My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 151 Off to Michigan Our first home at Michigan State University was an apartment in Spartan Village. All four of us moved in. It didn’t take Jennifer long to realize the place was too small. She had decided to transfer from Walla Walla to Andrews University which was about an hour and a half drive from us, so she moved herself there and got a job for the summer. When school started Darcy joined her. A few months later the conference offered us a house in Grand Ledge that backed up to the campmeeting grounds. I was adjusting to work in the cold United States after so many years in the lovely tropics. Don Gray was a great friend to work with. I started out doing just what I did in Canada, holding three-month series in churches that wanted to involve their members in more Bible study and witnessing. After a few months of success, the President, Glen Aufderhar, said, “Calvin, warm up the church through the Sabbath School.” I responded, “If it doesn’t work, can I come back to this job?” The answer was Yes.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 152 I developed a training manual and started the Sabbath School Action Unit program. It was so easy, and so inexpensive that it was rapidly accepted. I spent the rest of my time in Michigan doing just that. With the help of several new friends who were involved in the SSAU program, we made a couple of videos to show just how to use the plan. Virginia was working at Michigan State University as she took doctoral classes. I told George Knowles about what she was doing. She remembers me asking her when she would be ready to go back to the mission field. She expected that she might end up teaching in some small school in Thailand. After 2 1/2 years she was taking her last class and preparing for Comprehensive Exams when she received a phone call from the General Conference. The person who called was just asking her what she was taking, and when she would be finished. Nothing more, but when she hung up the phone, she knew she was going to be hired by the General Conference. As it turned out, they needed a Children’s Ministries Director very soon. Three months later she was working in the new GC building in Silver Spring, MD. It would take another three and a half
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 153 years to complete her dissertation as she traveled more than half of each year. I was hired by the Chesapeake Conference which is basically next door to the General Conference Office. Jennifer found a nursing job and moved along with us. Darcy was still in college and transferred to Columbia Union College so he could move with us as well. Another adventure began.
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My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 155 Years of International Travel In 1990 I joined Virginia at the General Conference. It was my reputation for Sabbath School Action Units that got me in as the Sabbath School Director. I did interactive seminars in fifty-four countries of the world, assigning every person who attended a seminar to a small group with people they did not know. They would end up seeing the value of doing the same in their home churches. If a wife and a husband joined the same group, one of them would talk, but not both of them. Being separated gave them opportunities to make friends and think on their own. The objective was to get every individual involved in missionary planning, mission outreach, and lesson discussion. The result was a great increase in enthusiasm for Sabbath School. One time Virginia was in West Africa and counted 64 small groups all very involved in discussion around the outside of one large church. A report I saw said that 5,000,000 were baptized over a number of years as a result of the small groups. Public evangelism tends to draw people in, but not keep all of them, and not involve many of them. SSAU was an efficient way to care for those new members as well as
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 156 seek out missing members. Each small group of 6 to 8 individuals would choose their own outreach leader and decide on their own missionary plans. Each week 20 minutes was devoted to following up on their outreach activities. For example, a couple would agree to Bible studies and go through the entire Bible course and join a small group at church. As soon as they were baptized, or even before, they could start to give Bible studies to others, reinforcing what they had already learned. The small group adds their Bible students to the prayer list. Every week they pray for them and learn how things are going for both couples. It is a good bonding experience. The group also has 35 minutes for lesson discussion and application to life. One time I helped plan for a group of Americans to visit the Ukraine and work together with Ukrainians and Russians. The plan was for a total of 33% Americans and 67% local people. Twenty-seven Americans met in Kyiv for a few days of training and working together with local church members. They covered how to plant a church, how to give Bible studies and how to start Action Units. Just when we were ready to go out on Sabbath afternoon to find Bible studies, a heavy rain started. When one American stepped outside
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 157 the church and saw the rain, he said, “Let’s pray!” His earnest prayer was for God to stop the rain. Instantly it stopped. We knew God was with us. The twenty-seven groups came back with 5,640 Bible studies, using the lessons I had written many years before in Tanzania. We had brought along the translated sets. All the participants were very thrilled with the results. The Americans went back home eager to do the same work in their local churches. Meanwhile Virginia was also traveling much of the time. Occasionally we were able to travel together. Once we went to India for a month. We were met at the airport by our respective hosts. I and the pastor I was traveling with went north. Virginia went south with her partner. Two weeks later we met in the middle and spent a couple days sightseeing, then I went south, and Virginia went north. Another time we had the huge privilege of traveling to Egypt with Dr. Bill Shea. First, we went to a place that Dr. Shea thought might possibly be more accurate than the traditional Mt. Sinai. Of course, the site had to fit with the traveling described in Exodus. There had to be space for hundreds of thousands to camp near the foot of the mountain, there had to be a rock that could have
