Wylie Daniel Goodsell

I was born to Albert Eugene Goodsell and Annie Melissa Hoopes on December 16, 1905 at Weston, Idaho. My heritage was always appreciated, and throughout my life I often reflected upon it and thanked my Maker for my heritage and background. My Father was a true Christian in every respect and had an invaluable reputation for his attributes. He was quiet, well-mannered, spoke little, and thought before he spoke. He knew hardships and was kind, gentle, honest, and a wonderful disciplinarian. He loved his fellowmen and appreciated a good turn and a fondly statement, but found it difficult to express his appreciation openly. He was handsome and in his prime carried his 6 feet 3 inch frame and 245 pounds with dignity and purpose. My mother had all the fine attributes of womanhood the Lord could mold and fashion into one of his choicest daughters. She was a true companion to Father and a perfect mother of 12 children, 9 boys and 3 girls. Her husband and children came first and she dedicated her life to this purpose, knowing full well she could serve her Maker in no better way. She taught us how to pray and to grow up to be a credit to our Maker, our parents, and to society. She was a wise counselor and always made her husband head of the family and home. She constantly encouraged us to good purposes and was always with us and anxious about us. She worked hard for her family and her attractive, slightly built 115 pound frame was carried with the grace and speed of a humming bird. Father and Mother had no enemies and were enemies to no one. They were easy to know and were respected and loved by all. They were wonderful hosts and consequently always had visitors and guests. Their home was a haven to all. I must have had a purpose and a mission in life because at five years of age I contracted pneumonia and for three days it was almost impossible to determine whether I was dead or alive. I well recall this illness and how my parents stood by, how the relatives and neighbors assisted for weeks, how the inflammation came from every opening in my body and how embarrassed I was to be ushered around the public square in a baby buggy on the 4th of July. Although my parents had little formal education, they encouraged their children to improve themselves and gave us basic understanding. I received additional encouragement for later academic pursuits when, after having gone to little one room schools in Virginia, Idaho and Silver Star (Unida), I topped the Franklin County, Idaho 7th grader and the next year the county graduates and I became the first all county valedictorian. I loved my home, my town and our way of life in it. In those days small communities had activity and variety and gave its citizen a reservoir of background, judgment and a sense of proportion to draw from in the transitional years from the horse and buggy to automation and orbiting satellites. Farming seemed to have much diversity than with lots of labor jobs. I particularly enjoyed team work with the best of horses in which I took constant pride. Engineering a steam engine on a threshing machine was no small fete for a lad my age, and playing solo trombone in the high school and city band also added great luster to my often used and well polished armor. The big and crowning event of my youth came a few months after my good bishop had set me apart as Ward Clerk. I was already Superintendent of the YMMIA. These two key positions permitted me to work closely with a good man, Bishop Thomas E. Rose, and to gain valuable training in Church administration procedure and government. When it was decided the ward and City would sponsor a gala valley-side celebration on the 24th of July, Bishop Rose insisted that by virtue of my calling, I chairman, Manager, and M C the entire event. Also, I was capable, so he said. Bishop Rose was right about the call, they admitted, but some doubted my abilities would match the occasion. But my bishop prevailed and with his counsel, and tremendous support from my parents and the wonderful cooperation from the ward and village officers, the event went off without incident and remains unsurpassed for such an undertaking in the area. I wore man hats on the final day, changing from playing in the band, checking on various events, and M.C.’in the program which drew talent from the entire valley. Little wonder I never wanted to leave home. The day came, however, and on New Year’s day in 1929 at the dinner table I gave my Father most of my summer’s earnings, a usual habit, and ate my last meal with the entire family present. I remember how Mother cried and said the family would never be together again. Little did we appreciate the vision of her words. Accompanied by my brother, Orval, who was teaching in the Rexburg, Idaho public schools, and my sister, Ines, who was returning to Ricks College for her second quarter, I left home to enroll as a freshman in Ricks College. Enrollment in college began a new life for me and I was not sure I liked the discipline. As I studied, my mind went back to home. I wondered how my little brothers and sisters were growing up, how my Father and Mother were fairing without my advice, and how my friends and community were getting along without me. During the first quarter I longed to groom the horses again, harness then and put them to the test. I enjoyed them, always had each hair on their bodies trimmed and in place, kept the animals in show condition and the harness and equipment tidy and in top repair. I was sure I would not return to college another year. During the second quarter the President and faculty selected me and two coeds to accompany the President on tour of the high schools in southern Idaho to encourage the graduates to attend Ricks College. On this tour I talked to the seniors and faculty of each school and championed the advantages of a junior college and extolled the virtues of Ricks College, its curriculum, faculty and students. I enjoyed this new opportunity and found my experiences in speaking in church and conducting meetings a great value. Evidently I did well because in the first general student and faculty assembly after our return, President George S. Romney asked