Marshall &Kay Family Histories
1981 - 1984
B.Vaughn Marshall
Home Teacher
Once again Vaughn experienced the joy of being a witness as he watched his oldest daughter marry her husband in the Oakland Temple. It was a lovely sealing and a beautiful reception. Just a word here about why it was such a beautiful reception. There was a sister in our ward that had an outstanding reputation as a decorator and earned her money doing that. Vaughn had been her home teacher for quite a while and she thought so much of him. This was the reason. Her husband was not a member but Vaughn made an effort to always extend his friendship to them both. She appreciated that Vaughn just always accepted him for who he was and did not try to push religion on him as others had done. She said her husband felt comfortable with Vaughn and liked having him come to the house for that reason. Vaughn was always a really good and faithful home teacher. He just never missed seeing his families and he always had something to share with them. This seemed like a good place to mention that patient, caring quality, which he had. It was simply the way Vaughn was. Anyway, this sister knew mother was dying and that we hadn’t even had a chance to think about a reception. She told Vaughn not to think about it. She was going to take care of it all and she did. To this day I have no idea what it may have cost her but the cultural hall was absolutely gorgeous. There were plants and flowers everywhere. There was a real waterfall built in the center of the hall. The whole thing was like a beautiful garden. It was more than we could have ever done on our own.
TUMOR
About July of 1983 I took our fourth daughter to see the doctor because her knee kept hurting so much. X-Rays showed a massive tumor growing inside the large bone of her upper left leg. She had an emergency arteriogram which showed a very large blood supply feeding the tumor. It was not a good sign. She was put on crutches right away and surgery was scheduled. The doctor had made arrangements with a surgeon who specialized in amputations to be available and we were told of his concern that the tumor was malignant. Vaughn gave her a special priesthood blessing.
The doctor found that the tumor was benign and he managed to remove it all. That in itself was a miracle because the tumor had eaten away at the bone so much that it was now eggshell thin. The doctor told us that the type of tumor he found was not only benign but was a type that would be the least likely to recur. (Exactly as Vaughn said in the blessing.) Apparently, many benign tumors have a tendency to recur. There was a great danger that the least pressure would cause what was left of the bone to fracture and then the bone could not be repaired. So our daughter spent more months on crutches while she waited for the second surgery. The bone had to heal before the doctor could operate to fill the hollow area of the bone with a special plastic. Then she spent a few more months on crutches. Vaughn and I always felt that Heavenly Father gave us and Diane a miracle.
DAD
During this time Vaughn’s dad(William Elias Marshall) wasn’t feeling well at all. Understanding what the problem was became complicated because it had become very obvious that he had Alzheimer’s. He was confused a lot and didn’t want to see a doctor. Bill’s confusion also caused problems between he and Vaughn’s mom. It was often necessary for Vaughn to help them overcome their hurt feelings with each other. We all encouraged Bill to see a doctor and he finally did. The doctor placed him in the hospital “for tests” without a positive diagnosis but he let us know that he probably had cancer and didn’t have long to live. That was a kind thing of the doctor to do because the insurance would not have covered the expense otherwise. It was a difficult time for Vaughn again, saying good by to his father and accepting full responsibility for his mom now. Bill passed away in December of 1983.
MOM'S MOVE AND DECISIONS
Vaughn’s mother moved into our home a couple of weeks before his dad passed away. Now began a time that Vaughn had to make many important decisions. Just when he thought he might have time to finish his novel, he needed to spend a great deal of time planning and making some decisions that would affect both our future and his mother’s future. My mother had left us a little money when she passed away and Vaughn recognized that it was important to invest it safely someplace where it would increase in value. It looked as though he might be able to retire a little early. He hoped to’ make it’ for four more years, the time the twins would graduate from high school. He began to study the market in earnest and also pray so that he could make wise decisions. I felt that he was being guided by our Heavenly as he made these decisions. It seemed to us that the Lord had certainly blessed us financially. By the time his dad passed away, Vaughn was beginning to feel more comfortable about the investing decisions he’d made. He suggested to his mother that it might be better if she were to sell her rental property and home and invest the money. The investment would earn her a better yearly income than the property and it would relieve him of the physical work of keeping the property in good repair. She agreed that, that was a good idea. Vaughn spent many hours trying to get the property ready to sell. It was very tiring and stressful for him. He did many repairs and the rest of the family helped with painting and cleaning. There was a great deal that needed to be done to the yards. Vaughn spent a lot of time planning the landscaping. We all helped with one thing or another but Vaughn did the major part of the work. He put in some new cement walkways and then put in new plants and groundcover. The yards really looked lovely when he finished. The property sold very quickly then when he placed it on the market.
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