How I Met My Wife

I am frequently asked how I met my wife, Daniele. I met her, for the first time, while I was serving a mission in France. I had just been transferred back to Angouleme in the spring of 1974. The second day that I was there, there was a baptism taking place and it turned out to be Daniele's baptism. Like I said, this was my second stint in this town and I think that I had actually seen her once the year before. During the next few months, I got to know her somewhat through a mutual friend that I had made the year before. Of course, being a missionary, the friendship was just that. I was, however, very impressed by her mannerisms and even thought that I'd like to date her someday. Of course, that, at the time, was just wishful thinking because France was a long way from home and I didn't think I'd ever go back after my mission. I invited her and her friend to come visit me some day and after I returned home, we wrote each other from time to time. I dated several girls after I got home but none of them went anywhere. I thought more and more about Daniele, however, and I kept wondering if I could ever really see her again. A friend of mine, who worked with me at the San Pedro Hospital, (I was working as a Pharmacist assistant) one day while we were talking, told me that if I wanted to do something, I just had to make up my mind to do it. So I decided that I wanted to see Daniele. I took on a second job and began to save money for a trip to France. We wrote more often and I told her that I'd really like for her to come visit sometime. Finally, during the winter of 1976, I had the money and I set off for France. When I arrived, I stayed at the Monclin farm in the barn. (More about the Monclin's one of these days) Daniele lived within walking distance of there through the fields. I don't think I was there more than a day before we fell in love with each other and began a serious relationship. I spent three wonderful weeks over there before returning home. We spent most of that time together except for a short three day visit that I took up to Germany to deliver some items to my brother, John, who was serving a mission there. I always say that we spent the next four months dating by mail. My life, during those four months, was basically just working two jobs so I could save up more money. I bought her a ticket to come visit and later that year, while we were out on a drive, we stopped at my old High School in the parking lot that overlooks the Los Angeles basin and there, with that beautiful view, I proposed to her. We were married on Jan 14th of 1977 in the Los Angeles Temple. Somehow, I knew that she was the one and I had only bought her a one-way ticket to come see me.