me to report. This was the first time a student was asked to report. My Maker blessed me immeasurably again. I reported the highlights of the conferences. In so doing I brought several members of the faculty into devilish, but not unreal situations. Fortunately, it was gauged well and the faculty and students were in uproar at each pun. This fortunate experience brought me closer to the faculty and students and gave me considerable status. From then on I was active in campus activities. The next year I was elected president of the student body, I was on the debating team and participated in numerous events. My health was good, my mind was clear and alert, my spirits were high, and although I worked part time to defray expenses, my study habits were good. My grades were high and at graduation was Valedictorian and elected student of the year. This was June 1931 and almost the bottom of the “Great Depression”. Jobs were very scarce and well qualified and experienced men were begging for work of any kind. My uncles, Wylie, George and John Hoopes, had been very generous and kind to me in offering me summer employment and a place to stay now and then. I had a few opportunities to teach school but was encouraged to abandon this profession and to continue my schooling. But how? I was offered financial assistance, if worse became worse, by a faculty member who felt I should continue my schooling. But I had never borrowed a dime and I knew I would not accept his kind help if worse became worse. I dared not borrow, but the mere suggestion of aid gave me some sense of security. There were other problems ---big problems. I was in love ---desperately in love. I loved people, I was active in recreational and social events, and I had a wide circulation of girl friends. Wholesome and enjoyable as many of these girls were, none gave me the feeling I wanted in a mate. This changed completely and definitely after a couple of events. I hesitated for days to call for a date for fear I might be refused. Courage prevailed and we spent a wonderful evening at a concert given by a Japanese soprano singer in the Madison Stake House. The next important event was the Senior Sneek at Big Springs when I playfully told her I was going to dunk her head in the water. Touching her hand was convincing enough. But what could I offer her? I know I would never have anything until I was married and I knew I would never marry until I had something to give a wife. What a dilemma. Also, the fall term of school was about to begin. In this very real moment of decision, I turned to my Stake Patriarch, Andrew J. Hansen, a most faithful, seasoned and choice servant. He told me that he had observed me going to and from school but knew little about me. An appointment was made and I remember the circumstances and some details of the blessing and the blessing in general as if it were only yesterday. It was in his office, he also being the county probate Judge, I sat on a regular office chair and he sat behind me on a wood stool about three feet high. Immediately when he placed his hands on my head and began the blessing a vibrating feeling went through my entire body from my head to my toes. My feet tingled. I received a most wonderful blessing, a magnificent and unusual blessing. “You shall successfully accomplish your pursuit after education and of training, that you shall acquire knowledge to your heart’s content, and that wisdom, the gift of making good use of knowledge shall be given unto you for the asking. Wonderful shall be the experience which shall be yours. I bless you that in due time you shall be happily married and enjoy the experiences of true love.” These were answers to two questions I had pondered and about which I was very much concerned. With the blessing he gave me and the directness and specificness of them, I knew my course. It may be difficult and arduous but the outcome was clear. There were cent-per-mile rates on the Union Pacific Railroad and I thought I wanted to work in Idaho, perhaps as a county agricultural extension agent or a similar job, so I purchased a ticket and took off for the University of Idaho at Moscow, Idaho. I well remember the bitter lonesome feeling which I could hardly bear and how I wept and wept, the long hot ride, the very uncomfortable night in a hotel room in Pendelton, Oregon and the arrival at Moscow. I arrived in Moscow before most of the students. I needed work. Everyone seemed so happy and gay, but I felt terribly lonesome and insecure. I went immediately to Dean Idding’s office. He was almost angry with me as he had sent me a letter telling me there was no part-time work and that I must not come to the University unless I could pay my way. He then said if I had the nerve to come under such circumstances he would have to give me some help. Several individuals said I had determination and was thus destined to succeed. I obtained part-time work in the office of the Head of the Department of Economics. I sold my athletic ticket, washed dishes in a boarding room house at night, baby sat for the professors children, washed windows, and worked all weekends and holidays. I remember picking bean seed on the experimental plats near the football field during games. I have watched two football games in my life. LaVon was teaching school in Roberts, Idaho and sent me $25 or $20 almost each month but I was too proud and independent to use it. I greatly appreciated it and placed it in safe keeping for use later as a nest egg in our early married life. Despite the rigorous schedule, including 3-hour labs five afternoons, two evenings and Saturday mornings, my grades were good. I received my first and only C grade in college in economics from Dr. Erwin Grave, my favorite professor. I graduated with high honors, 5.66 points, less than 0.4 points under a straight A. On June 1, 1932 and at the conclusion of my first year at the University of Idaho, I took my bride to the Logan Temple where we were endowed and sealed to each other for time and eternity. After a few days at her parent’s home, we went to Burley, Idaho and worked for the Idaho Experiment Station on a field survey and statistical study of the Minidoka and Tiv