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 158 been struck for water, and the mountain had to be such that a fence could be placed around its base. After looking around there, we went to the usual site that is near St. Catherine’s Monastery. Since Dr. Shea had climbed the traditional mountain several times before, he chose to stay behind while we climbed. When we returned from our hike, he was very eager to tell us what he had found. Around some hills a short distance from where we climbed, he noticed a flat surface on a high hill. When he photographed it, he could see that something was written there. When surfaces are so old, photographs show up more than can be seen with the naked eye. He became convinced that the ten commandments were written on that hill, which would have been a nice way to commemorate the events at that site. In Cairo we visited the museum and Dr. Shea could read all the hieroglyphics. As he explained to us what we were seeing, other visitors began to gather around us. Guides came and shooed them away because they wanted the business of explaining. They didn’t want to lose business to someone like Dr. Shea who knew far more than they did. Several times they had to come and
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 159 chase other tourists away. We were so fortunate to be with him. The trip was a wonderful experience. There were leaders at the General Conference who wanted me to do lots of different programs, not just Bible study and small groups. At one point I sent out a survey to all the Unions and Divisions, asking what they most wanted to see the Sabbath School department doing. The results came in. 96% wanted Sabbath School Action Units. That was a gratifying result. However, many felt that the General Conference was not the place for just one or two programs to be pushed. As a result, I moved to the Voice of Prophecy in 1995. Before I started work at the Voice, I had the opportunity to spend a few weeks with my parents. My father was about to die of cancer, and it was so providential that I could be there with him. There would not have been another time in my life when I had that freedom. I performed the marriage ceremony for Darcy and his beautiful wife Carla, then I hurried back to Rogue River to my parents’ place and stayed with them until after my dad had gone to his rest. Betty Jo and Myron
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 160 Meehan came to visit one day. My dad said, “Is that Betty Jo?” Then he squeezed my hand. It turned out that those were his last words. Myron and I left to go walk outside. He said to me, “Well, that’s the way it is.” About three hours later, Dad was gone. I never saw Myron alive again either, and years later I performed the memorial service for Betty Jo. This world really has nothing to offer us. I expect to see all of them in the better world made new. Queen Elizabeth II was also looking forward to the resurrection.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 161 Caring for Elderly Parents Virginia’s parents lived in Smith River, California, ten miles north of Crescent City, and sixteen miles south of Brookings, Oregon. Occasionally we got out there to visit for a day or two. It was by the beach and close to the redwoods, so it was a very nice place to spend time. Eventually we decided that that was where we wanted to live when we retired. Another advantage was that my parents’ home was just 100 miles east in southern Oregon. We could easily visit all of them whenever we got to the west coast. My dad was the first parent to die. My mother continued to live alone for some time. Eventually she needed more care. She really wanted to stay in her own house but was beyond staying alone. In 2001, Virginia thought she should go visit her parents for longer than she had in years. With her computer, to continue her usual work, she headed to Smith River for the month of December. It only took a few days for the scales to fall off her eyes. Both her parents were 89 and they needed help. She called all seven siblings and invited them for Christmas to decide what to do. At least five came. The oldest brother and the lawyer
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 162 brother-in-law had been designated as the ones in charge of her parents’ money, so they took the lead in this decision. Virginia’s mother had told her some years before that they really belonged in a retirement home, but her dad was such a maverick they would be kicked out in three days. Nobody disputed that assessment. So somehow, they had to stay in their own house. There was lots of discussion but few solutions. Before the holiday gathering dispersed, Virginia’s brother asked if she would be willing to give up her job and come and live with them. Since I worked at the Voice of Prophecy, and my entire job was traveling, I could live anywhere. I had been living in Maryland for the last six years while I worked for the VOP which was in southern California. Any of the other siblings would have their lives turned upsidedown by moving to Smith River. Virginia’s month there, plus the fact that we had talked about ultimately retiring there, made her willing to be the one to move home and care for them. We would be there for nine years. During most of that time I was in and out between trips I made for VOP work.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 163 One of the first things Virginia saw was needed was cable TV. Her parents watched 3ABN all day, then at night her mother wanted to watch two game shows. Only by the hardest, looking through a blizzard of snow, could she see them. Cable TV solved many problems and made both parents much happier. Both were avid gardeners. Mother’s loss of a foot put a stop to most of her gardening, but she still raised beautiful African violets. Dad had lost much of his ability to garden, but he still worked at it every day. He did have a wonderful blueberry patch that we enjoyed for weeks every year. It turned out that Virginia continued to work for the General Conference for the next year plus a couple months, but she spent most of her time—with her computer—working from Smith River. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it turned out okay. Her older sister, JoAnn, lived eight miles north, so she could help at times. She was still running a busy medical practice. During that time, we sold the house in Maryland and considered buying a house near the Voice of Prophecy, but gave up that idea since prices were so high and Virginia would have so little time to spend there. My mother had come to the end of her ability to live alone, so she moved several times from one place to
