Rebuilding In Sugar City

In March 1977, Reed, Bill, and Max Hollist began building our new home on North Fremont Avenue; one block north of our brick house. It was a beautiful home with white pillars in the front. We helped as much as we could. Then I began teaching 3rd grade at Central Elementary in Sugar City.

We moved into the basement of our unfinished home in October while we finished painting and carpeting, so we could open the upstairs before Christmas. How glorious to see our beautiful lit up Christmas tree in our new home. It was a dream come true.

(White pillar house on Fremont Avenue in Sugar City)

That same year, Pam started dating a good looking Bartschi boy that lived on South Fremont Avenue.

(Pam Bowen and Craig Bartschi)

Kim left for Hawaii to work in the pineapple fields that summer. Pam and our son Craig got their patriarchal blessings the following year, and it was such a spiritual experience. It is so humbling to be blessed with these precious spirits.

(Garry and Nada Bowen Family 1979)

In August 1979, my mother and father had just returned from their trip back East to see the Hill Cumorah pageant and visit dad's mission field, when dad started having chest pains. We rushed him to the hospital and he told us to go home, and he would call us in the morning. But he passed away before morning came on August 25th, 1979. We were all so shocked and grief stricken, especially mom as she wasn't with him at his passing. Our father was the spiritual giant of our family, and we all dearly loved him.

(Job and Jennie Hemsley Family)

Dad was always so patient and kind to me, and let me tag along with him everywhere on the farm. He told me I was his shadow. I knew I could always get him to read me a story. He called me his sunshine. His testimony of the gospel was always expressed, and we grew up knowing "If Dad knows the gospel is true, then it is." I have always admired his warmth and love, which he showed to all who knew him.

(Jennie and Job Hemsley: 50th Anniversary in 1971)

(Job Hemsley Funeral 1979)

Kim graduated high school and worked for Evan Myers all summer until he received his mission call to Concepcion, Chile. How excited we all were!

(Kim Bowen)

Craig Bartschi got his mission call to Melbourne, Australia. How wonderful to have our young men serve the Lord. On our way home from taking Kim to the mission training center (which was hard on his parents), we had a special gift to take to the prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball. Craig had drawn a pencil portrait of the First Presidency. We went up to his office in Salt Lake, but he wasn't there. His secretary, Brother Haycock, let the kids sit in the Prophet's chair. What a thrill for all of us! In two days, President Kimball had sent Craig a "thank you" note. What a special day for us all.

(Garry and Nada Bowen 1979)

In December 1979 Garry and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary. Cindy and Craig presented us with a beautiful 24 piece Nativity set they had been working on, one piece at a time, since October.

(Pam Bowen)

In 1980, Pam graduated from high school and entered Career Beauty College in Rexburg. She moved into an apartment at Rainbow Park (behind my parents home) and started working at Johnson's Drug Store. We sold our beautiful pillar house to finance Kim's mission and moved to the country for three months, then back into town on the same lot my Grandfather Hemsley had purchased 80 years before.

We enjoyed receiving letters from our super missionary. My mother tried to do as many endowments at the temple for every baptism Kim reported, but try as she did, Kim surpassed her efforts. We sure enjoyed hearing from our missionary.

(Kim Bowen at the MTC)

He returned home in November 1981, just before Craig Bartschi's homecoming in January 1982.