in Falls irrigation projects. This was our honeymoon. It was great fun but we lacked economic security and measured the time when school would separate us again. LaVon would return to stay with her parents. A few weeks after my return to Moscow, a big bright spot appeared. Arrangements were made to rent an apartment for four boys and LaVon was to prepare meals. She joined me at Christmas time and we spent our first Christmas together as a couple. It was fun, and I remember well our first Christmas tree. It was about 12 inches of the top of an evergreen tree. A pair of pliers clamped together formed the base. My bride brought much relief to me, kept a beautiful spic and span home. She was a good conversationalist and made friends easily. We walked frequently and she joined me when I groomed livestock for the “Little International”. Our firstborn, Neil, arrived October 17, 1933. I wanted a boy and he was a handsome one and brought much joy and interest to us. We enjoyed taking him out, particularly to church. He was the only student baby and the youngest baby in his congregation. We planned and talked and often said if we ever made $1,500 per year, we would ask for no more. Later we raised the amount to $3,000. During the last regular school year, my brothers Oravl and Lynn took residence with us. And during the last summer, my sister, Ines, and LaVon’s sister, Louise and her husband, Lee Murphy, joined us. We took over a home of one of the professors. Louise worked for me on a project in Pullman, Washington and the others, except LaVon, went to school. Before I took my examinations for the Master's Degree, I was offered assistantships at Iowa State University, Cornell University and The University of California Berkeley. I recall going to my Dean (Iddyings) for his opinion. He merely laughed and told me how sorry he was for me with three offers and most students had none. We accepted the offer from Iowa because of the general agriculture. It was not in the West where I had grown up and it had an enviable combination of economics and statistics. Iowa and the University were strange places but with LaVon’s companionship I felt a sense of security. We took residence in a typical mid-west home that had been converted into four apartments. After the grad students arrived we soon found ourselves associated with about forty LDS students and families. Our associations were built around the Church group and were very wholesome and enduring. Time passes as it will for a student trying to make his own. With my assistantship, a few special assignments for the college and Federal Government during the summer, plus janitorial services in the apartment and LaVon’s frugality, we kept ahead. In the spring of 1936, I decided to go to the University of Minnesota a couple of terms to take some special courses in economic theory. After my qualifying exams were over at Iowa, I enrolled at Minnesota. The two terms there were the only terms in my school life that I was a full-time student --- no part-time work. LaVon and Neil had gone West so I was miserably lonesome again. We were back in Iowa to finish up when Glen was born July 19, 1937. He too was a handsome chap and well received. However, after his birth, LaVon became ill and the road became real rough. Part of her time was spent in Idaho and part in Iowa. Neil stayed with my parents and their attachments became fixed. At the conclusion of summer school, August 1938, graduation came. I had been in college over 10 years. I wanted to celebrate but LaVon was too ill to even go to a movie. We had a number of good offers for employment. They had come before but I was set on getting my degree. My Patriarch had laid out this course, although it had slipped my mind many times. I had taught at Iowa and the southern Universities were bidding high. Economics was coming to the fore. Because of Church connections and our contemplated family, LaVon and I decided to accept employment in Washington, D.C. with the Federal Government. We purchased a new Chevrolet and I brought our few belongings to Washington in a trunk and a wooden box given to us by Father and Mother Skidmore. I arrived in Washington August 30, 1938. LaVon went to Idaho for a vacation for a month while I located an apartment. In March of 1939, we purchased a building lot with a group of LDS friends and by May of 1940 we moved into our new home at 2510 North 24th Street, Arlington, Virginia. This has been known since that time as “Moroni Hill”, “Mormon Hill”, and “The Hill”. Here we reared our family and grew with the area, community and Church. In the years there, the neighborhood remained wonderfully and compatibly congenial. On June 12, 1941, Steven graced our home and like the others, brought us much pride and joy. On August 4, 1946 Katherine was born. Being our first daughter this was a special thrill, and I well remember how carefully I looked over her limbs to see that they were true and that her ankles and wrists were trim and dainty ---I wanted a feminine girl and not a husky. I recall that immediately after I inspected her I dashed home, without seeing LaVon, to spread the good news. I wouldn’t ask for more than my children have given me. Each has been a credit to me, each has supported me, and each has built me up. None has given me any cause for concern or embarrassment. My employment was very good and my work and contacts very enjoyable. I was fortunate to carve out a new work which gave me considerable latitude and freedom. I largely determined my own schedule, worked closely with the colleges and Universities (an association and contact I enjoyed and valued very much) and traveled sufficiently and widely enough to have a close familiarity with agriculture at home and abroad. I traveled in all of the States and most of the Counties via auto. In addition to my regular employment in the Department of Agriculture, I taught Farm Management and Production Economics courses for more than 20 years in the Graduate School of the Department. For the most part, these were joint courses with the American University, Maryland University and Graduate School of the Department of Agriculture and drew students from many localities and