J.R. Gephart
Jean
Rood Gephart was born in his parents' home in Chandler, Arizona on June 28,
1925. He joined his parents John Shurbun
Gephart and Elsie Marie Rood Gephart and a five-year-old brother, John Shurbun,
Junior -- our Uncle Jack. The family
dairy farm and ranch was on the northwest corner of Val Vista and Queen Creek
Roads in what is now Gilbert. Grandpa
loved everything about the farm -- except milking the cows. Morning and evening, every day, Grandpa hated
milking those cows.
When
the milking was finally done, Grandpa got to do the things he loved around the
farm. He raised pigs beginning at the
age of 5. About that same time his dad
taught him to drive the tractors to help with planting and harvesting, and he was
hooked. He rushed home after school
every day because he loved working the land with his dad. He lived there on the farm until he was
drafted into the Navy during WWII.
Grandpa
loved hunting from the time he was a young boy.
He would take off on his horse after farm chores were done and hunt
rabbits down near the San Tan Mountains.
He bought his first .22 himself and had it until after he was
married.
During
Grandpa's junior year of high school in 1942, the Army Air Corps visited some
high schools in the area and recruited juniors and seniors to work on the
airplanes at Williams Field in the afternoons after school. Grandpa had loved airplanes since the first
time he saw one fly overhead as he stood in a field. He built model airplanes and carved airplanes
out of wood, and when the opportunity came to work on the real thing, he
immediately volunteered for the Air Corps duty and worked all summer and
through the next year. After graduating
from high school that same year, Grandma -- Nelda -- started working at the
base as well. They worked together quite
a bit, and soon Grandpa was giving Grandma rides home at the end of their
shifts. Then in May 1944, Grandpa asked
Grandma for their first date. She
accepted and they set a date for the following Friday. They had their first date at Encanto Park in
Phoenix, even though Grandpa had missed work that day. He'd been stung on the face by a bee and had
one eye completely swollen shut and the other partway there, but he wasn't
about to miss that first date with Nelda.
Grandpa
received his draft notice from the Navy that same day, so he and Grandma dated
for the three weeks until he had to report to basic training. He had tried to enlist in the Army Air Corps
to become a pilot, but they turned him away because he was too skinny. They told him to "eat a lot of
bananas" and get his weight up and come try again, but the Navy called for
him before he got the chance. He was
stationed in Nevada where he worked on Navy planes for his two years of service
as an Aviation Machinist Mate 1st Class in Carrier Air Service Unit 54. Grandma and Grandpa continued their
courtship during that time through letters and saw each other when Grandpa came
home on weekend passes.
When
Grandpa was honorably discharged from the Navy in July 1946, he returned to
work at Williams Field. Grandma was
still working there as well, and they continued their courtship. Grandpa asked Grandma to marry him, but she felt
that couldn't accept because he wasn't a member of the LDS church at the
time. He began asking her regularly to
marry him, and a year later she finally said yes after she made sure she could
raise the kids in the church. They were
married on September 19, 1947 in Globe, Arizona, with Grandma's sister and
Grandpa's best friend present at the ceremony.
They honeymooned on the Mogollon Rim, where they would later spend much
of the summers during their retirement years.
Grandpa
took a job working on heavy equipment at International Harvester's proving
grounds near South Mountain, and with the income from this job they bought
their home in Chandler. Grandpa lived
the rest of his life in that home at 655 East Flint Street in Chandler,
Arizona. Grandma and Grandpa welcomed
their first son, Robert Dale, in 1949, daughter Linda Jeanne in 1952, and the baby,
John David, in 1960.
Through
the example of his faithful wife, Grandpa was converted to the gospel of Jesus
Christ and was baptized in 1957. His family was sealed in the Mesa, Arizona
Temple in 1968.
Grandpa
was always faithful to the church after his baptism. He was known for his willingness to serve and
for always paying an honest tithe. He
also earned a reputation for diligence and hard work in his church callings. He
said that if a job couldn't be done correctly and on time, it wasn't worth
doing.
Throughout
his life, Grandpa never lost his love of airplanes. After getting his Veterans Benefits he went
to flight school and got his pilot's license.
He flew out of Casa Grande and worked for a search and rescue team
there. He later renewed his pilot's
license and he and his son-in-law -- my dad -- bought a plane so they could fly
together.
Grandpa
was always a cowboy at heart. He was at
home on horseback from his earliest days.
He loved to hunt and fish -- though he loved hunting more because he was
better at it. He collected guns and
hand-made leather scabbards for his favorites.
He hunted all over Arizona and took nine of the "Arizona Big
Ten" game animals. He loved sharing
his love of shooting for sport and for the hunt with his children,
grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
If you wanted to spend some time with Grandpa, all you had to do was
call and ask if he would take you shooting.
He'd have the truck loaded and pick you up in 20 minutes and head out to
the shooting range or just somewhere in the desert he knew about.
Grandpa
had a deep love for this country. He and
Grandma set out to see all 50 states after his retirement from International
Harvester in 1981, after 34 years with the company. Grandma and Grandpa had a travel trailer they
towed all across the country with a couple of good friends, doing family
history work and visiting historical sites along the way. In 1987 he joined the Commemorative Air Force
-- the CAF -- and visited many more places on tours with his beloved B-17, the
Sentimental Journey. He served as wing
leader of the CAF's Arizona Wing for seven years, and many of the members there
became dear friends of his and Grandma's.
By
2006 Grandpa had visited 49 states -- every one but Hawaii. His granddaughter Cambree was living on Oahu
by then, so in May 2006 we took Grandma and Grandpa to visit her and he checked
the 50th state off his list.
Grandpa
loved this whole country, but home was always his favorite. He was born and raised here and he loved
Arizona. A few years ago he and Grandma
traveled to Washington DC and Virginia to visit my little family, and in the
course of their visit we took them out to the Shenandoah Valley. We pulled off at an overlook and got out to
see the valley and the river below, and Grandpa told us it was the SECOND most beautiful country he had
ever seen. Nothing could beat Arizona
for him.
He
was a farm boy, Navy man, hunter, horseman, pilot, patriot; a husband, father
and grandfather. To me he epitomized the
greatest generation -- he was a man of quiet strength, but when action was
required -- he could do anything.
He
accomplished so many things in his life, but the thing he cherished most was
his family. He was proud of the family
from which he came and the legacy of faithfulness and service he left to his
three children, eight grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren. Most of all he adored his sweet wife of 63
years, my amazing Grandma, Nelda.
Grandpa
went home on June 26, 2011, two days shy of his 86th birthday. A few years ago Grandpa told me that he was
looking forward to meeting his father again and getting to know him as a man. I am confident that there was great rejoicing
in heaven that day earlier this week when this good and faithful man returned
to his parents. I am so grateful for the
gospel of Jesus Christ that confirms to me that he is there and he is happy,
and that through the Savior we will all be able to be with Grandpa again.
