We couldn't figure out where they disappeared to

Yesterday I got this text from my sister Peggy....


So then I thought....uh, 
Do I remember seeing this article about our Dad in the Ensign? 

It was in 1991. We were in the throes of parenting, barely coming 
up from air to know what anyone else was doing. 

I think my parents casually mentioned it to me back then. 

Anyway, I thought I'd look it up, and actually read it today. 

January 1991 issue
"For some people, running a 26-mile marathon just isn’t enough of a challenge. 
Sixty-year-old Dick Rozier, a high priest in the Fresno Eighth Ward, Fresno 
California Stake, is such a man. Brother Rozier knows something about enduring 
to the end. “Enduring to the end,” in this case, means running for more than 
one hundred miles within a 24-hour period.
Brother Rozier, a veteran marathon runner with twelve Boston Marathons behind 
him, is a proven ultra-distance runner. Most races have a set distance over 
which runners try to make the best time. In this particular type of ultra-run, 
however, the contestants run as far as they can in twenty-four hours. On 
November 18 and 19, 1989, Dick set a U.S. record for endurance running in his 
age group when he won the Sri Chinmoy 24-Hour Race, covering 139 miles and 
400 yards.

The record Dick Rozier broke was 134 miles and 194 yards, held by a 
Frenchman. The former American record was 131 miles, 440 yards.
“It was a weird experience,” says Brother Rozier of the record run. “I didn’t 
think I could do it, but I just kept going and going.” The run began at 8:00 A.M.
and by midnight, sixteen hours into the event, he had covered one hundred 
miles. His only trouble came after nineteen hours into the event, when leg 
cramping forced him to take a ten-minute break for a massage. At twenty-three 
hours into the run, Dick broke the record and ran four more miles to complete 
the twenty-fourth hour.
A father of eight and a grandfather of fifteen, Brother Rozier is “in better shape 
than most of us,” declares his son Richard. “Mom and Dad are both great 
examples of endurance and determination.” Dick serves as the activities 
committee chairman for the Fresno Twenty-fourth (Laotian) Branch, where his 
wife, Gaynor, serves as Relief Society president."

And now it's 2017 and 26 years later...

Last Thursday we took Dad and Susan out for their 
10 year anniversary dinner. 

The plan was to pick them up at 4pm, 
but when we rang their doorbell no one answered
and their house was all dark. 


Where were they??

I told Den, "But the garage door is open. 
And the car is open too."


A bit alarmed, Den walked over to the garage, up to the open 
van, and saw them both in, with seat belts on, and ready to 
go. Just waiting for our arrival. 

She is efficient, and he, does not like to miss a meal. 
Dad and Susan make quite the team. 


They chose to order together, and then split it, 
like they always do.

I told the waitress it was their anniversary,
and just as I had hoped, 
she brought them out a dessert to share, too. 

My siblings and I talk amongst ourselves about Dad and 
Susan, and the tough life they have these days. 

Yet, when we come over to visit they act happy,
 and are always so interested in what we are doing. 

Every time I walk out their door to go home again, 
I am in awe by them.



6 comments:

Nate and Julie said...

Thank for sharing this! I didn't know about the Ensign article either. And I had forgotten that we share our wedding year. Our tenth anniversary was in May. :)

Grandma Honey said...

I was so excited to see your comment Julie!

Robin said...

Congratulations Dad and Susan!! Your 10 years together has been a great example and a great BLESSING to us all!!!!

Grandma Honey said...

I SO agree!!

grandmapeg said...

Jill, I am 99% sure you told me about this Ensign article years ago. I am in awe how much your Dad and Susan still have the energy to do all that they do! Thanks for sharing. What an inspiring post!

Grandma Honey said...

And you are CORRECT! I notice after I wrote this, it's on my blog from 2009....I didn't think anyone would remember. But you have a memory like no one else! Plus you've been reading longer than anyone too, I think.

Look what happened last night

  Just a little pre-graduating gathering for our DIL Amy.... Not everyday a Mom of 7 and a Grandma of 7, graduates from college. It was not ...