Harris, Carole Benon (Nov 5, 1925 – May 8, 2000) Poems by Benon

Poems by Benon Wheatley

THE STUDY GROUP

 

For thirty years the Study Group has meant a lot to me,

I'd like to introduce them, alphabetically.

 

There's Jim and Alta Archibald, they like to play a round,

And a finer pair of golfers, I know, cannot be found.

 

And next there's Dean and Carma, Bradshaw is their name,

They've made "Up and Down the River" a most exciting game.

 

And then the Crumps, that's Glenn and Jean, you'd know them
in a minute,

Just find the newest car in town and you can bet they're in
it.

 

The Gibsons next, that's Don and Bev, the temple is their
mission,

And every day or so Bev hears, "I guess I'll just go
fishin'."

 

Now Ralph and Mavis Kotter, there's so much to be said,

While Mavis fixes yummy treats, Ralph tells us what we've
read.

 

Then there's Den and Lila Miller, they always have such fun,

While we are shivering in the cold, they're basking in the
sun.

 

And next the Norrs, that Bev and Jay, they live up on the
hill,

If you ride to USU with them, you're sure to have a thrill.

 

And last of all the Wheatleys, I'm the better part of Les,

Of all the doctors in the world, I'd have to say he's best.

 

Now if I were the gambling sort, I'd quickly bet my shares

On the hand dealt to the Study Group, one of eight perfect
pairs.

 

And so every other Sunday, we read to save our soul,

And in between the study times, its "Let the good times
roll!"

 

                                                                       
Benonymous

 

Dear Bishop Coombs, you may recall, a year or so ago,

You calmly made the statement, "The budget's running low,"

And when a thoughtful sister who was thinking of the ward,

Said, "I think a handsome quilt would bring a fine reward,"

We saw the thought light up your eyes as you added up the
score,

"If one quilt brought a fine reward, we could use
even more."

We gathered up our courage, said, "We could do six or
eight,"

You looked at us directly and said, "Twenty would be great!"

 

Then buoyed by determination,

Sisters met in dedication,

Heads were bowed in supplication,

And the project was begun!

 

Cancelled was the planned
vacation,

Parties too, knew cancellation,

Service knew no limitation,

For the sisters were as one.

 

Fingers flew in desperation,

Jaws grew tired in conversation,

Fingers felt a sharp sensation,

And another quilt was done!

 

Each one was a grand creation,

Each brought sighs of adoration,

Hearts were filled with great
elation,

As the sought-for goal was won!

 

Dear Bishop Coombs, in days to come, you may recall this
day,

When grateful sixth ward members have gathered here to say,

"We're thankful for the things you've done and for
the things you've been,

And so we say with one accord, "We'd do it all again!"

We prospered with your leadership and we cannot
forget

Your lovely wife and family and examples they have set.

And thanks to faithful counselors, those very special two,

For their devoted service and counsel wise and true.

 

You gained the youth's great
admiration,

Helped them to resist temptation,

Gave them needed explanation,

And joined them in their fun!

 

Slighted was your occupation,

Neglected too, your
recreation,

Turned down many invitation,

For work that must be done!

 

Counselors knew no hesitation,

Long hard hours of preparation,

Served without renumeration,

The three of you as one.

 

Guided by God's inspiration,

You served the ward with
dedication,

Helped us seek our own salvation,

You made us number one.

 

And now we have a special quilt, stitched just for your
reward,

Bearing all the signatures of families of your ward.

May the warmth of all our hearts be reflected too,

In the warmth that hopefully it will bring to you.

 

                                                           
By
Benon Wheatley

 

THE COOMBS MISSIONARIES

 

Just a few weeks ago we heard Norma say,

    "I'll go where
ever I'm sent.

Be it Africa, Norway, or Chili or Nome,

    "I'll go and I'll
just be content."

 

And Skeeter too, said, I'll answer the call,"

    There was never a
doubt in his head.

He would willingly serve, where 'ere it may be,

    And we knew that
he meant what he said.

