project. Once that’s wrapped up, I’ll make the move to Utah.
The assisted living room is unfurnished, so I’ll need to provide my own furniture and other essentials. It’s comforting to know that I’ll have family nearby when I make the transition.
Kimberly’s family has been incredibly supportive throughout this process, and Karen has been a great help, despite her busy life. Kyle also visited me earlier this month, and it’s always nice to have him around.
I pray that you are doing well, and I truly appreciate all the kindness shown to me during this time.
Love,
Kent
HENRY & TRUDY BRADFORD
Happy New Year, Bradford Family!
The Las Vegas Review-Journal had an article today, telling about the New Year’s celebrations taking place in various parts of the world. In Japan they are beginning the Year of the Snake and on the first day of that year they close everything down so that all can clean their homes top to bottom - rather like a snake shedding it’s skin. Sounds good to me! One of my trees is taken down, lights and ornaments put away, the room vacuumed and furniture replaced. One more to go, but I can wait a few days. We took down all of our outside lights this morning and they are also put away. Henry has a good system.
This month we had a nice visit from Vaughn and Elaine when they came to the valley to attend the baptism of their little “grandchild”. Thanks for taking the time to have lunch with us. And thank you, Elaine, for the apricot jam!
Bobby and Layne brought Lucie to Henderson for a big lacrosse tournament. There was absolutely no place to park, so Bobby met us, took the car far off and parked it - then had to retrieve it for us. Good thing he is so young! We had never been to a lacrosse match, although there is a show on BYU TV that centers on a British girls’ school and lacrosse is a big deal to them. Watching games on that show didn’t really help much when we watched Lucie play, but that didn’t keep us from appreciating the girls’ prowess with those little nets attached to the ends of long sticks, tossing, scooping, and running, all with a hard little ball. It is clearly gaining a foothold in the world of youth sports. I loved it. Unfortunately, they had to leave before she played her final game the next day. She was struck by the stomach bug which seems to be floating around. Bobby had it Christmas Eve.
Mattingly sent me a text a few days before her high school winter formal to ask if I could alter her dress - it was too long. We spent a good bit of time measuring, pinning, re-measuring, and visiting. It worked out for her and she looked very lovely. She said she had a good time, too. It is nice to see pictures from near or far as the grands take part in activities.
After my Daughters of Utah Pioneers event, the only other Christmas celebration to attend this year (besides sacrament meeting) was our ward Christmas dinner, which was very enjoyable. Nathe, Nadja, Tara, and Mattingly came for dinner Christmas Day after Nathan got off work. It was very quiet and spacious around our table with Daniel and Andrea and their kiddos in far-off Tennessee.
Henry fried a couple of turkeys on Christmas Day - one for a friend and family and one for us (him).
We have had quite a battle with our septic system, but we think it is going to function well, after three visits from the plumbers, and a morning spent (by a plumber and Nathan) digging a four foot deep hole in search of the second clean-out. Henry has had his work cut out for him, filling the hole, and raking to repair the lawn. He has cleared out almost all of the remains of the two Arizona Ash trees we had cut way back. The palm tree stumps remain as the next task.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas we had three deaths in our valley - one was a much-too-soon death of a young father who was found to have pancreatic cancer earlier this year. One was of a young middle-school student who was riding with a friend on a four-wheeler. The friend was the driver and she tried to beat traffic as she crossed the highway - in front of a truck hauling a trailer. Another was a young. Metro police officer returning home from his shift in Las Vegas. He was hit head-on by a wrong-way driver on the interstate. He left three little children and his wife. So we are counting our blessings and praying for so many with heavy hearts and tear-filled eyes as a new year begins. We are glad with the news that Kent is recuperating after his fall and that Dallas and Margie are on their way home, they told Henry, tomorrow.
It is a tender gift to be able to continue giving patriarchal blessings. Many Sundays Henry has one or two appointments for them, and we are reminded, in a substantial way, how precious and beloved each of Heavenly Father’s sons and daughters are to Him. There are no ciphers in His family.
Love,
Henry and Trudy
JAY AND KAREN BRADFORD
Did not submit letter…
DONALD & SUE BRADFORD
Dear Family,
We did not write last month so I will catch you up. Thanksgiving this year was not at our house. It was the in-laws' turn, so Susie and I went to Heather & Edmunds' home. There were only seven of us there, but it was a very nice time. The turkey was delicious!
