History of Janice Marie Piccolo

Chapter 1 – Memory Triggers

Allergies

The summer after I moved to Salt Lake City, I began to have a lot of sneezing, watery eyes and blowing my

nose that I hadn’t experienced before. For some reason I hadn’t been introduced to allergies when I lived in

Boston, but someone told me that is what I was experiencing and that it would usually happen in the Spring.

Some years it is more noticeable than others and on occasion I have to get some kind of medication to help it.

However, about when I was in my 60’s, I began to have other issues that for quite a while I couldn’t figure out.

All of a sudden I would have stomach cramps and need to make a mad dash for a bathroom, whereupon I

would loose whatever dinner I had eaten. I had that problem on and off and had difficulty for a long time

figuring out what caused it. For a while I thought it was soy sauce, but finally a couple of years ago I figured

out that the usual trigger was lettuce of all things. Since I stopped eating it I have had much less trouble,

although occasionally something else will trigger it—what that is I have no idea! Almost 100% of the time it

happens after I have eaten in a restaurant. Whatever causes it, it reacts like irritable bowel syndrome.

Birthdays

Because my Mother’s mother died when she was 8 years old and she didn’t have a happy childhood after that

time, she wanted to be sure her children were not left wanting when it came to celebrations. So birthdays

were one of the occasions when she had a celebration. For birthdays I always had a party of some kind with

the choice of whatever I wanted for dinner and of course a present.

My 21st birthday stands out the most for several reasons. Somehow growing up, reaching maturity officially

was attached to my 21st birthday even though by then I had completed school, purchased a used car, and was

earning a salary. But unbeknownst to my family, I had also been attending another Church and had decided to

be baptized on my 21st birthday. As usual, my Mother had a lovely dinner and I had invited my friend, Sylvia,

to dinner. I don’t remember who else of the family was there. Because my Mother considered this a special

birthday, she had purchased for me a lovely square Amythyst ring with diamonds on the sides (my birthstone).

I was floored! It was much more than I knew she could afford, so I was uncomfortable accepting it even

though I knew she must have been excited for me to have it. And on top of that, I had to tell her Sylvia and I

had made plans to leave for the evening. She was disappointed that we weren’t staying the evening, and

pressed me as to where we were going. Finally I said that I was going to be baptized. What a blow! I felt

terrible—not because of what I was going to do, but because I knew it would be so hurtful to my Mother. She

immediately said not to tell my Father; she was afraid he would ask me to leave home. And then, because it

was such a significant event in my life, even though she didn’t approve of it and wished I wouldn’t do it,

Mother said she wanted to come along and be there. Even though 51 years have now gone by since that time,

it is still difficult for me to write about it.

For the rest of my life I have celebrated my birthday—with friends or with family. Over the past 35 years or so

since Richard and Alice have been married and living close by, we have always celebrated birthdays with cake

and ice cream and presents for the children. And I remember someone who is LDS telling me that one reason

to celebrate people often don’t think about is that our birth represents the beginning of our time on earth which

we looked forward to for a long time in the Spirit world.

Church Callings (LDS)

I hope to write a more complete story about my conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

but for now I will try to remember what callings I had. To begin, you should know that I have never felt

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

comfortable speaking or doing anything in front of people. When I was in high school and assignments were

given to come prepared with something written to share with the class, I usually arranged to be sick so I

wouldn’t have to do that; I just never thought I could do it well or interestingly. So when I finally talked to the

branch president in Cambridge, MA about being baptized, I put in the condition that I wasn’t ever to be asked

to pray or give a talk, and they honored it for the time I was there. Interestingly, it was several years before I

was given a calling as I remember it.

The first year after I left Boston, I lived in Salt Lake City in a basement apartment in a well-established and

affluent neighborhood. (Many years later I learned that I was in the basement of the home of Elder Robert L.

Backman’s parents.) I felt very much like an outsider and had to go to Church alone because both of my

roommates went home on weekends. No one reached out to help me feel comfortable in that ward, so no

calling there fortunately.