 

Then Heavenly Father, from his spot up above,

    Looked down on
these two willing souls,

"Where shall I send them for Heaven's sake,

    Right now Heaven
only knows.

 

"They have always been faithful and served me so well,

    I owe them a
blessing or two,

I'll send them to the second best place on the earth,

    They will love it
before they are through.

 

The President there will greet them with joy,

    He's needed a
couple so much,

And they'll strengthen the mission, they'll strengthen
themselves,

    And they'll
strengthen each life that they touch.

 

"There is so much to do and the work will be hard,

    But they've always
done what I've asked,

There are problems that they've never dreamed of,

    But I know they
will rise to the task."

 

So Norma and Skeeter, as neighbors and friends,

    We want to wish
you the best!

In spite of discouragement, troubles and ills,

    We know that
you're going to be blessed.

 

We can just hear you say, at the end of some day,

    When your nerves
and your muscles are tight,

"The Lord said it wouldn't be easy,

    And so far he's
been about right."

 

Forget about cattle, forget about malls,

    For those things
just bring you strife,

Think about scriptures and converts and such,

    For they will
bring joy to your life.

 

And now we are gathered to bid you farewell,

    And we'll miss you
a lot while you're gone,

The next time we meet our greeting will be,

    "Well, you haven't
been gone very long!"

 

"Are you back already?" some people will say,

"Are you sure your mission is done?"

And you can just smile and happily say,

"Time flies when you're having fun!"

Welcome home Millers!

 

Welcome home Millers!

 

We're glad to have you here.

 

You've come home at just the right time

 

 To spread some
Christmas cheer.

 

We want you to know while you've been gone

 

The Study Group has been good

 

We've met on schedule and read the books

 

And done everything we should.

 

We read Isaiah and it was hard,

 

But we studied it line by line

 

And though we knew that you were teaching,

 

We missed you every time.

 

The summer parties we'll do again

 

So you can get in on the play.

 

Oh welcome home Millers, welcome home Millers

 

We hope you're here to stay!

To the Millers

 

I look at the house across the street,

A beautiful home with memories sweet.

Inside the walls are souvenirs

Of love and life throughout the years.

A welcoming spot for everyone,

A house of happiness and fun,

Literally bursting at the seams

With active folks pursuing dreams,

A house of achievements, of prizes won,

A haven of rest when the day is done.

Now the windows are dark and the doors are closed,

And nobody comes and nobody goes,

And it saddens us to see it so,

But only a little because we know

Soon our friends will be back and then

That beautiful house will live again.

Our friends have gone to serve the Lord,

To preach the gospel and spread his word.

And we'll just wait 'till again we meet

Our friends from the house across the street.

 

Ralph's been workin' on the Hiway, for almost thirty years,

He's been patrolling every biway, Let's give hime 3 big
cheers, (Rah, Rah, Rah!) Can't you hear the golf clubs saying,

"Let's rise up so early and play,"

But can't you just hear Mavis saying,

"Here's your Honey-do list today!"

Honey, won't you do, Honey won't you do,

Honey, won't you do these things for me?

Honey, won't you do, Honey won't you do,

Honey, won't you do these things?

Let's all sing "Welcome back, Kotter,

Welcome to the land of fun, fun, fun, fun."

We'll all sing, "Welcome back, Kotter,

We're glad your working days are done."

 

FIFTY YEARS FOR THE JUCHAUS

 

In sickness and in health, in poor times and in wealth.

They vowed they'd stay together and they did,

Love, honor and obey, were not merely words to say,

They became the very creed by which they lived.

They made their family strong, always teaching right from
wrong.

They showed their family values at their best.

As their children grew away, You could hear their parents
say,

"We realize how greatly we've been blessed ."

When no one was left at home, they decided they could roam'

So they saw the land from sea to shining sea.

They saw the world wide, always traveling side by side,

As they surely will throughout eternity.

Benonymous

 

 

Thanks for letting some precious memories with you very
special friends.

HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSARY!!!

