Gratitude Day #5 - Kerry's Father

 Gratitude Day #5 - Kerry's Father

Today I am grateful for Kerry's father, Orson William Lauritzen (OWL).

Orson was one of the best men I ever knew. He also came from quite a large family, #10 out of 12. His heritage is Scandinavian on his father's, and English on his mother's side. 

Orson was a man that you could always count on. If he committed himself to a task, you never had to worry about it again. He was that kind of a man.

He served his country by reporting to Biloxi, Mississippi shortly after his wedding to Shirley. From there his service extended to the Pacific Theater on the Naval Transporter Pacific Okinawa Campaign 1945.

He worked hard to support his own family of eleven children, attending night school for eleven years to earn his CPA from UCLA. He taught his children to value education, for in nearly every letter Kerry received from him while he (Kerry) served a mission in the Delaware/Maryland area, he closed it by saying, "Always keep your mind active and learning." He lived that truth right up to his dying day. From his obituary, we read:

" Orson was an extremely hard worker and a successful businessman. He was instrumental in the preservation of the Ephraim Coop Building. Throughout his life, Orson was a true disciple of Christ and radiated his missionary spirit with zeal. He possessed a great love of God and testimony of the gospel. Orson was sensitive to the prompting of the spirit and never hesitated to serve his fellow man. He served faithfully in many capacities, including bishopric, high counsel, gospel doctrine teacher and seminary teacher."

When Kerry was age 16, Orson and Shirley moved the family from Hacienda Heights, California to central Utah in the Sanpete Valley. The entire family went to work building a beautiful home that sat between Fairview and Mount Pleasant. I can't begin to tell you the memories I have of years visiting in that home. It was a beautiful house. But it was a wonderful home.

When he passed in 2004, that began a new era for Kerry and me. Let me show you the timeline:

1984 - my mom died

2002 - my dad died

2003 - Kerry's mom died

2004 - Kerry's dad died

And, just like that, we became the older generation. 

Orson's love for Shirley, for his family, and for his God was paramount in his life. He knew the scriptures and the gospel better than anyone I knew. But even more than that - he knew how to live what they taught.

I grieved when he died. I grieved hard. He had welcomed me into the family when we first met, and became dear to my heart. He was pleased with Kerry's choice, and I want to live up to that.

Today there is a running conversation in the Lauritzen family - that Kerry looks strikingly like his own father. They will often say that Uncle Kerry and Papa Orson could almost be twins! 

What's even more interesting is that I saw a lot of Peter in Orson. If Peter had lived, I knew what he would have looked like as an older man.

How blessed I am to have had a father-in-law who taught his sons how to treat women, to cherish them, to honor them, and to love that attributes and contributions.