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 164 another, none of them satisfactory. JoAnn offered to take her to live in her beautiful big room with an ocean view. By the time Virginia had permanently transitioned to Smith River, it was clear that we needed to move my mother into our house also. The room we had for her was about one third as big, and the view was not as gorgeous, but she didn’t like JoAnn, so we needed to move her. Everything that could be done for her had been done. We could not allow her to remain there longer causing trouble. One morning we showed up at her room and told her we were taking her to live with us. That made her extremely unhappy. She realized that her complaints had spelled the end of her cushy life. Now she would be in a much less desirable place. She was so upset that she gave herself a stroke. Her right hand never worked after that day. About that time, Jennifer and David and their two little girls were returning from eight years living and working in Thailand. They asked if they could stay with us until they could get situated, and of course we said Yes. For fifteen months we were four generations living in the same house. Because of our time in Asia, watching multiple generations live together all the time, we did
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 165 fine. Until Jennifer got her updated nursing license, she took care of my mother during the day and did most of the cooking. With so many in the house, I had no office space to use when I was in town. When friends offered us a duplex they had built for their mother who didn’t want it, we bought it for my office. It was very nice and new. We sold it several years later, still in a nice new condition and made quite a lot of money on it. After Jennifer began to work nights at the local hospital, they were able to save some money and look for a house to buy in Crescent City. Before long they moved ten miles away. Then my mother, Mary, needed more care and went to live with a nice Adventist lady in Crescent City who had a beautiful home where she cared for people. Maybe a year or two later we had to move Mom again, into a memory care facility in Brookings. She stayed there the rest of her life which was not too long. She lived until she was almost 90 years old. My dad had died 11 years before. Next it was Virginia’s dad’s turn to need more care. He wanted all of us to live on a raw food diet, and that was not going to happen, so he decided he wanted to go live
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 166 with Nelda, the same place my mother was. Nelda agreed, and Virginia took him there with clothes for a few days. She thought he would soon come back home. He had Alzheimer’s which none of us recognized, and he didn’t even remember that he had left home. He totally forgot his dog and only remembered his wife and his eight children’s names. He lived there for about two and a half years until he died. Meanwhile, I spent much of my time at the Voice of Prophecy or traveling to hold meetings and training sessions for them. Eventually it came time for me to retire. I had spent 22 years working for the Voice of Prophecy. First as the director in Tanzania, then again in Singapore, and finally I was an Associate Director in Southern California. What a wonderful organization that has been to spread the Word of God. Since I no longer needed a separate house as an office, we sold the Brookings duplex, which made it possible for us to buy my parents’ house when that time came. With only Virginia’s mother in the house with us, she must have gotten bored. One day she saw a program on TV about Eden Valley in Colorado and announced she wanted us to take her there before it snowed. It was already early September, so less than a month before
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 167 snow could be expected in Loveland, CO. Virginia tried to dissuade her, and all the other siblings tried to change her mind, but she was sure. So, Virginia’s brother Bill who lived in Loveland went out to Eden Valley and made all the arrangement, measuring the room so we could know what she should take with her. The smallest U-Haul van held what she needed, and the day for travel soon arrived. We were amazed that she walked out of the house she had lived in for more than 20 years and didn’t even look back. On her way to the car she said to Virginia, “You can empty the house. I’m not coming back.” It was a couple days’ trip to Eden Valley and when she walked in the door it was obvious that she already felt at home. We stayed and got her settled. Then we headed back to Smith River, wondering what we should do next. At one point we had ordered an appraisal of my parents’ house as well as the Smith River house. Both appraisals came back at the very same price. Since one was 4 acres and the other was 22 acres; one was a double wide with a few rooms added, and the other a site-built home; we decided we should buy my parents’ house. It needed lots of work, but the land it was on was wonderful.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 168 Since Virginia’s mother had no intention of moving back, we decided to empty her house and rent it out. That was a big job because both her parents had lots of stuff, and her sister, JoAnn, had even more, but she took loads and loads of her mother’s things to her house, which helped us out. It took us almost a year to empty the house, fix everything that needed to be fixed, and then rent it out to a nice young couple who planned to stay for three years. After renting for eleven years, they bought it.