Sunday, August 18, 2019

So...I Met A Thomas Grover Descendent Today


I looked down the street, like I always do when getting in my car after church. When you park on the street, you don't want to open your car door when a car is coming toward you, even though it's a wide street. 

You know, just to be safe.

I saw a SUV pull out of the church parking lot and it turned toward me. It was coming slow, so I figured I had enough time to open the door, jump in, then close the door before the car passed.

But it didn't pass.

It stopped, and the passenger-side window was down.

I thought it was maybe a neighbor or someone who knew me. It wasn't. I didn't recognize the older couple in the car.

"Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to the Farmington Cemetery," the woman asked.

I told them, basically, they needed to turn around, follow the main road for a mile or so and they'd drive right to it. She then asked, "Is this the Old Rock Church?"

It was. She said her great-great grandfather (or great-great-great--I forget...) donated money to help build the church. I asked who was her relative and she said Thomas Grover.

I knew that name.

I remembered I had taken a picture of Thomas Grover's headstone. I used that picture for my Pic of the Day. I told her I knew where the headstone was--big with lots of writing on it. She agreed. She said the headstone had the names of all six of his wives on it (for Utah, in the nineteenth century, that wasn't that uncommon...). I told her that his headstone was next to my parents's headstone. They thanked me and we both went our ways.

As I drove home, I thought about this chance encounter. Had I not decided years ago to post a picture a day, I wouldn't have taken a picture of Thomas Grover's headstone. Had that not happened, I would have had no idea who he was when these strangers pulled up along side my van after church this morning. Life can be funny, sometimes.

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