During the month all the wards in our stake area were realigned. One of the four wards was dissolved and then they took the other three wards and realigned making them all larger. Then, a couple of weeks ago, the 5 stakes in our Kearns area were changed into just two stakes; Kearns North and Kearns South. Each of the ward boundaries were just added to but there were some wards that were split off from their original wards and combined into others. For us, we stayed the same. In the Lord's hands, we will be blessed for the changes. Our wards were so terribly small. It will be wonderful to have a full chapel after 30ish years! We also just had one of our previous bishops pass away. It was somewhat expected and it was a blessing to him, as he has been in bad shape for a couple of years.
Trista (Adam's) had quite the scare last month. She got a severe infection from her teeth being worked on with implants and had to be hospitalized for surgery! She has recovered slowly and feels better but cannot have any mouth, teeth work done for a year!! No wonder Susie really dislikes the dentist!! Grateful for them though and for the doctors that take care of us in these times!
A couple of weeks ago, I got an email for jury duty. The selection process is all virtual and starts on January 9th. If I am actually selected, it would be for a trial from the 10th through the 24th. I have never actually served on a jury but several years ago, I was on a Federal grand jury!
We then got ready for Christmas and just had our family party here on the 28th. Most everyone came except for Johnathan, Mia, Hannah & Chet. The great grandbaby, Isla, (Hannah & Chets) even came as mommie & daddy had a company party. Our garage makes a large place for us to put everyone. We used the propane heater and sat everyone around on our huge picnic tables & played games and had yummy soups & sandwiches! It was fun & great to have us together.
You probably remember last March, Susie had a left total knee replacement. Her recovery was very difficult! Well, she said, "Not doing the other one!!" Well, due to Margie & Dale advising her to get the right one done, before it ruins the "good left one" she has decided to do it!! Thanks alot for the "good advice" Margie & Dale...it is hurting ALMOST as bad as the left knee was! So it is on the schedule for the 24th of January!! NOT looking forward to it AT ALL!!
Our thoughts and prayers are with all, but especially Dallas & Kent! We love you and
we hope the New Year brings healing, love & prayers answered.
We are grateful for the Savior's birth and the celebration we were able to have. He has been so good to us!
Much love, always,
Donald & Sue
DALE AND BRENDA BRADFORD
Happy New Years from Minnesota!! We're hoping this new year will be
blessed and notable for each of you. It's a little amazing to think we have
made it to 2025!!!
This December has been a joy as we reveled in the joy of the season and the birth of Jesus Christ. We had the opportunity to attend some beautiful Christmas concerts and programs and enjoyed sharing the joy with others.
We drove up to Minnesota on December 23 so we could be here for Christmas Eve and will go home tomorrow. We drove up on clear roads and the forecast is we will get home before the deep freeze hits the midwest. It's been fun to be with the Gardners and the Beechers and to be included in their holiday festivities.
One of the gifts we gave was to have all of our family home movies and VHS tapes copied and digitized. We paid extra to have them digitally enhanced by AI. It's good we did it, because some of the tapes had started to degrade. Imemories.com did a great job in copying and caring for the films and tapes and now we have them all digitized which can be downloaded and saved to the Icloud or computer or external storage. It's been fun to see our kids as kids and see their personalities and hear their little kid voices. Fortunately, we took a lot of videos of the Grandparents on both sides of the family, so it has been a joy to see those again. Perhaps we can see what we have that has not already been uploaded to the Bradford Website or show them at a reunion. There is just something better in seeing a moving picture than a still photo, and to see the interactions between people and see their personalities emerge. It was a chore to label everything, but hopefully it has made them more accessible.
We've had fun here in Minnesota and been able to participate in some of their annual traditions. On Christmas Eve we had a shepherd's dinner (pita bread, humus, dried fruits etc, like the shepherd would have eaten) and a nativity program. Christmas day we enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner and shared presents. On New Year's Eve we had a fun raclette dinner for the adults and the kids got what Summer and Alissa call 400* Delight for the kids, basically appetizers from Costco and veggies which the kids love. Then we ended with a fondue dessert, which is our tradition. We did fondue with our family and now it's fun they have carried that on. Lars knew what it was, but didn't know the actual name so when it was time for dessert, he asked when we were going to do "fudge circle."
We celebrated Dale's 70th birthday here with the family, but will have a larger celebration in the summer when we are all together. Six years ago when he received his PLS diagnosis after 6 years of undiagnosed symptoms, we weren't sure if he would make it to 70. We are so grateful that his symptoms have progressed so slowly and he is still able to live a full and service-filled life.
I think we have done all the traditional activities-going to a movie, making gingerbread houses, going to church, a fashion show put on by the little girls (with an assist from Lars), and going to miniature golf. We were all miniature golfing and having a fun time and Evie (6 years old) was having the greatest time as she would often shout out her score of 11 or 10 on a par 2. She was having such a rollicking good time that none of us had the heart to tell her that a low score was the desired result. In the end, she scored 87 on a course of 42. We all cheered for her and she glowed in her victory. Later, they were talking at home and she learned that a low score was how you win. She asked, "Why was everyone cheering for me?" Isn't great that we can celebrate everyone's victories no matter how they achieve them. Summer said, "She worked harder for those scores than those who only putted twice on those holes." I wish we could always remember that winning a competition is not the only joy in games.