Then I moved to Provo. I don’t remember the timing, but for several years I rented a home on Cedar Avenue

with five other girls. There were six of us altogether in the house and over several years different people came

and went. It didn’t seem terribly strange then that there were three bedrooms with a double bed in each one so

two of us in each room had to sleep in the same bed. That would never be the case several years later. I must

have had some callings there, but I don’t remember them. That is also where I met Ozzie (Delmont Oswald)

and had a couple of marriage proposals, but I can’t recall what I did Church-wise.

When I moved to Briar Avenue with Susan Ream, Maureen Derrick, and Mae Blanch in a Singles Ward, each

of us had our own room. I remember being a counselor in the Relief Society Presidency in that student ward.

I lived there for about five years, but I don’t remember other callings with the exception of visiting teacher.

Then I lived in Murray and I was called as Ward Laurel adviser, then Ward Young Women president, and then

Stake Young Women president. Aigh! That camping out stuff was very different and difficult for a city

slicker! But I really enjoyed the girls even though it was an exhausting and time-consuming calling because I

was also working long hours and later was in the process of buying land and building a house there.

In September 1977 I began working for the Primary at the Church Office Building. At that time the

Administrative Assistant to the General Primary President was also a member of the Primary General Board.

The title of the calling was General Secretary to the President. I served under Naomi Shumway for about 2 1/2

years; under Dwan J. Young for eight years; and finally for Michaelene Grassli for 2 1/2 years. When I

moved to the Welfare Department, I of course was released from the Primary calling, and my calling in the

Murray South Stake was counselor in the Stake Primary Presidency.

In December 1999 Linda Palmer and I moved to Orem, Utah. I had retired and she was/is still working at BYU

so it made more sense to move here. Besides, Richard’s family was here. Let’s see: I remember teaching a

Relief Society class for a while; then I taught gospel doctrine for a couple of years, and I think from there I

was called to be a counselor to Betty Baker who was Relief Society president. I believe I served with her for

about nine months which would have been from Sept. 2002 to May 2003. Then I was called as Ward Relief

Society president in May 2003 and served in that capacity for 4 1/2 years until September 2007. In January

2008 I was called to team teach with Kathy Cochran the Sunday School 15-16 year olds until November of

2008. Meanwhile in September 2008 I was also called to be Ward Music Chair which calling I still have

currently (March 2009). In late September 2008 I was called as an ordinance worker in the Mt. Timpanogos

Temple and currently have that opportunity.

I’m sorry to say I’ve forgotten the names of the people with whom I served in Murray with the exception of

Verna Challis who started my experience with Young Women. In Orem when I was Relief Society counselor

for about nine months, I served with Betty Baker and Chris Evans. Then when I was Relief Society president,

to begin with my counselors were Frankie Reimschussel and Debra Archuleta with Diana Cazier as secretary.

After a couple of years Debra and Diana were called to different positions, and Kellie Knowles and Stephanie

Lemon took their place. I served as R.S. president for 4 1/2 years with Bishop Matt Brooks and loved that

experience.

Conversion (LDS)

When I was young (around 10 years of age), I remember often walking to a small grocery store about three

blocks from home to do an errand for my Mother. Often my thoughts turned to life, where I had come from,

and what life was all about. I was raised a Catholic and was sent to church every Sunday where, after Mass, I

went to a class taught by the nuns. I remember that what we learned was basically memorization principles,

and although I’m sure some of it stuck, it wasn’t information that I particularly drank in. My Mother wasn’t an

active Catholic, and my Father went to Mass before going to work at Piccolos so everything I did as a child I

did by myself or with my siblings when they were old enough to attend.

I remember feeling like I didn’t get enough information or enough right answers to my questions. So as I

walked, I thought about it and even made up some answers of my own. It was difficult understanding the

Trinity which the Catholic church taught—three Gods wrapped into one; the Father, the Son, and the Holy

Ghost. The Church called it a mystery, and so did I! Surely I thought someone could explain it better to me.

One of the priests at our church was Father Corrozza, and he knew the Piccolo family well enough that

sometimes he came to the beach house in Scituate for a weekend. But I was too young to be able to ask him

such a question.

When I turned sixteen and began working at Piccolos Pharmacy every day, I went to Mass with my Father

before going to open the store. At that time the Mass was given in Latin, but the priest’s sermon was in

English. I listened quite intently and then had a lot of questions to ask my Father on the way to the store. But I

soon discovered that my Father hadn’t really listened to the sermon because he couldn’t answer any of my

questions. That quite surprised me because he, more than my Mother, insisted that we attend Mass weekly. If

he didn’t listen, and if he didn’t really understand Catholicism, how come he was so adamant about attending

church. Well, one answer was that it was a tradition; all of Grandma Piccolo’s children attended Mass.