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 169 Remodeling At Rogue River At one point, my mother decided to sell her house and promised to sign papers with a local real estate agent. Virginia and I drove over there to deliver the papers, but first we had to burn some trash. As we sat on a stump, watching over the fire, we talked about the fact that the appraisal of the house had turned out exactly the same as the appraisal for the Smith River house my motherin-law owned. Yet this property was 22 beautiful acres, mostly of big trees. Not only that. As we looked through the house, we realized it would take us months to clear everything out so someone else could buy it. It seemed logical to buy it ourselves, and remodel it to increase its value. When we told my mother that we wanted to buy the place, she was surprised but agreed to let us. She was worried about my sister not getting anything out of it, but we drew up papers for all of us to sign. Half of what was not used for Mother’s care would go to Ken and Sharon. There were many reasons for remodeling. For one, when standing in front of the house, we could see that the roof sagged in the middle. As the remodel
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 170 progressed, we discovered that the sag was because the whole middle wall of the house inside was hanging on nothing. There were no supports under it. My dad hired someone to build the house for him. At that time there were no codes and no inspections. We no sooner got the house in our name than we found there was a serious ant and termite problem under the house. A man who worked on such things replaced lots of wood, sprayed for all the insects, and spread new plastic over all the dirt beneath the floor. As he worked he had to pull off much of the siding on the house, because ants had eaten their way up the walls. As luck would have it, someone from the insurance company came by to look at the outside of the house. As a result, we received a letter saying we could have no more insurance unless we replaced all the siding on the house. Our insurance would run out in a very few months. That forced us to find a company to replace all the siding with concrete siding. Then we took the opportunity to change out all the windows to doublepaned at the same time. Then we replaced all the doors. By then we realized that it would have been cheaper to tear down the house and start over, but my mother still
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 171 hoped to come back and live there, so that kept us from replacing it entirely. As the work was done, Virginia insisted that everything be upgraded to code so we could sell the house when the remodel was finished. Then it was time to work on the inside. Virginia scraped popcorn ceilings out of five rooms. The linoleum floor had to be pulled up and thrown out. There was probably asbestos under it. All the old carpet had to go. The floors that we uncovered needed a lot of work. Everything needed a lot of work. Most of the wall boards needed to be replaced. When we found the unsupported wall, we prayed for help. I went into town and met a man I had known years before who did just the work we needed. The two of us returned to the house together. When our granddaughter Jessica saw the spry skinny man, she said, “Well, there’s the answer to your prayers.” He put pillar supports under the wall every eighteen inches. Then the roof had to be replaced, and the kitchen was gutted for months while we cooked on the counter in the bathroom. Steel braces needed to be attached under the floor throughout the house. Jessica got under there and
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 172 helped me enormously. A local carpenter had beautiful new cabinets ready for our kitchen. Another company had beautiful granite counters ready to install. We ordered matching ones for the laundry room at the far end of the kitchen. But a lot still needed to be done before they could be put in place. Our retired pastor came by to see how we were doing. He was a painter in his spare time and announced he was coming to paint for us. He brought along a plasterer. The two of them transformed the house. When they were done the ceilings and walls were like new. And the outside had a new coat of paint as well. At last, the kitchen cabinets could be installed, and the granite could be laid down. We had to decide what to do about the floor. We really wanted tile, but it was going to be a big job. My mother had a huge pantry, a whole separate room that held thousands of fruit jars. Beside it was a tiny bathroom with a toilet and shower. We decided to turn the pantry into a bathroom and remove the shower. That way the toilet was a separate small room with the laundry room on one side and the large new bathroom on the other.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 173 Now for sure we needed to put down tiles, but how could we do that when we had never worked with tiles? At three different stores we asked who we should get to do the tile work. All three named the same man but said he would be far too busy to help us. Virginia got his phone number and called. Surprisingly he answered the phone. She told him about our needs and asked if he could just come and give us some advice. He was very gracious and said he could come soon because he was working just a couple miles away. He may have shown up the same day. As he crouched on the open floor beams in the new bathroom and rattled off what we needed to do, Virginia tried to write down all the instructions. It was overwhelming to both of us. Finally, we asked him when he might be able to do the job himself. He fit us in right away. We ultimately had him do the bathroom and then place tile through half the house. He and his workers did a beautiful job. Now we had a nice vacation home. Then it occurred to use that we needed a master bedroom. We thought about putting it at the far end of the house so it would match the size of the garage at the other end. That idea turned out to be impossible because it would be over
