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I applied to BYU and was excited to be accepted. I majored in Applied Music the first year. I also thought a lot about what I would do with that major when I graduated. I didn’t like the prospect of performing in night clubs where there was smoking and drinking. I did not want to be around those kinds of negative influences. I changed to Elementary Education. I did well and enjoyed my classes tremendously. Looking back, it was the best decision I ever made because it prepared me to become a better mother.

The summer of my freshman year I worked as a waitress at a coffee shop in Beaverton, Oregon. I liked schmoozing with people and listening to their problems. I did not especially like serving coffee. I could not stand the smell of it but always thought of that paycheck. I felt at ease talking and interacting with adults.

The late 1960’s was the era of mini-skirts. I had been forbidden to wear them in high school. My step-mother (bless her heart) used to touch the back of my knee to see if my skirt was long enough. Otherwise I had to wear a different skirt that was longer. I obeyed. When I went to college my skirts became shorter and shorter because nobody was measuring behind my knee. I rebelled a little. I never was into the extreme mini-skirts but my skirts were short. (Two to three inches above the knee)

The second and third summers I worked at a discount super store. The first summer I worked as a checker and the last summer in the paint department. (I felt so qualified. Not!) I had to pretend I knew more than I did about paint. That last summer I met Frank Reuben Marchant at M-Men and Gleaners. He was tall, dark and handsome. Our first date was tennis. Boy did he have a killer serve. Even though he won the match I still accepted a second date and saw him every day through the summer. He asked me to marry him at the Oregon Coast on a singles bus excursion.