I would just like to post a little note about my friend Dave. Many of you might not have known him since from the ninth grade until his passing he was in and out of school. We worked together at Sam's chicken coops gathering eggs, feeding the chickens, cleaning the coops and candling eggs. We also spent many days thinking about our future. Dave always had big ideas about what he was going to do and be. He would plan something like digging a fort in his back yard or building a go-cart. The sad thing was he never got any of them done. I think it was sometime during our 9th grade year that Dave was diagnosed with cancer on the lung. He had that removed and about a year later they found another cancer on his back which they removed also. In our junior year everything was going well or so we thought then they discovered that both cancers had come back. As time went on Dave lost a lot of weight and spent a lot of time in the hospital. I remember the last time I visited him he had to support his head with his arm propped on the table over his bed. On Christmas Eve 1963 after fighting a good fight and always talking about what he was going to do once he got out of the hospital he had a talk with his mother. She told him that it was OK to return to his Father in Heaven that he had done what he was sent to do. Later that evening he slipped away. Dave was my friend and I think of him often. Like many in our class that have passed on we remember the good things and good times we had together. It will be good to see all of our friends at the reunion to think of those who are gone and those who weren't able to make it but in the end we will always be friends. Geoff Colton
Thank you Geoff---for your beautiful, sincere words abour David-----I just read it and I'm pretty teary right now. When I think of David Bateman I see a gentle boy, kind, studious, and thoughtful. He, also, left too soon. We who are left on this earth know that each day should be as positive, eventful, and productive as we can make it--------------------------------please say HI this weekend---------------Barb S.
Geoff: I joined Barbara in tearing up. Your kind words about David remind us all of the fragility of this life and our responsiblity to do the best with what we are handed. Thanks so much. -Harv
whether they were written yesterday or 5 years ago, Geoffs words live on, as do the memories of our pals, and those of us who have had the joy of life, the gift of age, probably feel this the most. the losses of friends are something you never get used to. for years i didnt understand why my dad, in his 70s, pretty much stopped going to funerals. it wasn't that he didn't care for those friends who passed, but more about his own inability to simply deal with that loss. I never really understood it, but now it's becoming more clear. I remain both an optimist and a sentimentalist: i value these moments with friends as much as any thing, and only wish that we were better at making a habit of seeing each other more often. living out of the Zion Zone, i rarely get back to SLC anymore, but when I do, it is (like the wonderful story in Recapitulation by Stegner) full of emotions that overwhelm, and remind me of how quickly this whole "life" thing runs it course. You cannot read Geoffs personal notes and feel that the iniquities and unfairness of life itself are a seemingly unnatural force. David Bateman should have had a chance to build that fort. thanks Geoff, to you, too...
Geoff's comments about Dave Bateman brought back many memories. Dave and I were in the same ward and went through school together. He had the courage to face what life handed him. The last time I saw him was at a ward play in which I had a part. He was in the audience. He was confined to a wheelchair and sweeting proffusely. But he was there to still participate in life's activities. When you are young you have the sense that life will just go on forever. Being probably my first friend to die, Dave's death helped me realize that this wasn't so.
Geoff Colton
I would just like to post a little note about my friend Dave. Many of you might not have known him since from the ninth grade until his passing he was in and out of school. We worked together at Sam's chicken coops gathering eggs, feeding the chickens, cleaning the coops and candling eggs. We also spent many days thinking about our future. Dave always had big ideas about what he was going to do and be. He would plan something like digging a fort in his back yard or building a go-cart. The sad thing was he never got any of them done. I think it was sometime during our 9th grade year that Dave was diagnosed with cancer on the lung. He had that removed and about a year later they found another cancer on his back which they removed also. In our junior year everything was going well or so we thought then they discovered that both cancers had come back. As time went on Dave lost a lot of weight and spent a lot of time in the hospital. I remember the last time I visited him he had to support his head with his arm propped on the table over his bed. On Christmas Eve 1963 after fighting a good fight and always talking about what he was going to do once he got out of the hospital he had a talk with his mother. She told him that it was OK to return to his Father in Heaven that he had done what he was sent to do. Later that evening he slipped away. Dave was my friend and I think of him often. Like many in our class that have passed on we remember the good things and good times we had together. It will be good to see all of our friends at the reunion to think of those who are gone and those who weren't able to make it but in the end we will always be friends. Geoff Colton
Barbara Miller (Schneider)
Thank you Geoff---for your beautiful, sincere words abour David-----I just read it and I'm pretty teary right now. When I think of David Bateman I see a gentle boy, kind, studious, and thoughtful. He, also, left too soon. We who are left on this earth know that each day should be as positive, eventful, and productive as we can make it--------------------------------please say HI this weekend---------------Barb S.
Harvey Cahoon
Geoff: I joined Barbara in tearing up. Your kind words about David remind us all of the fragility of this life and our responsiblity to do the best with what we are handed. Thanks so much. -Harv
Diane Freeman (Gourley)
What wonderful, touching story about David. I hope he looks down on us at the reunion.David Burnett
whether they were written yesterday or 5 years ago, Geoffs words live on, as do the memories of our pals, and those of us who have had the joy of life, the gift of age, probably feel this the most. the losses of friends are something you never get used to. for years i didnt understand why my dad, in his 70s, pretty much stopped going to funerals. it wasn't that he didn't care for those friends who passed, but more about his own inability to simply deal with that loss. I never really understood it, but now it's becoming more clear. I remain both an optimist and a sentimentalist: i value these moments with friends as much as any thing, and only wish that we were better at making a habit of seeing each other more often. living out of the Zion Zone, i rarely get back to SLC anymore, but when I do, it is (like the wonderful story in Recapitulation by Stegner) full of emotions that overwhelm, and remind me of how quickly this whole "life" thing runs it course. You cannot read Geoffs personal notes and feel that the iniquities and unfairness of life itself are a seemingly unnatural force. David Bateman should have had a chance to build that fort. thanks Geoff, to you, too...
Rex Cooper
Geoff's comments about Dave Bateman brought back many memories. Dave and I were in the same ward and went through school together. He had the courage to face what life handed him. The last time I saw him was at a ward play in which I had a part. He was in the audience. He was confined to a wheelchair and sweeting proffusely. But he was there to still participate in life's activities. When you are young you have the sense that life will just go on forever. Being probably my first friend to die, Dave's death helped me realize that this wasn't so.
Robert S. (Bob) Bacon
Thank you for your poignant rememberances of David. I did not know him very well. However, I do remember him as a gentle spirit.