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 174 the septic system. That investigation alerted us to the fact that the septic system had to be redone, even though it could not be moved. Alternatively, we built the new bedroom down next to the new big bathroom. It meant giving up the laundry room and another little sort of indoor greenhouse. We wanted the room to be large enough for bookcases since we didn’t have another room with space for them. By giving up the laundry room we had to find a new place for the washer and dryer. The other bathroom in the house had a big old closet that we removed to make a place for them. While I was under the bathroom wiring in the dryer, a fox ran past me. That was a big surprise. Then I had to figure out how it was getting in under the house. I soon found a lose place where it could enter and exit. That was easy to fix, and we had no more squatters under the house. When all of this was finished, we had a very nice house. Just one thing disturbed us. We could not entertain many people. The dining room was very small, just the end of the kitchen. Virginia found a picture of an outdoor kitchen that we both wanted to copy. The main carpenter who had worked on the master bedroom came and added the covered room. It was so beautiful.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 175 It had a high vaulted roof, granite counters all along one side, and an open fireplace for grilling and baking. We could entertain forty people at a time, and we have great memories of all the fun we had out there. During the eight years we lived there we continued to improve the place. Eventually we finished the garage, so it looked good from top to bottom. We had a nice floor put down over the old concrete. The granite that came out of the laundry room went in there with a new sink. Behind the house is a ravine that gets deeper as the years go by. A creek is at the bottom and in the rainy season a heavy stream of water rushes through there. One year the waterflow was so high and swift that it washed out the road that crossed two two-foot culverts. When we rebuilt the road, we put in a 4-foot culvert so that rushing water carrying pieces of driftwood would not be likely to clog it again. During those years both of us took the Master Garden course and followed our parents’ examples by having a sizable garden. Eating the delicious fresh fruit snd veggies was a perfect reward for all the work.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 176 In addition to the gardening and all the remodeling inside and out, it was necessary to protect our 22 acres from forest fires. The local law required us to clean up the forest floor, prune up all the trees to ten feet, and cut out any dead wood. The county put teeth into the law, because if fire caused damage and we had not had the forest service sign off that we had done everything, we would be liable for a quarter of a million dollars to help with the fire fighting. Cleaning the forest was my main task for several years, other than helping with the local church. When we first moved to my folks’ place out in the country from Rogue River, we had to decide which church to attend. There are many options in that area. We had a favorite, but there was another factor to consider. My dad had been head-elder in the Rogue River church for many years. First out in the country, and then in town in the new church he helped to build. Now it had a small membership and was struggling. We felt that we could not drive past it to a nicer bigger church. We joined and put our hearts into helping for all the years we lived there. I was an elder most of the time, responsible for finding speakers among other tasks, and holding Bible studies in the homes of two families who were eager to learn. They are our dear
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 177 friends to this day. Virginia worked with the children, held Daniel Seminars, and finally became the treasurer. We still have cherished friends there. When it came time to move closer to Jennifer in Washington state, we had fulfilled our intention of improving the value of the house. We got back all the money we had put into it. We hope we left it in good hands.
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My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 179 My Sister Sharon Since my precious sister Sharon was 3 ½ years younger than me, I remember everything about her from birth onward. She was a very important part of my life. I can’t think of her without seeing her beautiful face and abundant curly hair. Well trained at home by our mother, she became an excellent baker, home maker, cook, seamstress, and gardener. In addition, she was a committed Christian, always closely connected to Jesus and the Church wherever she lived. In another story I mentioned that she was the valedictorian of her graduating class of 81 at Milo Academy. Her academic brilliance sort of slacked off after that. She went to college but was not as keen to ace every class. She was eager to get married. Before she graduated, she left to work at the Oregon Conference as a secretary. There she met a family who enthusiastically introduced her to their son. Even though he was a couple years younger than her, chemistry took hold and eventually they wanted to get married. Then it became apparent that his family had introduced her in order to separate him from a girlfriend they did not like.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 180 Now they did not like Sharon either. That brought the first of a series of dark events that shaded her life. Without his parents present, the couple got married, stayed at college until her husband graduated, then started a career life working at a boarding academy. Before long, a beautiful little daughter, Brenda, joined the family. Within a couple years, the marriage ended in divorce. I will never forget the heartbroken letter that reached us in Mbeya, Tanzania, telling of this tragedy. Never having expected such an event to cloud her life, Sharon sought what to do to start over. Somehow, she decided to move to Pacific Union College where she found a job. She also found Ken, a wonderful, faithful second husband. I had the joy of performing that marriage. In due course Steven Scott arrived and completed the family. Ken could not have been a better stepfather to Brenda, so the future looked bright for all four of them. Various problems dogged their steps. Every blood relative of my mother has inherited to some extent her chronic depression. Jobs were an additional worry. But the years passed, and they did fairly well. After a number of years of working for the Church, Ken got hired by the State of California as an accountant, and things were much better after that.