At the end of this year, we are mindful of those who are facing significant health challenges and are specifically praying for Dallas and Kent and others who will face health difficulties in the coming year.
We are also mindful of the blessings we have received this year and the joy the gospel gives us through the doctrine of eternal families. We so love all of our family.
Much Love,
Dale and Brenda
ELAINE & VAUGN HUNTSMAN
Dear Family
Happy New Year’s Eve! I will write a short note followed by our annual Christmas Letter. We didn’t get it sent to everyone in the family so I’m including it here.
December was good. We enjoyed our days at the Bishop’s Storehouse, which is a busy place in November and December. We traveled to Casper, Wyoming to spend Christmas with Lisa’s family. While there we were able to attend the new Casper Temple. It is small but oh so beautiful and you are still able to do all of the ordinances. We’re so happy for the saints in that area to have a temple closer to them.
We were pleased with the outcome of the Alamo Bowl game! BYU came prepared to play! We are now back home and going to go to a BYU Men’s basketball game today. Fun times!
As this year comes to a close we want to remember our dear Kay. It was hard losing her, the first of this generation. We sure do miss her but know that we will see her again. We are also grateful for the memories made at the Bradford reunion. We are so blessed to have the family relationships that we have. We sure do love all of you and we wish the very best for you as we begin 2025!
Love,
Elaine & Vaughn
Dear Family and Friends,
Holiday Greetings! 2024 was a memorable year for us. From October 2023 to October 2024 we served as missionaries for our church. This experience was such a great blessing to us. We visited widows and widowers, the sick and down trodden, taught English classes and we taught lessons to help people know more about their Savior, Jesus Christ. We are now serving as Church Service Missionaries. Our assignments will be two days a week at the Bishop’s Storehouse, where we help distribute commodities to those in need and we will also continue to teach English classes. These things bring us great joy as well.
We both have been healthy, being able to do the things that we enjoy. Some of these activities are fishing, golfing, pickleball, gardening, and of course BYU sporting events. Our family remains our pride and joy, and we cherish the time spent together! Here’s a quick update.
Kellee & Dennis (Caldwell, ID): Kellee transitioned to a work-from-home role supporting the collections staff after 21 years as a phlebotomist with Red Cross and she also tries to play pickleball a few times a week, while Dennis enjoys his work in the school district and cherishes his BSU football season tickets. They enjoy spending time with their older kids who live nearby. And they’re excited for Makenzie, who is expecting a baby girl in March! Averi (16) is a junior, has her driver’s permit, she loves playing the piano, singing and hanging out with friends. She is headed to Orlando with her school choir in March. Berklee (12) is thriving in piano and clarinet, she also loves hanging out with friends and is always busy doing something. She was happy to get her braces off recently.
Brad & Rachael (Idaho Falls, ID): Mason (13) plays soccer and fortnite, and Reese (10) loves sleepovers and do her skin care routine. Brad works for TriNet and plays music any chance he gets, while Rachael works for The city of Idaho Falls Public Works Office and she loves to travel with Brad and their friends.
Michelle & Joseph (Pittsburgh, PA): Joseph thrives as a senior engineer at Olympus, and Michelle works as a developmental therapist. Kobe (18) is a senior, busy with diving, school, friends and sports. Briggs (15) plays basketball for his school team and is excited to make an AAU basketball team as well. Elsie (13) is excelling in school, cheerleading, and volleyball and also likes to hang out with friends. Miles (7) loves math and their dog Ace. He also played soccer, flag football, baseball, and basketball this year. A highlight was a trip to Zambia to meet family. It was truly special to see their children meet their paternal grandparents and create unforgettable memories with family.
Lisa & Ryan (Casper, WY): Lisa works for TriNet as a Resolution Services Consultant and manages home life, while Ryan flies pipeline patrol for Hawkeye. They stay busy with church callings and trying to beat each other at pickleball. They have three girls, Olivia (9), who played volleyball and improved so much this year, even making the winning point in their final match. Afton (8) loves school and has a great group of friends. She made the decision to follow Jesus and be baptized. Emmie (4) loves going to preschool, feeding the chickens frozen peas, riding the hoverboard and trying to keep us with her big sisters.
We are grateful for this time of year when we pause to reflect and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We testify that He is our Savior and Redeemer.
May each of you
have a very Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year!
Love, Vaughn and Elaine