When I was seventeen and a senior in high school, I decided to put things to a test during Lent. At 6:00 a.m.

every morning of the 40 days of Lent I went to Mass, I gave up smoking for that time (you’re supposed to

sacrifice something, and that was difficult), and the weekend before Easter I “walked the seven churches”

meaning that I walked to that many churches as part of the sacrifice. For me that meant walking to East

Watertown and back (a total of about 6 miles); then walking to West Watertown to attend a couple of

churches, etc. until I had attended seven of them. This was done on the Saturday before Easter Sunday, and I

remember it being a cold blustery day. All of this, of course, culminated with a glorious Easter Sunday when

all the shrouds in the church were taken off the various statues indicative of the Savior’s resurrection. I was

sure I would receive some kind of feeling that the church was the true church. But I didn’t. As a result, I didn’t

want to attend Mass any more. I would be graduating from high school in June, and I decided I was old

enough to make that decision. However, both my parents got after me and said it was a tradition and I needed

to continue to attend.

After high school I attended Katharine Gibbs Business School in Boston (that’s another story!), after which I

obtained a secretarial position at a large Hotpoint/General Electric plant in Brighton, MA. I continued to live

at home which most people did in that time. But being an adult now, I decided not to attend Mass. Hotpoint

had a cafeteria where employees bought snacks for breaks and luncheon meals. No one left the plant until the

end of the day. And management assigned the time you went to lunch as well as the table of people you sat

with. The first week women at the table introduced themselves telling about families and what religion they

were, and doing a little kidding along the way. But when it came to Sylvia Mugica, she said she wasn’t

Catholic, and although she lived in Newton, she attended church in Cambridge. That was about 10 miles

away, and every major town in New England had churches on every corner so I assumed she was kidding. She

said she was a Mormon! Well I didn’t believe her for a minute; I thought she was just kidding me. But finally

after break one of the girls took me aside and said that although they had joked about a lot of things, that was

real; she really was a Mormon! Amazing! I couldn’t believe it! She seemed like such a nice person; in fact,

the one I liked the most at the table! The only thing I knew about Mormons came from one paragraph in our

history book that mentioned their trek West and also mentioned their participation in polygamy. My head just

couldn’t get around the fact that Sylvia was one of them!!

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

That was in June 1955. As time went on, Sylvia and I became good friends, and I learned a little about her

church. At the time they didn’t even have a chapel; they were renting one at Harvard Divinity School while a

chapel was being built for them on Longfellow Square in Cambridge. At home I continued not attending Mass,

but about September of that year when my Father came home from work on a Sunday, he asked if I had

attended Mass. I said no; that I was an adult and could choose for myself. He became very angry about it and

we had a rowe. I didn’t have a car but called Sylvia to see if she was available to go for a drive and she was.

We talked a lot about religion and why she had joined the Mormon church. Then she said she had to leave to

go to church (at that time Mormons attended Sunday School in the morning and then Sacrament Meeting in the

evening). I was amazed that she went to church twice on Sunday, but I didn’t really want to go home, so I

decided to go with her. I had no intention at all of joining her church; I just thought it would be interesting to

see what it was like.

Well it couldn’t have been more different than the Catholic church! No crucifix, no pictures, no altar—just a

pulpit and chairs behind it. Everyone was very friendly; families were together, and I noticed that often it was

the men who attended to the children. I couldn’t find the minister, but soon learned that it was a lay church in

which everyone participated. Very, very different from either the Catholic church or the Baptist or Methodist

which I had attended with friends. I liked that they had congregational hymns in English, although of course I

didn’t know any of them. That day we sang “I Stand All Amazed at the Love Jesus Offers Me” and that deeply

touched me—especially the second verse:

“I marvel that He would descend from His throne divine to rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine, that

He should extend His great love unto such as I, sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify. Oh it is wonderful

that He should care for me enough to die for me; oh it is wonderful, wonderful to me.”

