Fathers,Grandfathers, Great Grandfathers June 16, 2013

                                       HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Fathers, Grandfathers, Great Grandfathers, Great, Great Grandfathers and so on,we love you, praise you and tip our hats to you. Our lives have been blessed by your existence.  Just how important are you to us. I fondly remember my father and grandfather.  My father was an interesting man, but I being one of the younger children in the

family didn’t know him as well as my older sisters did.  I knew him as a man who would visit with me while I was out around the corral or shed working with the horse I had at the time.  During my adolescent years I had an acne problem.  It was bothersome and embarrassing for me.  My dad would offer me some comfort in his concerns which was especially important to me. When my horse was giving me trouble he was there for me.  In my earlier years I remember him at the Strawberry Day Celebration and Carnival which was held in a town nearby and he would share rides, one in particular was the “Hammer.”  I’m sure he hated that ride!  During much of my later adolescent years Dad was suffering from a chronic illness of the liver and many days he didn't  feel well.  He was a man who wore a hat often.  It was never a western style hat nor a baseball cap, but a gentleman’s hat, Lanny calls it a regular hat.  Here’s to the fathers, may they all be men of integrity. (by Arlene Starr)

Below are some expressions from our children of their father, Lanny:

(By Richelle Starr)
Over the years I've learned many things from my father.  Following are probably the top ten, last to first:

10.  Coats belong in the closet.  Salt and pepper belongs on the table.

9.  Everything should be celebrated afterwards with ice cream.

8.  You don't pick the winning team in football based on their jersey colors.

7.  YES, you can do anything, but NO, you're not better than anyone else.

6.  Parents don't flap their jaws just to hear themselves talk.

5.  John Wayne is king, ruler, chief, icon, super hero, and the last real man to have set foot on this earth.

4.  The world is full of opinions; yours is the one that matters most.

3.  There are a lot of idiot boys my age.

2.  If you can't look yourself in the eye standing in front of the mirror, you better fix the reason why.

1.  No matter what—you are loved.  (Unless, of course, the salt and pepper doesn't make it to the table.)

(A poem by Stefanie written several years ago)

 "Father, Dear Father"

My father is my friend.  He’s with me to the end.  He loves me good or bad.  He loves me and I’m glad to call him father, dear father. Father is a noble name and I’d never bring it shame. “Honor father,” scriptures say.  Showing honor is the way to love my father, dear father. Tiny baby in his hands full of needs and more demands.  Daddy meets them all with care. No complaint and burden bear, He is my father, dear father.  Now I marry and will leave the one dear man that means to me more than words can ever say to him my love this Father’s Day.

And now for a lighter side: (by Gary, purely for entertainment)

Gary, Shogo, Hiromi, Elica,
 and Lanny 

A chauvinistic attempt at humor with a couple of witty repartees involving our foremost ancestors, Adam and Eve.

Q: What did Adam say on the day before Christmas?

A: It’s Christmas, Eve!

Okay, okay, I’m just warming up.  Here comes the good stuff.

Q: Why was Adam created first?

A: To give him a chance to say something.

And for an encore:

Q: Why did God create man before woman?

A: Because He didn’t want any advice!

LANNY'S FATHER, GRANDFATHERS AND GREAT GRANDFATHER

(Carl Henry Starr, by Lanny Starr)

He and all four of his sons have served their country in the United States Army.   He left Mom home with two children when he was called to serve in the military during the 2^nd word war. I can remember seeing him come home up the hill with his duffel bag over his shoulder.

He served as mayor of the town he lived in and also served as a town board member for several years.  He was president of the Grain Millers Union at the Sugar Beet factory for several years and after that was secretary for the union for many years.  He attended several labor negotiations in Salt Lake City, Utah and Boise, Idaho.

He felt he should have something for his boys to do as they grew up so he bought 14 acres of land and planted it in hay.  They learned to run the tractor and work the ground and haul hay. Dad worked shift work during the sugar beet campaigns. I can remember him waking up to go to work on midnight shift. It was sometimes very cold with a blizzard blowing outside. Dad would be full of cold, but he would never complain and would pull his shift.

Years later just a short time before he died, I was talking to him on the phone, doing my best to tell him how much I appreciated how hard he had worked to give us a good life. His response was “I Just Wish I could do it All Over Again”.

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Lanny's grandfather:  Henry Luke Starr also known as Luke Polk Arnett was born Feb 1, 1892 in Sulphur City, Arkansas, to John Douglas Arnett and Alice Bains Fancher.  He spent his early childhood in Arkansas with his four siblings, Sue, Gyp, Mary and Loma.

He had a great love for his grandfather James Polk Fancher.  His grandfather sent him a dollar on his birthday every year after he left home for several years.

“He came to Plymouth a handsome young boy, wooed and wed a lovely young girl and together they built a life . . .  Life wasn’t easy for him.  He worked hard all his life, earning his living from the time he was fourteen years old.  He knew what it was to work long hours on the old threshing machine, or in the hay field. . .  His word was as good as his bond, and he was trusted by all who knew him. 

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(Taken from Geni.com) Lanny's great grandfather: James Knox Polk Fancher was born 13 October 1842
 in Carroll County, Arkansas and lived practically all his life in that state. He came of pioneer stock, his parents being James Fancher and Elizabeth Carlock Fancher, who emigrated from Tennessee to Arkansas about 
1838 and reared a large family, of which he was the 10th child. On July 2, 1869, he married Susan Eliza Crump, connected with a prominent Kentucky family, rearing a family of five children.

He acquired his early education in one of the 

old-time log school houses of Carroll Co., with its 

puncheon benches and floor. He joined the Confederate Army as a 

member of Company E, First Battalion, and participated in the Battle 

of Pea Ridge and other important engagements. Later with his

command he went east of the Mississippi and participated in the Battle

of Corinth. He was made sergeant and served for four and a half 

years.

When the war was over, he returned to his home and located on the father's farm, where he remained until 1872. In that year he was 
elected County Clerk of Carroll Co., for a four-year term. In 1876 he 
was a member of the State Legislature and later was in the government service under the Cleveland administration, being made a member of a Commission to investigate Indian claims. He served again as County 
Clerk of Carroll County from 1892 to 1898. In 1920 he was elected 
County Judge of Carroll Co., serving for two terms. He was exceedingly popular, possessed of a pleasant personality.

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Lanny's grandfather on his mother's side:

Elmer Bryce Hopkins

In 1955 he went back to Kentucky, his native home state with his daughter and her husband and his grandson.  They traveled to the Hoosier State and attended the family reunion in Marion, Indiana.  After fifty years he was reunited with his own family.  He described the happy feelings he felt were beyond description.

He became custodian of the Box Elder LDS tabernacle in Brigham City and held that job for over twenty years until he retired.

He and his family enjoyed doing things together.  Every summer they 
took a trip in their Model T Ford.