Life History of DuWayne G. Squire - Boating & Testimony

 I have left out the section on the rest of DuWayne's posterity as we are all still alive and probably should not list all of his children and their spouses and grandchildren due to identity security.  Therefore, I am jumping to some final thoughts of Dad's in regards to the boat.  We had the boat before my memories began. I have a pure love of the old blue boat and the wonderful memories that were formed surrounding it. I even remember being laid down in the bow of the boat to take naps on a mattress formed from orange life vests. The boat definitely anchored our family and bonded us together.

DuWayne Waterskiing at the age of 77. He could probably still waterski today at the age of 86, but he sold the boat this year.  He did ski up until age 84.  I never knew anyone that could flow in and out of the wake and ski for 15-20 minutes at a time. It was pure joy for all of us to see him out there. No one could drive the boat better for him than his sweet wife.

In 1967 we decided to get a boat for our family recreation. I found a boat that would be great for fishing and was large enough to pull a water skier and so I put a holding deposit on it. When I took Helen to view the boat, she took one look at it and said, “Just one cotton-picking minute. If we are getting a boat I want it big enough to hold the whole family; I don’t intend to be stuck on the beach in the hot sun all day while someone is out water skiing.” I will ever be grateful that Helen spoke up because I, too, preferred a larger boat, but I was trying to be conservative and was afraid I would get some resistance if I spent the extra money for a larger boat.

I had made the deposit on an outboard boat being manufactured by Gulfstream Boat Company and so I went in to their factory to talk to them. Gulfstream had only been in business a year or so and when I went into their factory they had a newly designed boat, the first one of its design for 1968, which was nearly completed. I asked the price and they quoted me $3500 for the boat and a nice trailer. That sounded like a good price and so I asked if they would transfer my deposit onto that boat, which they did without any hassle! This boat had an inboard-outboard 160 hp Chevrolet 6 cylinder motor and was 192 feet long, just perfect for our family needs, with plenty of power and size. I must admit that Helen and I both think that was the best $3500 we had ever spent.

Our whole family has loved the hundreds of outings we have taken that boat on. We have taken many annual trips to Lake Powell, to Flaming Gorge, and to Bear Lake along with hundreds of trips to Willard Bay, Pineview Reservoir, Echo Reservoir, Utah Lake, Yuba Dam, Deer Creek Reservoir and Wanship Reservoir. We have also been to a few other lakes and reservoirs in Utah and Idaho. Helen and I, along with each of our children, have learned how to water ski, first on two skis and then to slalom on one ski. I might add that we especially loved going to Lake Powell. We have many fond memories of camping along the shores and have even held sacrament services and testimony meetings on one or two of these outings, which seemed to draw our family closer together.

We had the privilege of taking Helen’s Dad and Mother to Lake Powell and even though her Dad had trouble walking he insisted on walking the mile or more to the foot of Rainbow Bridge. They were real sports in roughing it out with us and seemed to enjoy every moment of the trip on the lake.

Not only was the boat a blessing to our family but it was to our whole ward and stake. I have taken the Scouts and Explorers on dozens of trips to Lake Powell and to Flaming Gorge. We have taken the boat on many ward outings to Bear Lake and to Hyrum Reservoir. We have taken ward youth (both boys and girls) on many outings to these lakes. Hundreds of the Bountiful Twenty-fourth Ward’s youth have learned how to water ski behind our boat. When some of them got married they told me that the first time they could afford it a boat was top priority because of the great experiences they had on our trips.

I must admit that our boat, water skis, and life jackets were damaged and abused much more from youth not of our family than from our family. I don’t regret that at all because I feel their friendship and memories are worth far more than was the cost of repair and replacement. For instance, on one occasion, Dave Haygood, one of the Explorer leaders, was skiing behind my boat around Lone Rock in Lake Powell and he wasn’t too adept in doing so and as I made a pass driving toward Lone Rock he thought I was much closer than I was and fearing that he would crash into Lone Rock he let go and took one of the greatest tumbles I have ever seen. In doing so he tore one of my nice water skiing jackets in half. The laugh I had brought tears to my eyes and it was well worth the cost of a new ski jacket.

The older young men who were learning to waterski were by far the hardest on the ski equipment and on the boat seats. They were big and very clumsy and as a result tore off the foot bindings on the water skis and tore up the jackets as they kept falling, etc. It was always a relief when they finally learned to ski.

Just before Helen and I went on our mission to the Virginia Richmond Mission in January 2002, I sold our boat to Kim and Nancy and they have kept it busy each summer since. I bought another Gulfstream boat a year or so older than the one I sold to Kim and Nancy. It belonged to Bish and Tom Horne and hadn’t been used for about twenty years and so I thought it ought to be like new, almost! Not so; they hadn’t serviced it and taken care of it like I did my boat. I found it had been put away with water in the outdrive foot and had some other problems. As a result, it kept me out of mischief for several days while I overhauled it. We did have it out the summer of 2004 and Tom, Verlynn, and I had a wonderful day water skiing on smooth water on Pineview Reservoir.

A month or so before we took my boat to Pineview, I was invited to go with Kim and Nancy to Echo Reservoir and I had a good ski run while there with them. M.J. and Joan also have a boat and we have met up and had our boats out on the lake together. Sheralee and John also had a boat for several years, so I know that the fun times we had together as a family meant a lot to all of them.

I know that my remarks are brief concerning my family, and that is by design since I have been keeping a journal in which I have expressed my feelings in detail. I also hope that each of my family members are following the Prophet’s admonition and are keeping their daily journals wherein greater detail of their life’s history will be recorded.

In closing, I would like to bear my testimony to my family and to anyone else who may read this history, either by design or by chance.

I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world and of the earth and all that live thereon. He is the Only Begotten Son of God and, as such, has atoned for all the sins of mankind. All that is required for each of us to enjoy the fruits of His atonement is to truly repent and come unto Him with broken hearts and contrite spirits.

I know that Joseph Smith, Jr., is the latter-day prophet called to restore the gospel and the keys of the kingdom of God and that they will never be taken from the earth again.

I know that we have had a succession of living prophets at the head of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Joseph Smith, Jr., to our present prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley.

I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and through prayerfully studying it, we can draw closer to our Father in Heaven and to Jesus Christ than we can through the study of any other scripture available to us today. It is written with a promise, and I have put Moroni 10:4 to the test and have received a personal witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

I also love the Bible, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. I have learned much from each of these scriptures and have been spiritually edified on numerous occasions as I have read and studied them.

I have a witness that the Holy Ghost is real for I have been moved by his promptings on many occasions. I cannot say that I have ever heard a voice speak to my physical hearing, but I have heard the still, small voice prompting my conscience on many, many occasions. While at BYU, I have had the Holy Ghost open my mind with revelations of books and notes which I had previously read and studied. They were so visible that I could read from them and actually turn the pages in my mind. While serving as bishop, the promptings of the Holy Ghost became so automatic that on several occasions I began to think that I was very smart and full of wisdom. When that occurred, I could always depend on a humbling experience which left no doubt in my mind as to where the intelligence and wisdom was coming from. How thrilling it was to have the Lord give me a person’s name for a position or give me the perfect answer or counsel to give someone who had come in for repentance or counseling. On many occasions, I have been blessed to give someone a blessing containing information for afflictions and problems which only the person and the Lord had knowledge of. How humbling and, I might add, terrifying it is to realize that you have acted as the Lord’s mouthpiece.

I love the Lord, Jesus Christ, I love my Father in Heaven, I love the gospel and the scriptures, and I love my family. To these things I bear my humble witness in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, Amen.