countries. These experiences were major factors in my receiving the appointment in 1955 and 1956 with the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization. This was a unique experience to visit and interview government officials, fisheries experts, fish producers and farmers in several European, Mid-Eastern and Far-Eastern countries and to lecture at the “Third International Fisheries Training Center” held in Bogor, Indonesia. This was a wonderful honor and a unique experience. It took me into the homes of natives around the world. I learned to love and respect them and found these simple country folk hospitable, honest, sincere, and helpful. People in the cities everywhere were commercial and might take advantage of you, but not the country folk. The country folk differed in culture, background and habits but in common they were friendly, honest, interesting, and sincere. It was difficult to share their food because of their standards of sanitation. I lost considerable weight and was skin and bones when I returned to the States. My unique experience was to drink freely from a water fountain. Upon arriving in Hawaii, I ate almost nothing but salads for three days. In 1961 I was asked to head a mission to Argentina to study the “Beef Grass-grain Economy” and make recommendations for its improvement. This was a wonderful experience and I toured and traveled considerably. The food was excellent --- wonderful citrus for breakfast and super broiled steaks for noon and evening meals. My Maker was with me, as he was on many occasions, on the World Tour. My experiences in Church were of inestimable value. Evidently I did well as I was asked to make special visits to the Northern Provinces of Argentina and off my suggestions and present my recommendations to the top officials of Argentina and the U. S. Ambassador to that country. In all these experiences I valued most highly my experiences, opportunities and background in the Church. As I lay on my back at night and looked out my window over the Israeli hills and mountains, as I walked in the tropical heat around the fish ponds in Indonesia and as I road horseback over the estancias in Argentina, my mind went back to the good bishop who had faith in me as a lad, my experiences as a superintendent of the MIA and Sunday School, a ward clerk, a counselor in the bishopric, an high counselor and other church assignments. They contributed much to fill in the niches and round off the rough spots in my makeup, to increase my vision in life, to give me optimism and purpose, to appreciate the worth of my fellowmen, to have a high regard and respect authority, seek guidance from and trust explicitly in my Maker. Of all the experiences, opportunities, positions, or call them what you may, not one or all combined compare with the call of a bishop in an active and progressive ward in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One never appreciates his blessings, he never knows the warmth and love of his fellowmen, he never knows the true meaning of service, he never knows the trust and confidence people can have in a man, he never knows humility and dignity, he never had his mind so loaded and never depended so much on the Lord until he has been a bishop of an active and progressive Ward. It was an assignment I never wanted or sought. When approached I made numerous suggestions for better candidates and gave numerous good reasons why I could not qualify and should not be considered at that time. Among many things I had commitments to finish out was the years dance instruction courses. I was teaching ballroom dancing to several groups in the Capitol area --- some of them really important people and all nice people. I enjoyed them and incidentally brought in nearly $3,000 a season. Also, I had tentative commitments for assignments overseas. However, I was ordained by Spencer W. Kimball and was given two absolutely wonderful, faithful, and devoted counselors; and two good faithful, experienced and devoted clerks. These counselors and clerks were a blessing and a real source of strength to me. My experiences as a bishop were both varied and numerous, some never to be discussed. Many will be buried with me. In this respect, I have felt the overwhelming weight of confidential matters, intimacies, trusts or whatever one may call them and no place to go for relief except to my Maker. I remember well, shortly after I was ordained, three members of the ward, all close friends, passed away within six days. I thought the world had caved in on me. About the same time, four missionaries departed for their assignments, and shortly after, another member passed away. Not too long after, a non-member family asked if I had some good LDS couple that would like to adopt a baby. I was the sole intermediary and made numerous contacts, interviews and arrangements. The young mother was an exceptional girl. When I took the covered baby from her arms at the hospital entrance I had a feeling I had never had before, and don’t seek to have again, and felt a terrible sense of responsibility. I recall quickly stopping the car en route to its new home and parents to see if it were still alive. (NOTE: He did place several babies for adoption during his service as Bishop.) At this juncture I want to pay tribute to my wonderful wife. No bishop had as good a companion. She supported me in every single aspect. She encouraged me when I needed assurance and courage and made wonderful little suggestions where I was lacking. She never complained about the time spent in my calling or the hours I was away. She was completely void of curiosity about personal information and thus we had no problems. Likewise, Kay supported me and was a big help and a source of comfort. She also had her pulse on one important area of work in the ward --- the young people. She assisted me to keep current on the youth, their activities, their honors and their special events. Although Neil, Glen and Steve were married, they and their wonderful spouses (just like perfect daughters) supported me. Each was a credit to me and never gave me the slightest cause for concern or embarrassment. Written By: Wylie Daniel Goodsell, July 1, 1964