Nov 5, 2011

Art Skewes in Texas.

I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the north half of Texas. It was called the Texas North Mission when I was called and during my mission had part of it split off and then renamed the Texas Dallas Mission. I served in Arlington, Terrell, Garland, Stevenville, Cleburn, Midland, Pampa and Grand Prairie.

While in Pampa I was tracting (knocking on doors as we would go down a street) and came to a yard that was filled with the most beautiful flowers I had seen since leaving home. Mom loved flowers and so I was use to having lots of them around the yards. As we knocked on the door I commented to the lady that came to the door how beautiful they were and wondered if I could come back later , on my P day, and photograph some of them. She wasn’t interested in our message but was very kind and receptive to the idea of our returning to photograph her flowers. Well I did just that and on my next P day went with my companion to her beautiful yard to photograph the flowers. As we knocked on the door to  let her know we were there I received the shock of my lifetime up to that point. There as the door was opened stood what I thought to be my Uncle Jack from Utah. I asked why he was there and he commented that he lived there but that he wasn’t Jack he was his brother Art. The two of the must have been identical twins I decided but then found out that he was four years older than Jack. We became very good friends and visited with them as often as we could until I was transferred to Grand Prairie. I have seen Art only three times since that day but have often sent messages to him through my cousin Jack who has kept track of him through the years. I saw Art once when I returned to Texas with my children and Marie as we were taking an 18 day vacation crossing America to see the Scout Jamboree in South Virginia. We stopped at his home and the children fell in love with his place as much as I had during my mission, they loved it because of his turtles not his flowers though.  I again got to see him when Aunt MaryJo passed away and I took pictures of he and Uncle Jack sitting next to each other at the cemetery. Then I saw him again when he was, I think, 94 years old at Uncle Jack’s funeral just a few years ago. He was still very healthy and had long since lost his sweetheart whom I first fell in love with because of her magnificent flowers surrounding her yard.