It was all quite fascinating and more different than I could have ever imagined! The next week I decided to

check out Sunday School which was the morning meeting. I had to be sure that Sylvia didn’t pick me up until

my Father had left for work, and there were only a few minutes difference. But it worked and off I went. We

didn’t have a Bible at home; generally reading scripture was left up to the priest during the Mass. But they

studied not only from the Bible but from another book called the Book of Mormon. Everything seemed so

different and weird! But fascinating! I had no idea how stupid I was about things in the Bible. I had never

remembered hearing even the basic New Testament stories, and these people had a wealth of knowledge about

what had taken place anciently!

I really enjoyed those lessons (what I could understand of them) and wanted more. So for the next six months I

stayed at Sylvia’s house over Saturday night so I could attend her church. (I later learned that the teachers were

attending Harvard Business School and were such notables as Truman Madsen, Hal Eyring, Quinn McKay,

and Stephen Covey.) Finally my Mother said I had been away from Sunday dinner long enough and it was

time to come home. So I told her why I was away, and of course she was very concerned. She reminded me

that “once a Catholic, always a Catholic.” I knew that, and told her I had no intentions of joining that church,

and I really didn’t!

The summer of 1956 the LDS Chapel was finished and Sylvia excitedly told me that the prophet was coming to

dedicate it. What’s a prophet I asked? I did attend the dedication with her, and afterwards President David O.

McKay and his wife stood and shook hands with everyone in attendance. I admit that when I shook his hand, I

felt something special inside me.

One Saturday Sylvia had to go to the mission office which was attached to the church building so I went with

her. As we walked in the door, a tall, lanky missionary (George Pingree) lept over a desk to shake my hand

and welcome me (knowing, I guess, that I wasn’t a member). He asked if missionaries could come teach me,

but I declined saying my parents wouldn’t allow it. That was true, and I still didn’t want more involvement than

I had. He then suggested that I go to the mission office and have the sister missionaries teach me. I declined.

But eventually I became acquainted with one of the sister missionaries in the mission office—Bonnie Raby.

Because she worked in the office, she didn’t get to do any proselyting, so she begged me to let her teach me. I

felt sorry for her, so Sylvia and I arranged to go to the mission office one evening a week for a while so Bonnie

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

could teach me. I had purchased a Bible but still didn’t have a Book of Mormon. Bonnie tried to give me one,

but I didn’t want it. After several weeks of Bonnie teaching me and not getting me to do so much as a prayer,

the next week the Elders were there instead of her. They really pushed me, and I didn’t like it! It was obvious

what they were doing so I said I wouldn’t come back unless Bonnie was the one teaching. The next week

Bonnie was back. But I really wasn’t cooperative with her either. She had asked again and again about giving

me a Book of Mormon to read. Finally I said I would IF I could have one like the missionaries had—a triple

combination with a zippered cover. She gasped! That would mean sending to SLC for one and it would take

two+ weeks to arrive. That was okay with me! I was in no hurry!

Well, the book finally arrived, and I had committed to reading it. After all her effort I decided I really did need

to read the Book of Mormon. But where would I do that? My Mother stayed up late, and if she saw my light

under the door, she would open the door to say “good night.” I couldn’t think of anywhere else that I could

read the book undetected. So I got a flashlight, turned off my light, and read under the covers with the

flashlight. Although missionaries had suggested I read several passages first, I decided to read it like a

book–cover to cover. I don’t remember how long it took me, but I read several pages every night. I was

curious because so much of my contact had involved the book.

However, when I began reading Alma 32, things began to happen inside me. Heretofore I had felt that nothing

really applied to me. But Alma in talking about faith said (vs. 27, 28) “…if you will just experiment on my

words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in

you…” And then he compares the word to a seed; that “if it be a true seed or a good seed…it will begin to swell

within your breasts…it beginneth to lighten my understanding; yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.”

Whereas before I didn’t think I was smart enough or educated enough or whatever, now Alma was saying that

you only had to begin a little at a time to come to know eventually about the gospel of Jesus Christ. That

witness was so powerful to me that I KNEW it was true. I immediately got down on my knees to pray about

what I was feeling and to ask for help, and I received a strong direction to go downstairs right then and tell my

Mother about it.

