Today’s post moves away from the history of my ancestors, to my history. I have decided to mingle a little bit of my life in with the history of those that came before me. As I have researched the history of my ancestors, I have come to realize that it only takes two to three generations for a history to be lost, especially if it is not written down. If we rely on someone else to write our history, then it may not be done and if it is written by someone else, it will not have the insight that I (first person) can provide for my life. So, with that having been said, I am going to give you a dose of me.
To start this historical story, I am going to tell you about the courtship and marriage of my parents, Richard (Dick) and Leann Denning. They met on a blind date in December 1955. Then one month later Dick left for his LDS Mission to the South Western States. While on his mission, my Grandpa Denning went to visit him and took Dick’s sister (Leann) with him (at least that is what the mission president was told). In January 1957, Dick returned home from his mission and a month later on February 15, 1957, they were married in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple.
Their courtship was interesting with a month of face to face contact, a two year break with letters and then a month and marriage. So, how does a relationship last that begins like this? It is not about what happens before the marriage, but all about what happens after the ceremony. Strong relationships are built over time with a lot of hard work, with both sides willing to give some and then take some. In the end, it requires love, empathy and charity, with compromise spread among those traits. At the time of my father’s passing, my parents had developed a strong, caring relationship.
One year and one month after that marriage on March 25, 1958 Richard Rigby Denning was born. I was given my father’s first and surname. My middle name is my mother’s maiden name which, as I study the Denning history, was a common practice.
Having talked with my mother, she told me it was her hardest and longest birth. I was born with jaundice and the cord wrapped around my neck. At the time of my birth, my mother was 19 and my father was 23.
My mother kept a scrapbook of my life. As I create this little history of my life, I will be inserting pages from that scrapbook with her words and pictures. What a great blessing this book has been for me and with great gratitude I would like to thank her for the time and effort she put into it. I believe the greatest blessing a person can have in this life is that of caring and loving parents. I had the best parents any person could hope for. Thank you both…..
In my mother’s own words:
The Stats of my birth: