In September of 1939, Hitler invaded Poland and in a matter of days, France and Britain declared war on Germany and this began WWII.
By the Summer of 1944 the War was still raging. My Dad was in the Navy and was in basic training in the East, when on Tuesday, August 1st, my mother gave birth to their first child, a girl weighing 7lbs 10 1/2ozs, in Glendale, CA. I was quick to recognize my Mother, but with Dad in the Navy, I was nearly a year old before I recognized him.
Though born in Glendale, I didn’t spend much of my growing up years there. With the Navy, then Dad’s education at Berkley, and job hunts and transfers, I grew up mostly in the Bay Area of California, and then several years in Oregon. But, we moved back to Glendale just before I entered High School. I attended Hoover High School and graduated in 1962. I then spent a year at BYU. I entered with a desire to pursue art classes, but soon gained an interest in business classes, such as shorthand, typing and using business machines.
That came in handy when I came home that Summer and got a job with the Telephone Company as a teletypist. I enjoyed earning my own money and owning my own car, even though it was an old model VW “Bug.” I became actively involved in the Glendale Stake Young Adult program, called “M Men and Gleaners.” I served in leadership positions and planned and carried out many of the Stake functions.
That is where I “heard” about Gary Beck. He never came to the functions because he was a dental student at USC, and reportedly studied all the time. His Mother was the Stake Young Women’s President and I worked with her often. And his sisters attended and I became good friends with them.
One of the many activities I was in charge of was a Christmas Caroling Party in December of 1963. We rented two flatbed trucks and filled both of them with carolers. Gary came to that activity and we ended up in the same truck. The next day he called and asked me to go with him to the Multi-Stake Christmas dance at the Palladium in Hollywood. I accepted, and the rest is history!
We were married in the Los Angeles Temple on June 20, 1964. Our first son, David, was born on April 24, 1965. Gary graduated from USC Dental School in June of 1966. With an active Draft System and the Viet Nam War in full swing, Gary joined the Army and gave two years of service as a dentist, with the rank of Captain, at Ft. Gordon, GA. That was the first we enjoyed a steady pay check!
Our second son, Robert, was born at Ft. Gordon. We returned to California in August of 1968.
We settled in the Huntington Beach area and Gary opened a dental practice in Buena Park. We had more children while we lived in Huntington Beach, Jason, Melissa and Jessica.
In 1979 we moved to Rancho Cucamonga when Jessica was only 10 days old. The Ward we attended was the Cucamonga 1st Ward. We met in the Baseline Building and David Long was the Bishop. We were a part of the Upland Stake at that time. We had our 6th and last child, James, while we lived in that Ward.
I served as a Relief Society teacher and the Teacher Development teacher. Concurrent with my Church service, I also served for two years as the 1st PTA President of the new Hermosa Elementary School. After that I served two years as the 1st PTA President of the new Etiwanda High School. I then served for several years on the County PTA Board.
In anticipation of the Upland Stake being divided in 1987, several things happened. First, construction of new meetinghouses was begun. A new meetinghouse on Sapphire, in Alta Loma, was built. Also, construction began on a Stake Center in Etiwanda and a Ward meetinghouse on Hillside for the newly created Hillside Ward. In March 1986, Gary was called as Bishop of the new Ward. The Sapphire meetinghouse was completed first and the new Hillside Ward met in that building until the new Stake Center in Etiwanda was completed. On June 7, 1987 the Hillside Ward met for the first time in the new Stake Center and three weeks later, on June 28,1987, the Upland Stake was divided and the new Stake became the Rancho Cucamonga Stake. The new Stake President called was Steven Escher, with John Cottom as First Counselor, and Gary Beck as Second Counselor. The Hillside Ward continued to meet in the Stake Center, with Charles Wright as the new Bishop, until the completion of the Hillside Ward meetinghouse. On Sunday, July 30,1988, the Hillside Ward meetinghouse was dedicated and the Hillside Ward began meeting there.
In the Hillside Ward I had the privilege of serving for several years, as a counselor to Patti Baumgart, who was the Ward Relief Society President. It was such a joy and a pleasure to serve with her. She influenced me for good and increased my leadership qualities and faith in Jesus Christ.
Then one day Bishop Meador dropped by and pleaded with me to “volunteer” to be a Seminary Teacher. Who can say “no” to the Lord and Bishop Meador? I served for nearly 8 years and loved it.! It was one of the most demanding and most rewarding experiences of my Church service. And I learned that I needed to put my trust in the Lord and He would qualify me to do the job.
That lesson was greatly reinforced when I was called to be the Stake Girls Camp cook during three of the Summers I was a Seminary teacher. Cooking is not my strong point, and cooking three meals a day for 200+ people was, to me, like asking me to part the Red Sea! But, the Lord picked up this clumsy glob of clay and helped me overcome my weakness, at least for a time, and the work got done.
I thought the second Summer as Camp cook would be a “piece of cake” because now I had some experience. I could just follow the “recipe” from the last year. But, at the last minute, I faced a problem that I had no idea how to overcome. To me it was impossible. It took me to tears and to my knees!
Typically the way things worked is you would plan your meals, make your grocery list, then go to the various stores that might carry the items you need. You would arrange to pick them up the Saturday morning before camp started on Monday. A rental truck was reserved for that Saturday. Then the Saturday before Camp, you would pick up the rental truck, go to the various stores, load your supplies, drive immediately to the Camp, unload and put away your supplies, and then return the rental truck. On Monday morning, early, you drive up to the Camp and prepared lunch for the campers who would be there at about noon.