Lester and Benon

 

Dear Sister Stokes,

 

With happiness we honor you today,

With family, friends, and neighbors,

In unison we say,

Thank you for the life you've led,

and service you have given,

You've made see what we must do,

To gain a spot in heaven.

You've earned our admiration,

and the tributes that we make,

So now we're here to wish you well,

With laughter, punch and cake!

 

TO NICHOLE

 

I don't believe in Astrology like lots of people do,

They let the stars predict their lives, and hope that it
comes true.

The Zodiac has many signs that tell you of your fates,

It lists your many talents and it also lists your traits.

Well, we're here to talk about Nichole, this is her special
day,

So I peeked into her horoscope just to see what it would
say.

She was born under Aquarius, a most romantic sign,

And if she'd hook up with an Aries everything will be just
fine.

Since Jeremy's an Aries, it really makes good sense,

If they just get together and change her name to Venz.

It says that she's ambitious, industrious and bright,

There might be something to this for I know they got that
right.

It says she'll make good choices and her "options" will be
great,

Choosing Jeremy and Option Tech insures a lovely fate.

It says this coming marriage will be a great success,

Giving many years together filled with joy and happiness.

It says she'll be successful at most anything she tries,

And knowing what she's accomplished, that comes as no
surprise.

Her horoscope was pretty good, the things it said were true.

But then it only told us things that we already knew.

The stars I like best are those that make her starry-eyed,

And I like the moon and sun that shines on our radiant
summer bride!

 

Dear Paige, you're growing up so fast

We want your childhood days to last

Thanks for asking us here today

To see you learn and watch you play

We hope you know we love you so

And we do love to watch you grow.

                       
HAPPY
BIRTHDAY!!!

                       
Love,
Grandma & Grandpa

Little girl's dresses, row after row.

This one is darling with a pink velvet bow,

Ruffles and fluff and blue dotted swiss,

Or this one of lace for the delicate miss,

Or this little red check with the collar of white

Black shiny shoes would make it just right!

Oh here comes a clerk

"May I help you, please"?

"Yes, I want 6 pairs of boys jeans

With reinforced knees.

DOUBLE THE PLEASURE,
DOUBLE THE FUN!

 

Don and Bev had a wonderful life,

Living together as husband and wife.

Three beautiful daughters blessed their good home,

Deb grew up and left to make a home of her own.

The two that were home were growing up fast,

Raising small children seemed a thing of the past.

With things as they were, they thought they could rest,

And travel and fish and play golf with the best.

 

But lo, a surprise, Bev was pregnant once more,

A baby would make things as they were before.

Then Bev whispered to Don, "I've got news for you.

"Instead of a baby, we're going to have two!"

"What do you mean? I can't understand it,

It just crept up on me, its quite underhanded!"

He thought, "What I buy will have to be double,

With costs what they are, I think I'm in trouble!"

 

Geri was startled, she was sure they would find,

That her loving parents were out of their mind.

Mindy was thrilled, she thought �twould be nice,

To help with a baby and then do it twice.

Nine months went slowly, they usually do,

Then it was all over, sure enough there were two!

Two beautiful babies, both of them girls,

Dark eyes and dark lashes and lovely dark curls.

Bev saw there was double the work to be done,

But double the pleasure and double the fun!

 

And then of course each one needed a name,

And Kami and Tami sounded the same,

So Tami and Kami were the names that they chose,

And which one is which, no one really knows.

And Don was delighted right from the start,

Those twins were tied tight to the strings of his heart.

He was so proud, it was just fun to see

Don with a beautiful child on each knee.

He found out something that he'd never guessed,

Two babies mean much more than being twice blessed.

 

They were exactly alike right from the start,

No one but the family could tell them apart.

There was two times the ribbons, two times the lace,

Two times the laughter all over the place.

 

They showed great respect for their father and mother,

Best of all they had a deep love for each other.

Always in twos and never just one,

Just double the pleasure and double the fun!

 

They grew up so quickly and they brought many joys,

But thoughts were beginning to turn to the boys.

They thought of weddings but felt no real hurry.

They told their parents, "You don't have to worry,

We're looking them over, we're playing the field.