Oh boy! Talk to Mother about it? Yikes! What was I getting into? But the feeling had come so strong that I

did go down and talk to her. I told her that I had had no intentions as I had told her earlier of joining the

church, but that things were changing. She of course was very upset and made me promise to go talk to the

priest before doing anything about it. I promised and eventually got up the courage one Sunday afternoon with

great fear and trepidation to ring the doorbell of the rectory where the priests live. Father Corrozza answered

the door and invited me in. I told him that I wanted to talk to him about the Mormon church. He said

something like, “Yes, I know about old Joe Smith. He wrote a bible and established a church of polygamy.”

Well, I thought that wasn’t a very nice way to put it. But there were doctrines I wanted to ask about like why

the Catholic church stopped baptizing by immersion. He said the church began getting too big and water

wasn’t always available. There was a scripture the missionaries pointed out that seemed to identify the

Catholic church, and I wanted to ask him about that in particular. I asked if he had a Bible and he said he

would go get one. Upstairs I heard him say to another priest something like “oh it’s just a confused young lady

who is asking about Mormonism.” He came down and handed me the book. I realized it would be the Douay

version and I had been taught from the King James, so I wondered if it would be the same. But it was, and I

read to him from 1st Timothy 4:1-3—“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall

depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy…;

forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats…” He said he had never seen that scripture. So he

stood up and I stood up and he asked me to read it again. He was obviously shaken. He stood behind me as I

read it again; then grabbed the book from me and read it himself. After a pause he said, “I’ve never seen that.”

But then he regained his composure, brushed it off, and sent me on my way telling me to just go to Mass and

all would be well.

To me, he had just confirmed a truth I had learned. I should have been elated, but I was still very worried

about turning my life upside down. I knew my Father would likely have me live somewhere else; but where?

with whom? Sylvia intended to continue living at home. I couldn’t imagine what I would do! Was I sure

enough?

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

By now it was Spring of 1957 and a couple in the branch invited Sylvia and me to go Palmyra, NY that

summer. Ed was a convert from Catholicism and egged me on about how “if he could do it, so could I.” So we

went, and I was very moved by seeing a portrayal of the story of Joseph Smith and finding the plates on which

were written the Book of Mormon; seeing a representation of the angel, Moroni, who showed him where they

were. In fact, that dispelled the last of my doubts about the Book of Mormon and the church Joseph Smith

had established. I knew I had to be baptized.

I finally went to talk to the branch president, Wilbur Cox, about it. He was excited about my testimony but

very concerned about what would happen in connection with my family. We decided to not hold the baptism

until I was officially 21 years of age the next February (1958) so legally there could be no issues about what I

was about to do. On February 5, 1958, the ward held a special baptism for me on my 21st birthday, filling the

font on a Wednesday. My Mother attended. Although she didn’t approved, she felt she should be there and

she said not to tell my Father. Many attended and afterwards threw open the cultural hall and had refreshments

and a dance! But as time went on, it became uncomfortable for me—with people at work, with friends, and

with relatives. It was difficult to leave home Sundays both in the morning and in the evening to go to church.

I felt the Spirit touch me and say I needed to move away so I could grow in the gospel as I needed to. I learned

that one of the sister missionaries was being released the last week of July, and Carolyn Skeen got permission

to drive across country with me in my little green 1947 Plymouth coup.

Deaths Of People Important To You

My mother’s mother died when she was eight years old, and my father’s father died when he was 16.

Grandmother Piccolo died when I was fairly young. My only memory of her is visiting on Sunday afternoons

with my father while she was in bed dying of cancer. She always gave me a $1 bill. So the only grandparent

I remember was my mother’s father, Stefano Julian. When I was still quite young, he took me for a ride in his

car on Sunday afternoons, but he always stopped someplace to visit and said I had to stay in the car. He told

me he was visiting “Father Caution.” I learned much later that he was visiting his Mafia friends. Grandpa died

when I was about eleven years old.

I was working at BYU in the early 60’s when I learned that my father had taken ill. However, the doctor

advised me not to go home because he said my father would know he was dying and that would be a negative

in the healing process. Unfortunately, that wasn’t good advice because he did die and I was unable to see him

alive again. He had been under a lot of pressure due to his business going down hill, his marriage also failing,

and he also was a heavy smoker. That combination caused his death in 1963. He was a pharmacist and

apparently had been very good to his clients—many of whom were women alone. As a result, so many people

wanted to attend the “wake or viewing” that we held the viewing an extra day. However, his passing allowed

my brother, Richard, to continue college at BYU whereas he had been at a college in Boston because my father

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

wouldn’t let him come to Utah.

