Happy Birthday Aaron Egg; Remembering an Inspired Match Maker

Aaron Egg, September 2, 1974-June 13, 2002
(Front Row; White Shirt in Family Photo)

IT WAS MARCH 3^rd, 1998 when I started to realize this could be serious; Kristy Richards and I were seated on the tailgate of my Chevy pick-up truck, and I asked her for a date.

The single adult conference was going to be over soon, and I did not want the day to end. Kristy, feeling the same way told me the problem; she had already scheduled a date with Aaron Egg, my younger brother for that evening. I knew what I must do, so I stepped away from Kristy and called my little brother.

 “Aaron,” I dove right in, “you know Kristy Richards, right?”

“Yes, sweet girl”

“You have a date with her tonight?”

“Yes, why?” Aaron said.

“I am here with her at this single adult conference;  I’d really like to take her out on a date tonight. Would you mind?” I said.

“JJ, you take her out; you’ll probably marry her.”

Kristy and I went out that night and were married on May 20^th, 1998, just a little over 2 months later. We didn’t know it then, but we had just over 4 years left with Aaron before he went back home. Enough time to be sealed to Alissa and Julia, fulfilling promises given him in his patriarchal blessing.

Happy Birthday Aaron; I hope you know the good you’ve done. Your family misses you greatly. We will see you again in the eternities.

Aaron Egg, September 2, 1974-June 13, 2002 

#8 of 9 Egg siblings

Aaron would be 47 today!  Miss you Brother!

Aaron and Alissa

A Dad's Prayer for His Girls

The Egg Family

AS I COLLECTED MY DAUGHTER, my scriptures and my lesson manual from my truck to go into church on that High Council Sunday back in 1995, the high councilman asked if he could help carry anything. Then, his 17 year old daughter slipped her arm around his waist and walked into the chapel with her head lovingly nestled against his shoulder. 

As I cradled my infant daughter and walked into the chapel, I said a silent prayer, and then I made a promise to myself to do whatever was necessary to have a daughter that would proudly walk arm in arm with her daddy someday.

Katie, Jordan and Hannah

Who are the best mirrors that you and I have?

Who sees us for all that is hidden inside?

Fun House Mirrors

Did you ever go up to the fun house to play,

and look in the mirrors there?

They bend up your face, and widen your waist,

and alter the shape of your hair.

In one place you’re as huge as a hot air balloon,

in another as thin as a stick,

At first you’re as slim as a telephone pole,

and everywhere else, you are thick.

Some people are mirrors reflecting to us

an image we really are not;

If we think that those mirrors are telling the truth,

we’ve been blinded to all that we’ve got.

Some say that we’re ‘ornery or stupid or weird,

some say that we’re stuck up or fat,

But in others you’ll view a reflection of you

that doesn’t have any of that.

Who are the best mirrors that you and I have?

Who gives a reflection that’s true?

Who sees us for all that is hidden inside?

Your Father in Heaven, that’s who. 

You’ve also got teachers and parents and friends

whose reflections are true and correct;

When peers say you’re homely or haughty or dumb,

God says, “You’re my child, you’re elect.”

So get out some paper, and pick up a pen,

and write down what others may say,

Then turn the page over,

and fill it with things the Lord and the prophets convey.

On one side you’ll have all that others have said;

some are true, some are hard to conceive;

Then turn to God’s side, and ask of yourself,

Which side am I going to believe?

-John Bytheway

Dad, The Older I Get, the Better He Was

Quick Facts

Name                   Theron Jay Egg, Sr
Spouse                 Carol Lucille Anderson
Children              9 (6 boys, 3 girls)
Occupation          Teacher
Born                     January 25, 1937
Home                   January 1, 2012 

HOW IS IT THAT I'M 54 YEARS OLD this year, and I’m still just beginning to realize just how amazing my dad is?

My heart is filled with reverence for the labors and example of my dad. I revere him.  Memories of his example are etched deep into the fabric of my very being.  Any goodness in me can be traced back to his teachings and example.

I realize more all the time the impact of seemingly simple experiences with my dad that have impacted me.  One comes to memory from the fall of 1980.

Jay Egg Heading Out For a Date in the 1964 Dodge

I had a date with Susan Canazoles, and dad told me that I could take the 1964 Dodge Station Wagon. It had a push button transmission and no seat belts. People weren’t really taking the seat belt law serious anyway back in 1980.

I’m sure the date went well, and I returned home a little later than I had promised.  I seem to remember being pleased that it was not quite midnight when I walked into the well-lit (meaning dad was waiting up) living room of our ranch style home outside Barstow, Ca. I could see dad sitting back looking calm and content, even before the music registered in my ears.

Dad Was Playing "Van Halen" When I Came Home

“Van-Halen II” was playing on the brand new home stereo that dad had just purchased and set up.  Registering all of this in my mind, I grabbed the other recliner and enjoyed the lead guitar solo, pleased that my father was enjoying some of “my” music.  I wasn’t fooled for a minute. I knew this was his way of bonding, and I loved it. He listened to the entire album that night with me. We talked about the band’s impressive skills and the stories behind some of the songs; sometimes they were my stories and memories relating to the music. This was all about me, and I loved it. I remember it as an ever present experience, even closer than breathing; like he’s here right now.

Is it any wonder that I never complained once as I drove my kids to seminary and listened to hundreds of hours of the newest releases of their favorite music? What is amazing is that until this moment, I thought that I was pretty amazing for doing that with my kids. Pretty silly huh? …just when I think I’m “all-that”, I remember that my dad did it first. Chalk another one up for dad.  Oh, how I love him.

He’s with Father in Heaven now, which means that I have two “Fathers in Heaven”.  Their influence and imprint on what I have become is sweet and rich. No wonder, that Father in Heaven wants us “boys” to experience fatherhood. We begin to understand why it is that He (God, our Father) is so amazing as we pass our love forward to our families.

It’s times like these that I begin to understand the plan of happiness for us here.  I want to pass it forward with all my heart.  I want my family, and all with whom I come into contact to know what remarkable fathers I have.

Happy Father’s Day to both of my Fathers in Heaven.

Video for Dad (Thanks Alexi!)

Happy Birthday Dad!