That one is moody, or he hasn't the build.

But we're getting serious, we're right in the groove,

Whoever it is we both have to approve.

For just remember, when all's said and done,

We've had double the pleasure and double the fun!"

 

And then, perfect timing, each found her ideal,

And each one knew surely, this is for real.

Each lucky young man made the discovery,

That from perfect love there is no recovery.

And for leading good lives there's a glorious reward,

Vows could be made in the House of the Lord.

So wedding bells ring, new lives have begun,

Quadruple the pleasure, quadruple the fun!

 

 

Benonymous

Benonymous

 

In raising six outstanding sons,

I got an education

And as the years have drifted by

I've made an observation

With every one and at some time

There's been a common feature

I've become the student,

And he's become the teacher.

Oh, my name is Lester Wheatley, I'm the leader of the clan,

I wouldn't have a good report had I stayed a single man.,

I had no trials or problems, I don't mean to put you on,

But life was very simple �til I got to know Benon.

Oh, in 1947 the two of us were wed,

"They'll make a lovely couple," that's what everybody said.

We lived in Pocatello and were happy as could be,

We settled down to have ourselves a fine big family.

Oh, we had a son and it was such fun, the first one we named
Kim,

Then one was simply not enough so Scott soon followed him,

Then Alan came and David the same, our house was getting
small,

And so we moved to Utah as it seemed the best for all.

And there we had another son, �twas Mark and he was sweet,

Then later Jeffrey made the scene, and made our home
complete.

Oh, Scott is in Virginia, so very far away,

He said to tell you all "Hello", but they can't be here
today.

Oh then Kim met Deb and they were wed, Scott tied the knot
with Gaye,

Then Alan married Karla John and they were on their way,

Then David brought home Carol and Mark and Lori wed,

And Jennifer said yes to Jeff and all was done and said.

Our daughters are so special, we love them everyone,

They've brought our home much happiness, they've brought our
home much fun.

And then came something special, for us a brand new role.

We became grandparents and it started with Nichole,

Then Raegan came, and Thomas the same, and Lindsey in D.C.

Elizabeth then made the scene and also Michael Dee,

Michelle, Angie and Jennifer have brought us all such joy,

And Matthew back in Washington, another special boy.

Then Katherine and Jonathan and Abigail and James,

We should be almost finished �cause we're running out of
names.

But we can't forget our little Paige and also little Clair,

They were double blessings for they came the same good year.

Oh, all in all we've had a ball, some laughter and some
tears,

We got it all together and in 46 short years.

We love to be together and though we know no fame,

We're happy to be here with you, and bare the Wheatley name.

 

HIP HIP HOORAY!!!

 

THE WHEATLEYS

 

When the Wheatleys
get together, they have fun!

There are always hugs
enough for everyone.

When the Wheatleys
get together,

They don't worry
about the weather,

They just like to get
together and have fun,

 

When the Wheatleys
get together it's a blast,

They like to sit and
talk about the past,

They are in a happy
mood,

And there's lots and
lots of food

, When the Wheatleys
get together it's a blast.

 

When the Wheatleys
get together Hip Hooray!

It turns out to be a
happy holiday,

And we plan to meet
again,

Doesn't matter where
or when

When the Wheatleys
get together, HIP hooray!

HIP HIP HOORAY!!!

 

 

[Handwritten note on page]

to the tune of

"IF YOU'RE HAPPY AND YOU

KNOW IT CLAP YOUR HANDS."

 

reunion held 04/15/00

@ David & Carol's home in Draper.

 

Of all the words I've ever penned,

The best must be to you, my friend,

My friend, companion, loving mate,

Kindred spirits from that first date

We've laughed and loved and shed some tears

You've buoyed me up and calmed my fears.

 

Though there's no M.D. beside your name,

You're an excellent doctor just the same.

You've rubbed my back and counted pills

You've soothed my brow and cured my ills.

And many things I cannot list

A chance to help was never missed.

You did it all without complaint

And I give my love without restraint.

You've seen that everything turns out fine

And "Yes, I'll be your Valentine.