Shortly after his death my mother, who was now alone in the house, decided to move to Florida where Ray and

Lenora were. Just about the time I was finishing building my home in Murray, she told me she didn’t have the

means to continue living there and wanted to come to Utah to live with me. I had not planned, due to

expenses, to finish the basement. Another issue was that I was so looking forward to having a smoke free

home; in fact, I couldn’t bear the thoughts of having smoke in that new home. So I told Mother I would build

half of the basement for her to live in but she couldn’t smoke in it. She agreed to that, but it was very difficult

for me to see her go out into the garage in the very cold winter to smoke. I thought it might cause her to stop,

but it didn’t. After a while I also realized that I had learned to eat more like a Westerner and she didn’t like the

food she was getting. By this time Ray and his family had moved to Murray as well, and we decided it was

time to find Mother a place of her own, which we did. But it was extremely difficult and very emotional for

me to ask her to move.

Mother lived in Utah six years but wasn’t very happy there—mostly because the Church is so prominent and

she wasn’t interested in Church of any kind really. However, she always said “once a Catholic, always a

Catholic”—and that despite the fact that she never attended Mass. In 1983 she had a heart attack and passed

away three weeks later. She always yearned to see her mother again, and undoubtedly that was a happy

reunion. But just as strongly, she wasn’t interested in seeing her father because of his marrying his mistress

and not allowing his own children to stay in their home. I have wondered these many years since (29) if my

mother would have listened to missionaries knowing that three of her four children have joined the Church.

I also wonder often if my parents have reconciled in the many years since they left here and went to the spirit

world. Money wouldn’t be an issue there I suppose, but there was an awful lot of hurt and negative feelings in

the years they were together.

Early Years

This part of the history asks me to describe myself at different stages of my life!

Altho of course I don’t remember myself as a baby or a young child, I think I know what my Mother would say

and has said. You have to remember that I was her first child for four years, so naturally I was doted on. And

during those years Grandmother Piccolo was alive and apparently regularly took my Mother and me shopping

for a new dress or coat. As I write this I think of Becca or Steve and Laurel with their first child—who

naturally got all their attention and who they see as very bright and already “ahead of the class.” Well, that’s

what my Mother thought! She was very proud of the fact that I was an obedient child and liked to tell the story

about the porcelain elephants on the coffee table where I could have reached them, but I never touched them

because I was told not to; that they would break. But also because she concentrated her attention on me, when

it came time to go to kindergarten, I already could recite the alphabet, numbers, and read some. So after a

couple of months, the grammar school took me out of kindergarten and put me in the 1st grade.

In elementary school then the wood desks had metal legs which sat on a round metal base screwed to the floor.

We often played games by walking quickly up and down the aisles. One day while in the 1st grade, one of the

“cute” boys stuck his foot out as I went by, causing me to fall and smack my head on the metal base. I

remember having on a new dress, but of course head wounds are bloody, and the gash was sufficient to soak

my dress in blood, rendering it to the rag pile. My Mother was called, and I was taken to the doctor to have 3

stitches in my head. Dr. York gave me three quarters (one for each stitch) because I didn’t cry.

My Mother had always wanted a doll when she was little, so for my third Christmas she gave me one.

Unfortunately, I opened the gift, and promptly threw the doll in the trash. Even then, I guess, I was more

sporty than frilly! And it’s interesting to note that Karen was never interested in dolls either.

I remember the 5th grade because Miss McDonough was the teacher—a very stern, no-nonsense kind of

teacher who made me tremble if she called on me. My friend, Bobbie, and I sat across from each other and

must have been pretty chatty because we often stayed late after school. One day late in the school year she

asked us to stay after school and I was miffed because we hadn’t done anything to warrant that. But I was

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

astonished to learn that she (and her house mate Miss Small who taught 3rd grade) wanted to take Bobbie and

me to tour Louisa May Alcott’s house in Concord, MA. I never knew that teachers did things like that, and it

made me very nervous—so much so that I became car sick and just as we got to the home, I barely got the door

open before throwing up. Honestly! Then I was too weak to go with them, so I stayed in the car while Bobbie

went.

