Leonard Downing Downing

After graduation I continued full time in commercial sound and part time DJ activities. From the spring of 1970 to the spring of 1972 I served a mission among Northern Midwest Indian Tribes for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The transition from Phoenix to the Cheyanne River Indian Reservation was a huge culture shock to me.

Upon returning to Phoenix, I worked installing cable television in Fountain Hills, AZ. while attending Phoenix College until the summer of 73 when I moved to Provo, Utah where I worked as a full scale accounting bookkeeper for a downtown business, until transitioning into BYU Food Services, training under a German Master to become a chef of the culinary arts.

Now, married with three children, in 1980 we moved to Oregon where I sold Insurance, managed a dairy farm and became a journeyman baker while studying to become a locksmith and door hardware consultant.

I gave a good effort working for myself for 12 years in locksmithing, but after a massive heart attack with a near death experience and major transformational life changes, I really prospered, working for others, free of management duties, continuing training, and achieving Master Locksmith. The joy of my work was taking a project from board room and design, to architect, and onto completion. I loved the variety of projects, including schools, colleges, cities, police departments, huge estates, high tech campuses, churches, manufacturing, even a cruise ship, and a pro ball locker room. I learned to open just about anything. The stories are endless.

I loved living and working in the Willamette Valley, Oregon for 35 years, but in November 2015, we retired in American Fork Utah, about 20 minutes away from six of our nine children. The other three are scattered from North Pole, Alaska to, Peoria, Arizona, and Beaverton, Oregon. Our 24th Grand child was born in North Pole, Alaska.

I love my neighbors in our 55 and older Granite View Estates Community. My main hobby involves sound and electronics, helping neighbors, and upgrading our theater/sound room. Elizabeth and I keep busy, ministering and serving in church. We are also serving the community as directors of the American Fork FamilySearch Center with about 109 volunteers, serving about 800-900 patrons each month.

My most miserable, insecure, frustrating year was 1965. Mrs. Carpenter hated my stuttering, speech blocking, and especially my avoidance of speaking. I tried to get out of her class all year with no success. It was a perfect year of English class, failing grades restored by summer school redemption with A and B grades. So yes I knew the lessons, but she hated me. Who cares? I moved on.

Sophomore year was a salvaged disaster. My electives were photography and typing. I developed an acute allergy to the photo chemicals and you cannot type with bandages on all your fingers! The only 2 alternatives were another go around with Mrs. Carpenter (NO WAY) or Home Economics - cooking. "Spike" Jones and I pioneered guys in Home EC classes with special district approval. It was good. We did not get beat up and we took the teasing as a badge of honor.

I was seen often with my friend Connie Marshall. I also hung out with Glen Fisher or my cousin, Sabra Olney who ended up marrying Glen (Still going strong!).

My Junior and Senior years were filled with my interest in electronics and music psychology. I designed and built speakers, built a solid state amplifier from a kit, played music for dances and corporate parties while working part time as a commercial sound installation technician through the vocational education program.

Some of my favorite teachers were Mr. Wright for Algebra-so caring, encouraging, and kind, Mr. Maggiacoma for History-so energetic and interesting, Mr (wish I could remember-looked and sounded like Alfred Hitchcock) for Geometry-mentor and most used math in life, and Mr F? for Literature-I loved to hear him read and he influenced me to convert thoughts to paper.

Crushes: Mona Abdoo and Sherry Peterson - there is no explanation - Their infectious smiles just messed with my head! Why would I even admit this? FUNNY! - just way past the ridicule or embarrassment or fear or caring what people might think! . . . and it is FUNNY!