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 181 I remember that Sharon visited us in Florida at the little house we bought for my folks. She was sober and a bit withdrawn, complaining about her feet. Just what the problem was, was unclear. For many years Sharon was unwell all the time. Since our mother had always been unwell, it seemed like maybe there was something hereditary about it. One doctor after another would announce a diagnosis that Sharon would duly share with us. None of them made much sense. Then she was confined to bed, for years. After trying endlessly to find good helpers for her in the house, Ken retired early from the State of California to care for her. Once we heard that she was going to have brain surgery. I well remember when my mother went through the same ordeal. We rushed down to Sacramento to see her and to support Ken. Sharon was in terrible pain as she waited to find out what would be done about her case. There didn’t seem to be a clear medical path forward. Once we were in the room when several doctors and nurses surrounded her bed. I overheard one of them say, “Typical of MS.” Out in the hall, we asked Ken about that. He confessed that nineteen years before, Sharon had received the diagnosis of Muscular Dystrophy. She swore him to
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 182 secrecy because she felt like it was a death sentence that didn’t want anyone else to know. For nineteen years we had tried to understand what she was living with. It had become increasingly difficult to remain sympathetic over such a long period of time. If only she had told us! We would have known so much better how to understand and sympathize. She survived the brain surgery and life went on for her—bedfast with constant care by Ken. He was truly the hero throughout all those years! Brenda and Steven grew up, finished their education, and continued to live their lives. We got to see them occasionally. They, like both our children, needed “happy pills” to dull the inherited depression. A few years later we were vacationing in San Diego. Thinking we might like to retire there, we were in the middle of a tour through Paradise Village, a lovely retirement home on the same city block with the former Adventist hospital and the new Adventist Academy. The cell phone rang. It was Ken. Sharon was only remaining alive by medical interventions. He and his children had just made the decision to stop all the medications and let nature take its course. Not having known for a while how things were going, we were shocked. Of course, we could understand and
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 183 appreciate why that decision needed to be made, but we couldn’t continue our trip. Although we had only started the vacation, we left immediately for home in Rogue River, Oregon. Sharon lived about one more week. She was only 69 ½. Although her life was beset by a number of perplexities and tragedies, she had remained faithful to God, and we will see her again in a better world that knows no pain, heartache, depression or tears. “Come soon, Lord Jesus!”
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My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 185 A Shocking Local Event In Rogue River our house was rather isolated and even a distance from the dirt road. It had sat vacant for a few years while my mother was being cared for in other places. People had become accustomed to casually using our land as if it were public and accessible to everyone. Once we moved there, we wanted to change that perception, so we needed a gate. We looked around and saw several gates we admired. In the process, one day we were driving on a back road and saw a gate we loved. Beside it was a sign that said “Gates by Susan” with a phone number. That was it. We soon called and made an appointment for Susan to come and see our location and talk to us about building our gate. When she arrived, she was quite a surprise. Very tall and broad with hair neither long nor short that could only be described as mousey, she looked much more like a man than a woman and dressed the part. She told us she was an engineer. I asked her how she happened to study engineering. She responded that she was the son her father never had, and he encouraged her to take engineering. She certainly knew what she was
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 186 doing. After drawing a picture of what we described we wanted, she told us the price, which was reasonable, then left. We waited. And waited. Since we had some idea of where she lived quite close to us, we finally went to find her and see what the holdup was. She had a huge open barn with a pig pen at one end. That was obvious by the smell. A small office was closed in on the front side. There were tons of various metals piled in every direction, on the first level and the second level and the third level. No real house was evident. She was cordial enough and explained that she was building a house over time. She showed us the gate she was close to finishing, and we were pleased with it. During the visit she told us she had lots of trouble with her neighbors. They didn’t like her pigs and they didn’t like the metalwork noise from her barn. The houses were some distance away, but we could sort of understand their problem. Finally the day came. She put four pillars down several feet into concrete, then the gate was hung. It was beautiful. After we had a stone mason surround the pillars with rock, it was even more beautiful. We could not have been more pleased with the results.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 187 After that experience, we remained friends with her. Not close, but sometimes Calvin would drive over and help her with something she needed more hands for. We saw her infrequently and, when we did, always took time to talk to her. A few years went by. One day when we drove past her place, we saw police cars and a lot of yellow tape. We heard that someone had reported a male relative missing. He had been working for her. When police went with a search warrant to ask questions, they found human bones in the pig pen. In fact, they found bones from two people. The word spread that she had murdered two workmen and fed them to her pigs. Susan went to jail, and her one request was that her pigs be slaughtered, and the meat given to the senior citizen center in town. Nobody thought that was a good idea. Work continued on her land for several weeks. They dug all over her place to see if more bones would be found. They did not find any more. I tried to visit her in the jail, but never could get permission to go in. Time went by. We almost forgot about the incident.