Young Elder Sparks

Bill was so happy teaching the Gospel in Germany/Switzerland. I know he is being a great missionary in Heaven. I wish I could take a peek and see him working his magic and charm in the spirit world. He really could talk to anyone. It was one of his blessings.

My silly brother

Notice that oma is in the background cooking. Bill probably just tooted or something.....why else the funny face?????????????????

True Love

This is the moment that Taylor was referring to in his last post. All he needed was his Lisa and life was good again. Thank you Mom and Dad for showing me what true love really looks like.

This is what life is all about....enjoying every moment we have together and then spending the rest of our lives reminiscing. I love you daddy.

you're never too old to do goofy stuff.

I was going through my old phone and found a couple of images I hadn't seen in a long time.

Here's one of the old man being devious. He was always up to something. Armed with his sweatshirt which read "You're never too old to do goofy stuff" dad would wander down the hall and do his witch cackle and threaten Alicia with swirlies, threaten her boyfriend with buckshot from his shotgun, tell David he was gonna put him on salt peter and tell Andy openly that he was not OK with homo's being in his living room. Then as mysteriously as he'd appeared he hobble away again only to return once he'd thought of another good one or two liner.


Here's dad in the hospital getting "the good stuff." He was so happy to be drinking again, and we even smuggled the man the occasional coke. I am so grateful for the months I had to say goodbye to him each night as I came home from work. I was amazed at the cards and letters, gifts, pictures, books, music and treats that people would leave for him. One of my favorites was when mom was visiting him in the hospital and he wanted to go home so badly (like always) and when he finally realized that he wasn't going to be able to go home he scooched his buns clear to the side of the hospital bed and asked my mom "Tanner, you comin to bed?" We are so lucky we had that time to let go and to say our last goodbyes.

Memories.....by mom from Billy

Bill and Jeff Beals went fishing and they came home with a Icechest full of trouts....I old them that was a great catch .What did you use for a bait......Well uh we found them in some bodys ICECHEST..........WE HAD FUN EATING THEM......
Bill bought himself a nice Wolkswagen Paid for it and had his own insurance on it.He worked for Alpha Beta Grocery store and got the Loan and insurance thrugh the company.That was his
pride and joy.He never let us drive it ........except when his Tank was empty.He knew I was going to put gas in it.After a few times I put only a few Dollars worth in it..He still let me drive it when it was low on gas.That CAR had to be sold when he deceidet to go on a Mission .He learned a great lesson from that.

Bill and Lisa

Bill loved Lisa so much. I love this picture of them at the Mesa Arizona Temple. They are sweethearts.

I confess

This is a picture of me in my buggy. Apparently we three Sparks kids shared this one. Bill insisted he had memories of me leaning over his crib/buggy and poking him. I know Bill had a wild memory chip and liked to "embellish" the truth so I never believed this particular story. Gee was I feeling bad when my mother told me the other day that I REALLY did do the poking in the crib thing. Sorry Billy.

A Sisters view of Billy Willy Dinky

First of all if my 76 year old mother could figure out how to get on this blog thingie then shame on me for not trying!!!! I was looking at a picture of my brother feeling sad and lonely and how much I missed him and then...................I started laughing. I looked at his funky eyebrows and nose and thought of how much we look alike and how he HATED it when people pointed that out. Not that he didnt love me, he just thought I looked strange. Now you Sparks kids think you got all the tricks pulled on you from your dear dad....hahaha. I was the original experiment of his evil plots! Yes the good ole days of him hiding under my bed and waiting until I fell asleep and then jumping out to scare the pee pee out of me . Or the time he would run in my room, smile, fart and then run. (In that order) I was the one that had my lovely pillows farted on, my arms pinned back so that he could direct his spit over my face, my silverware and glassware licked clean before I used it. Just a side note here......Bill and I used to fight over who could set the table. You see the winner would lick the plate etc of the loser. I dont think my mom ever caught on to that one. She was just happy to have someone set the table. Oh yes the memories are coming back to me now. He would scare away boyfriends with things like....oh do you know my sister has a MOLE on her butt, or do you know my sister picks her face or something else that would embarress me. No wonder he never wanted to bring any girlfriends home! He knew the wrath of his sisters would get him. Of course Barbara was the favorite one. He was not as mean to her as he was to me. I suppose it was due to the fact that I was perhaps a bit mean to him. I love my brother. He made growing up so fun and interesting and a real adventure.
Stay tuned for more memories...................................

Oma and Opa
Hello to all of you Children , Grandchildren and Greatgrandchildren.I finally found out how to log on.Hope this works.Thanks to all of you for all th nice stories and pictures.I dont know how to put pictures on ,I will keep trying.Maybe Lindsay will show me howHugs to all of you.Oma

What Is This Thing That Men Call Death

What is this thing that men call death,
This quiet passing in the night?
'Tis not the end, but genesis
Of better worlds and greater light.

O God, touch thou my aching heart,
And calm my troubled, haunting fears.
Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure,
Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is no death, but only change,
With recompense for vict'ry won.
The gift of him who loved all men,
The Son of God, the Holy One.


Thank you President Hinckley for these sweet comforting words!

Mission Beginnings

As we have written many times now, Dad was an amazing missionary. But I don't think we have mentioned yet what a miracle it was that he ended up on a mission in the first place. Dad had somewhat of a wild youth...to say the least. Let's just say dad did a lot of experimenting during his teenage years, culminating in a short stay in the Los Angelos jail system for "joy-riding" a car that he may or may not have owned. His parents let him serve the jail time hoping to scare him back onto the straight and narrow. It worked.


Dad came out of the experience determined to do something with his life. By the time he was 19 years old he was undecided on whether to join the military and pursue a career in the armed services like his father or to serve a full time mission.


One day as he was out surfing he felt something brush up against his leg. He had paddled out away from the shore quite a distance and at that moment he was absolutely certain that the "thing" in the water with him was a shark. He quickly pulled his arms and legs up onto the board and balanced as carefully as he could hoping to keep any delicious parts of him out of the shark's interest.



In that precarious moment as he sat hoping not to be eaten, he began to pray. He pleaded with the Lord to preserve his life and promised that if he was saved, he would serve a mission and be the best missionary he could be. Just as this sincere prayer came to a close, the "thing" in the water surfaced. Dad's fears instantly dissapated as he looked up to the sky and said, "Never mind, Lord, it was just a Dolphin".



It wasn't until the ride home that understanding dawned on him. He went home and filled out paperwork to serve a full time mission. He never overlooked the Lord's intervening hand in his life again.