Chapter Two

Of Six People and a Legacy

My last name carries a legacy, just as my first defines me. “Theurer” represents something great, a family with lives full of value, hard work, dedication, and miracles: a legacy. One that was set before I was born, before my parents met and fell in love, even before they were born. Legacy means eternity, but I take it to mean me, my parents, and my parents’ parents. These special people in my life paved the way for my family’s legacy, and my life, through their choices.

Brent and Cheri Theurer are two amazing people that I love. My grandma, Cheri, has a sweet, sweet spirit. She is all sugar and smiles, and her bright, happy attitude is contagious. She genuinely loves people, too, in a way that she desires to serve them selflessly. She spends so much time caring for us, her family, and also others in the ward and in the world. I love her dearly, and I love the way she loves the Lord. Both she and my grandpa, Brent, have strong testimonies that they are never afraid to share and that have strengthened my own through my life. Grandpa Theurer, with his deep voice, echoes with authority and intelligence. He is a war veteran from the Korean War, and also a gardener, a professor, and a teacher. Early in his life he decided to place great value on his education, and he went on to earn his PhD in agricultural science. He has a quiet, sincere smile, and shines with light and truth. I love him and my Grandma Theurer dearly, and since they’ve lived close a lot of my life, I’ve had extra chances to get to know them and find and follow their examples.

Like my Theurer grandparents, Bryce and Marilyn Hallows, my mother’s parents, are some of the greatest heroes in my life. My Grandpa Hallows is a great man and a wonderful grandfather. He is also a farmer, a schoolteacher, a missionary, and a war veteran. He served almost two years in the marines and fought in the battle of Okinawa during World War II. Until recently, war was not a topic he liked to discuss, but as he grew older and came to terms with the memory and trauma surrounding the war, he learned to move on and appreciate the good that has come from it. He speaks openly about it now, and I am thankful for his courage and his choice to serve his God and country. My grandma, Marilyn Hallows, is a beautiful example of the type of grace and beauty I need to develop. She has a deep appreciation for the fine things in life such as poetry and music, a great voice and wonderful piano fingers. I admire her for her testimony, which she demonstrated every week as she walked to church despite her grandmother’s sneers and protests out the window. She is an elect lady in my eyes, and in the eyes of all those who have a chance to get to know her.

My grandpa and grandma Hallows met after he returned from the war and she turned sixteen. They dated for a while, and when my grandpa left for his mission she promised him that she would write and wait for him. I’ve always found their proposal story worth smiling at: my grandma, two years later when my grandpa returned, received a letter while attending BYU. “I’m home and ready to be married, so if you want to marry me you’d better come home soon.” You can guess what happened next, for they were married soon after and raised eight children in the gospel.

My mother, Jann, is the sixth child of Bryce and Marilyn Hallows. She, too, is an elect lady, and I love her more than words can tell. She was born in Bountiful, Utah, where she lived until she left for college. My mother is amazingly talented in music, writing, homemaking, and understanding people and the spirit. She is absolutely beautiful inside and out. I am honored to be her daughter, and I am grateful to have such a wonderful example to follow in my life. She and my dad were meant for each other; my father, Mike, is one of the most loving people I’ve ever known. He just has this way of loving people like the Savior does. He knows how to touch hearts, and I always know that he cares. I am grateful for my father’s strong, powerful testimony of the gospel; he is a great teacher and example to me and my siblings. Not only a spiritual giant, my dad was a star on the football and baseball teams all through high school and is very athletic overall. He is the second child and oldest son of Brent and Cheri Theurer.

My parents first met at Brigham Young University, in a student ward. To my mom, my dad was a family home evening “brother,” and at one of the ward activities, he tried to protect her from being thrown into a pool. Despite his attempts, they both were tossed in the water, but the beginning of something special started to show. As they got to know each other better, they started liking each other and eventually began to date. My mom likes to say they fell in love with each others’ testimonies, which is a beautiful way of wording it. They dated for seven months before getting engaged, and when they called her parents to tell them the news, good ol’ grandpa Hallows responded, “It’s about time!” They were married August 5, 1988 in the Salt Lake Temple, and so far have enjoyed twenty-three years of marriage.

My parents, combined with their parents, form the life, story, and legacy of my heritage. These six people are all amazing and wonderful and I love them very much. I especially admire them for their lives and choices they’ve made, for their strong testimonies and the joy they bring to my life and the lives of others. Even before I was born I already had a family and a legacy to look forward to, great examples of light and dignity I can model my life after, and a name to live up to. I plan to live up to this legacy, and so become the seventh person in my personal family legacy.