However, that second year, we learned just a day or two ahead of Saturday that there would be another group in the Camp over the weekend and we couldn’t get into the kitchen until Monday morning! I could see no way that I could accomplish what needed to be done to get the food to the Camp by lunchtime on Monday! I agonized over what to do and could think of no possible solution. Then I fell to my knees and plead with Heavenly Father for help! As I prayed there came into my mind the words “Brother Vallejo has a truck.” Brother Vallejo was a member of our Ward who was sometimes active, sometimes not, and I didn’t know him very well. I had no idea what kind of truck he had. He did landscaping so I thought maybe a pickup. Anyway, I immediately called him. I asked him if he had a truck. Then he asked me what kind of truck I needed. I went into detail about the problem I faced. Then Brother Vallejo told me that his Dad owned a grocery business in Pomona and had several refrigerated trucks and was sure he could borrow one. He offered to meet me on Saturday morning at the stores I needed to pick up supplies, help me load them into the truck and then would take the truck to his Dad’s warehouse and leave it there until Monday morning. Then on Monday morning he would meet me up at the Camp with the truck of groceries and help me unload and put them away! Again, I fell to my knees, this time thanking Heavenly Father for his tender mercy and the “angel” of Brother Vallejo!
That experience gave me to know that whatever the Lord asks me to do, with His help, I can do it! I think it really prepared me to accept the call to be the Stake Relief Society President in January of 2001. The next four and a half years were filled with amazing and faith building experiences. My faithful and able counselor’s, Donna Evans and Aniti Finua, made work seem like play and were a constant source of inspiration and support. I also had the privilege of working with Linda Greco and Marie Smith who each served, in turn, as Secretary.
A quote from my Journal on August 8, 2001 describes our wonderful relationship: “…we had a wonderful Presidency Meeting! I think our meetings are a miracle every time! We work together so well. Everyone’s input is gratefully considered, then we always come to a unified agreement as to what we’ll do. It’s a beautiful thing. We have a lot of love for one another and the Lord hears our prayers and blesses us with His Spirit.”
Our first project as a Presidency was a goal setting and achievement program based on the new Relief Society Declaration. We called it “The Circle of Sisters.” There were goals within each of the seven qualities that Relief Society sisters might develop. We presented the program with its booklet at our first Stake Women’s Conference in February of 2002. Sisters were encouraged to complete two goals in each of the seven categories. Those who completed these 14 goals would be recognized in our Women’s Conference the following year. Many sisters participated, some even finished all 14 goals, but our feeling was that if someone completed just one, that was a step in the right direction for them! Many were grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow and expressed that they had noticed improvement in their lives.
A very fun thing that we did, which I think was unique to our Presidency, was that we made up a silly jingle advertising the Broadcast of the upcoming General Women’s Meeting on September 29, 2001. We got my husband to “volunteer” to accompany us on the piano and then we went around to every Ward Relief Society and sang our little song! We were gratified that many sisters attended the Broadcast. So, we did it again the next year with a new song and new matching outfits!
Another great experience we had as a Presidency was that we were able to attend the General Relief Society Workshops in Salt Lake City a couple of times. Once in October 2001(just a month and a half after 9/11) and once in October of 2003. We were filled with inspiration and amazing ideas to bring home to our wonderful sisters in the Rancho Cucamonga Stake! One that I believe is still being used in our Stake is “President’s Hour.”
Every one of our four Stake Women’s Conferences was an opportunity to see the Lord’s hand, and His love for the sisters of our Stake! “Mighty miracles” accompanied all the planning, preparation and presentation. Every speaker, every workshop presenter, every food preparer and server, every musical number and entertainment, everything came as we prayed and put our trust in Jesus Christ, and He led us every step of the way! Our hearts brimmed with gratitude for all the talented brothers and sisters who edified ad uplifted us at these amazing conferences. Every conference was a testament to me of the love our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ have for all of us!
A very special thing happened during our Presidency and we felt it a privilege to be part of it! It was the preparation for the Open House and Dedication of the Redland’s Temple in September of 2003. Our Stake Relief Society was asked to make 1600 “booties” that would go on the feet of the folding chairs that would be set up in the Temple for the dedication. So, on a Saturday in May of 2003, over 100 Relief Society sisters of our Stake gathered, with sewing machines and supplies, at the Baseline meetinghouse at 10am. We planned to work until 4pm and had sisters who had signed up to sew “booties” at home, if there were any we didn’t get done that Saturday.
But, by 3:30pm we had all 1600 done and packaged. In my journal that day I wrote: “It was a wonderful day! Everyone worked hard, visited and laughed, and enjoyed each other’s company. There was a sweet Spirit there and we felt we were serving the Lord an important way.”
I served as Stake Relief Society President from January 2001 to June 25, 2006. Also, during that time I served as a Church Service Missionary at Church Distribution in Upland for two years, from April 2004 to April 2006. Since my release as Stake Relief Society President I served as a Stake Family History Consultant, and then as Ward Young Women’s President in the Hillside Ward. Now I serve in “heaven” as First Counselor in the Primary Presidency of the Archibald Ward.
Gary and I were called to be ordinance workers in the Relands Temple and began serving there on April 16, 2014. We are still serving there and love it! We had the remarkable privilege of being called to serve a Temple Mission in the Nauvoo, Illinois Temple from February 2017 to February 2018. We have 6 children, 26 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.
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