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 188 Then months later I opened the local newspaper and saw a picture of an attractive woman. When I read the article, it finally dawned on me that it was Susan. Her trial was about to start. I was thunder struck. It took a while to recognize her. Prison never did so much for anyone. Susan looked like a woman, a pretty one. Her hair was nicely done. She had lost weight. She looked happy. No long after, we moved away. Her land sat empty. The barn was still there. I have no idea what finally happened to it. I don’t even remember hearing how the trial turned out. I’m sure they didn’t let her go home.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 189 Darcy Smith Obituary March 29, 2016 “Colorful” would be the word to describe Darcy Landis Smith from his birth June 12, 1967, in a Baptist Tuberculosis hospital in Mbeya, Tanzania, East Africa, to his yellow Xterra and his favorite color red, and finally to his death running alone in the hills south of Loma Linda, California March 11, 2016. From the day of his birth, he fought against medical problems, but never let that stop him from passionately following a multitude of interests and enthusiasms. Born without a stop button, to Darcy, anything worth doing, was worth overdoing, so he lived life at 120%. Slow to learn to walk, instead he learned to run which resulted in his funding years of emergency rooms for stitches to cover up his collisions. Ultimately his forehead was emblazoned with enough scars to give him a rather peculiar, unforgettable look. His childhood was spent in Tanzania; Fort Worth, Tx; Toronto, Ontario; Loma Linda, CA, and finally Singapore where he graduated from Far Eastern Academy. After two years at Andrews University in Michigan, he spent a year working at the Adventist World Radio station in Guam then graduated two years later from Columbia
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 190 Union College in Takoma Park, MD with a major in communication. Then followed a year teaching English for a teachers’ college in Jilin, northeastern China. After returning to the U.S., Darcy worked for the Global Mission Department of the World Headquarters of Seventh-day Adventists as a writer, editor, and graphic designer. On July 23, 1995, he married the love of his life, Carla Jane Bass. They moved to California where he spent over 10 years as a substitute teacher in Kings County. By that time, he had added a 3 to his name, Darc3y, and always told the students the 3 was silent. He was famous among his students in the Hanford area where he was known as D3. Invariably adored by children, he loved them in return and was the world’s favorite (cautious) playmate. Occasionally despaired of by adults, they nonetheless appreciated Darcy’s positive influence on those around him. He made people happy. He lived Christianity. Music was his abiding passion. From his earliest days beating on his mother’s kettles to his first drum, and later his keyboard, he composed, played, and sang at every possible opportunity. Running was the one activity he thought he couldn’t live without. A lifelong runner, his first marathon was in
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 191 Singapore. Heading out for a two-and-a-half-hour long jaunt of endless miles was his favorite pastime. He never carried a phone, and occasionally had to borrow one to call for help when he had run too far to get back home on his own. Carla stood ready to rescue him. If he was gone too long, she would go looking for him. When he did not return on March 11, she looked for him before calling 911. Then dozens of cousins and friends and strangers who only recognized his picture as a runner they had seen, searched the trails throughout much of Friday night and all-day Saturday until finally his body was found late Saturday afternoon. Darcy leaves behind his parents, Calvin and Virginia Smith of Rogue River, Oregon; his adored wife Carla Smith; a sister and brother-in-law, Jennifer and David Dill of Auburn Washington; two nieces, Jessica and Juliana Dill of Walla Walla, WA; an honorary brother, Bernhard Stepke of Indio, CA; an honorary nephew, Conrad Stepke of Indio, CA; five uncles, two aunts, 15 cousins and a host of other family members and friends.
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My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 193 Life Sketch of Darcy By Larry Witzel and Bob Ondrizek April 1, 2016 Larry Let’s get this out of the way right up front. Darcy was a big fan of Veggie Tales, and while we’re not a tomato and a cucumber, I think he would love to know that his story was being told today…by Bob and Larry. Bob Darcy Landis Smith was born June 12, 1967, to Calvin and Virginia Smith in Tanzania, where they were missionaries. Darcy was born with a spine defect that could have left him a quadriplegic, and during the first 14 years of his life he had two surgeries to repair his cervical vertebrae. Larry This left him leaning ever-so-slightly to one side and was probably what led him to constantly turn his head. Darcy was doted on by his big sister, Jennifer. As a child, Darcy lived in Tanzania, Fort Worth, Toronto, Singapore, and Loma Linda, where he graduated from 8th grade.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 194 Bob I first met Darcy at Mission’s Institute at Andrews University, when we were age 10. Both of us had lived in Africa, and we became fast friends. Darcy didn’t have the greatest sense of direction. One time when Darcy and I were venturing around campus we got lost. After wandering around we finally sat exhausted against a building, only to find it was the back of the dormitory we were looking for. Larry I first met Darcy in 7th grade in Singapore. We were in a Thanksgiving play that year, and Darcy’s character had to wink. Except Darcy couldn’t wink. So, he said, I know, I’ll just slyly cover one eye and blink. And I’m like, Darcy, that won’t work, because you have to see that one eye is open. So he said, okay, then I’ll cover the other eye and NOT blink! Bob I was so excited to arrive at Far Eastern Academy as a freshman and discover that Darcy was in my class. During our 4 years at FEA, there were only 12 different students in our class, with 10 of us graduating together. As you can imagine, we were a close class. Of those 12, half of us are here today celebrating Darcy’s life, along
