High school graduation.
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Betty Ann Leistiko, the third child of William and Ordell Leistiko, was born November 4, 1933 in Great Falls, Montana. Times were hard. Depression hard.
Her first home was on the East side of Square Butte, near Sun River, Montana. The country was barren and covered with sagebrush, alkali and rattlesnakes. It was bought from her Dad's uncle and was known as the Geibel Place.
The little, cold house had three rooms with another bedroom being added on later. There was no water. It had to be hauled from Vaughn and then kept in a cistern beside the house. A hand pump on the kitchen counter brought it into the house. A big, black kitchen stove provided heat for the house. The toilet was a two seater, situated between the barn and the granary. Baths were taken in a round tub in front of the stove in the kitchen. There was no electricity.
Her mother tells about dropping a kettle of boiling water one cold winter morning and watching the water freeze as it hit the floor. They often had bread and gravy for breakfast, dinner, or supper. The gravy was made from meat drippings and milk. Another dish her mother concocted, when the cupboard was bare, was " Lumpy Dick". It was made by stirring flour into boiling milk until it was thick and lumpy. Her Mom always made it seem like a "special treat".
Betty loved the family dog, Dudgeon. He could spot a rattlesnake before anyone else. When he spotted a snake he set up a barking and a howling that brought her Mom on the run with a shovel in her hand. She had to protect her children!
Life improved when the family bought a wheat farm known as the "Hockersmith Place". The cistern was still needed, but they had water, indoor plumbing and electricity. Betty attended first grade in Sun River, then grades 2-4 at Fort Shaw, Montana.
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When her parents divorced, she moved to Great Falls with her mother and five sisters where she attended Whittier School and Paris Gibson Jr. High. She completed all four years of High School at Denton, Montana where she went to live with her Dad and his new wife Lee. Betty attended one year of college at BYU in Provo, Utah and then served a short mission for her church.
Betty married Warren D. Brown on March 11, 1953 in the Idaho Falls Temple. They lived in Billings, MT for 3 ½ years where Warren worked for the OK Tire store. Their first son Brent was born in Billings in 1954.
Warren joined the navy on Oct. 6, 1956. While stationed in Hawaii, their second son Kam was born in 1957. They were stationed many places in California, ending up in Lemon Grove, CA where Warren was an instructor at the Fleet Sonar school for 3 years. A daughter Kelli Ann arrived May 1, 1970, 13 years after their last child.
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Warren retired from the Navy in 1972 and the family moved to Orem, Utah. Warren went to work for Sears Roebuck and Betty started to sew for many people, making many costumes for the BYU dance teams. In 1979 they bought a 90-year-old house in Mapleton that had a large garden where they planted fruit trees and enjoyed country living. She enjoyed her goat named Pepsi.
They lived in Mapleton for four years when Betty began to have health problems. She passed away from cancer, after spending six weeks in the hospital, on 10 April 1984. She was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Springville, UT, 13 April 1984.
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Betty was famous for her pies and great cooking, as well as her sewing abilities. She was a very loving person and never lost her sense of humor, even during the chemotherapy days. On Halloween night they had a party over in the church. She dressed up in a white sheet, blackened her face and hands, put a hood over her head and put a hangman's noose around her neck. Warren let her out of the car a block away and she walked in. No one knew who it was because she did not speak a word and answered questions with a grunt. Some questioned Warren, but then thought it could not be her as she was so sick.
Betty is missed by her family. She was the first of the six sisters who began Family History research. How she would enjoy sharing in the family discoveries of new Millenium.
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Warren and Marilyn Moyes met through mutual friends May 11, 1984 and were married October 19, 1984 in Provo, Utah. Marilyn was born in Ogden Utah in 1935. She would explain to her friends "life begins at fifty". Marilyn's goals for marriage were that Warren would live at least twenty years, they would live a Christ-like life and try to serve a Mission, and that Warren would be willing to care for Marilyn's mother in her old age, as the promise had already been made. Warren hoped for a good helpmate and companion.
Marilyn had five children and together they have joined two families in a beautiful way. Family was a high priority for them and they have found joy in the growth and accomplishments of their children and grandchildren. Marilyn's delightful mother Lula lived with them for eight years before spending 2 years in an assisted living home where she died at 94 years of age.
Both Warren and Marilyn have been challenged with health problems in later years but survive with a smile on their faces and determination to enjoy life. Their retirement home is in Pleasant Grove, Utah. They are involved in sharing and helping family and neighbors in many ways. Their home has always been open to the many travelers heading north to Utah and Montana. They are a wonderful example of a successful second marriage.