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 195 with many other classmates from FEA. Our sophomore year, the PE teacher Mr. Norton decided to offer running as an option instead of a traditional PE class, and Darcy jumped at the chance. So, while the rest of us were learning badminton, table tennis, basketball, and softball, Darcy ran. It was there in Singapore that he ran his first marathon. He hit his stride with running and never looked back. Larry Never looked back? Well, that’s not exactly right. In fact, Darcy was always looking back. Every few seconds he would turn his head. You couldn’t sneak up on Darcy, because he would see you when he turned around. Bob Darcy was a hard worker, and always ready to help. When he saw you carrying something—a table, a suitcase, a piano—he would run over and jump in to try to help. Everybody loved Darcy, and you just couldn’t get mad at him. Larry Well, that’s not exactly right. Darcy created an act with me called, “The Bottle Nose Brothers,” which we did every year at the talent show and for other events at
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 196 the division office. Except one act wasn’t good enough for Darcy. He wanted to “storm the comedy section” every year, and he invariably entered a solo act, too. So the Bottle Nose Brothers never won anything. It was that solo comedy act—without me!—which always won the comedy section. Bob After graduating from FEA, Darcy and I went to Andrews University in Michigan, where we were roommates. We both worked for housekeeping, and one day Darcy was vacuuming the elevator when he failed to stop it from closing. So he proceeded to vacuum while the elevator went from floor to floor, picking up passengers along the way. He loved to tell the story of the vacuum going up to the ceiling, much to the amusement of the occupants. Larry After a couple of years of college, Darcy went to work for Adventist World Radio in Guam. I produced a weekly program at Walla Walla University that was aired on AWR, and we would send coded messages to each other on the labels of tapes that were shipped back and forth.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 197 Bob Darcy could be uncoordinated. I wouldn’t call him clumsy… Larry Well…let’s put it this way. He never met a piece of equipment he couldn’t break. I heard stories from staff who worked with Darcy at AWR, who were amazed at 2 things: How does someone even break that?!? Why can’t I be mad at this guy for breaking that? Bob After AWR, Darcy finished college at Washington Adventist University, where he graduated with a communications degree. He spent a year teaching English in China, then got a job for the Global Mission department of the General Conference, or “GC,” the World Headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. There he worked as a writer, editor, and graphic designer. Larry Darcy loved to run, and he had a big heart. While most people feel that running a marathon of 26.2 miles is a major accomplishment, one time Darcy ran a 30-mile
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 198 Christmas Canter to raise funds for a new church and autistic children. Bob Darcy didn’t run his fastest time, because he ran with a little autistic boy. So, since he wanted to know how fast he could actually do the race, he went back out at 3 a.m. the next morning and ran the whole 30 miles again to check his time. Larry Darcy was creative. He had a big imagination, and even bigger dreams. In 1999, we were both at a big young adult gathering at the GC in Silver Spring, Maryland, called Connexions 99. There was an open mike time for people to share their ideas with denominational leaders. So he walks up and says, “Picture this: The Great Controversy: The Movie. Let’s make it!” Then he sits down. And that was it. Bob Well…that’s not exactly right. 15 years later, some of those leaders in that same building were involved in creating The Record Keeper. And what was The Record Keeper, you ask? Basically, it was…“The Great Controversy: The Movie.”
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 199 Larry Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve heard many comments about Darcy, including this one from one of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s top communication professionals: “I worked with Darcy, and he was one very creative dude. More brilliant than the mainstream understood.” Bob It was while working at the GC that he met Carla Bass, a GC auditor. Carla’s first memory of Darcy was with a group of young adults who ate lunch together every day at the GC Cafe. Initially she noticed that he would bring some very strange lunches that he would make himself, like Chocolate Tomato Surprise. Their first date was at the Olive Garden. Larry Darcy was thrilled to find out that Carla was a runner and asked her to join him running at Centennial Park in Columbia, Maryland, a beautiful park around a lake. That was the first of many runs together.
My Life Stories by Calvin Lloyd Smith 200 Bob Darcy was also excited to find out that Carla loved to sing. One time Carla invited Darcy to come with her to a Walla Walla University reunion. They got bored of the old alumni and wandered into the sanctuary for an a cappella singing session. After an hour of singing their favorite hymns, they suddenly realized that it was very quiet. Everyone had left, the door was locked, and the alarm was set! So Darcy called the pastor, who had to come and let them out. Larry In December 1994 Carla traveled for work, coming home exhausted and jet lagged. Darcy picked her up at the airport on Friday evening and took her immediately to the Kennedy Center for a showing of the Nutcracker Ballet. The next day was church as usual, then the afternoon was the full-length Messiah. The whirlwind continued when Darcy informed her, they were going out to dinner, to the Olive Garden. Between dinner and dessert Darcy got down on one knee, took her hand and looked up to see a whole audience of servers behind the plants. Bob “Carla, will you marry me?” he asked.