I think when I was quite young, I was fairly self-confident, but for some reason as I got older, I became less so.

I didn’t think I could do things, and that still lingers to this day. I did and do find it difficult to describe any

talents or abilities. I mentioned somewhere earlier that I did tap dancing for a number of years. And when I

was about 12 years old, my Mother started me on piano lessons. She played and loved it; in fact, she had

wanted to become a concert pianist, but her father wouldn’t pay for additional lessons and I don’t think she ever

forgave him for that. I kind of wanted to be able to play the piano, but the call of touch football up on Pearl

Street was much stronger, so I never really learned to play the piano much. Again, I disappointed my Mother

and, as my Mother predicted, in my adult years I was sorry that I hadn’t learned the piano.

In Watertown there were two junior high schools—one in the East end, and one in the West. We lived about in

the middle, so we were able to choose which one to attend. Bobbie, Mary, and I chose East Jr. High and were

quite proud of ourselves that we always walked the 2+ miles whatever the weather instead of taking the street

car. Because I had chosen the college course (as opposed to business or general), I had to take a language and

chose Latin the first year and then three years of French. My French teacher told me I had a talent for

language but I tended to not believe such things. In the 9th grade I remember playing field hockey.

In the first year or two in high school I was able to play sports until I turned 16 and then worked every day at

Piccolo’s. I especially remember girls’ basketball when we played half court during that time and I was a pretty

successful guard. Short though I was, I was able to jump and deflect balls from the tall girls. I really enjoyed

tennis as well.

Friends

Friends have always been very important to me. Growing up my closest friends were Bobbie (Roberta

Donahue) and Mary (Porter). We lived on Palfrey Street in Watertown; Bobbie lived on Marshall (two streets

over and at the bottom of the street), and Mary lived two streets over from Bobbie on Marion Road. (It was

Mary’s house that my mother always loved and which our family bought and lived in for several years about

the time I was a junior in high school.) Bobbie was an only child and lived with her Italian grandmother

(nona) and her mother, but her father was Irish; hence Bobbie’s dark strawberry blonde hair. Mary was the

youngest of four in her family and the only girl. Her Dad had a construction business, and I remember that he

was a Mason. Bobbie was Baptist, Mary was Methodist, and of course I was Catholic. When I think about it

now, I wonder what we had in common, but outside of school we usually played at Mary’s house. Her mother

was easy-going and seemed happy to have us there whereas Bobbie’s grandmother wasn’t very warm and

welcoming. For some reason we didn’t usually play at my house; perhaps because of the young children.

In Junior and Senior High the three of us with Aggie Gullie formed a quartet and sang at several mental

hospitals around. I don’t remember who would have driven us, but we would sing and then someone there

would play tunes on the piano for a dance, and we danced with the patients. The Porters had a cabin and

horses which they stayed at often in the summer. It was a very basic cabin with an outhouse (my first

experience with that) but we had a lot of fun. I don’t remember riding the horses, but we enjoyed seeing,

patting, and feeding them and talked the night away often about having an animal husbandry when we left

school. I was very fascinated with the way Mary’s family (especially her parents) got along compared with my

family—and the fact that Mr. Porter was actively involved with them.

I was quite shocked when the Porters moved the summer just after our junior year in high school. As I

mentioned, we moved into that house for several years. It was wonderful to have my own bedroom, and I’m

sure my other siblings felt the same way. I expected to see much more of Mary after she moved than I did, but

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

life does go on. Bobbie and I remained friends along with others—the Baker twins and Addie Di’Iorio I

remember particularly. But after high school we all went to different colleges; then some got married, and life

took new paths.

After high school I went to Katharine Gibbs Business School in downtown Boston, but both Bobbie and one of

the twins went to different business schools. Let’s see, we graduated in 1954, so I was in school 1954-55. I

was anxious to work and earn money so I took the course that gave you essentially two years of schooling in

one year. Thinking back on it, things were really different then—and especially different from the West. I

took the streetcar and then subway which brought me within several blocks of the school, but the school

required us to wear skirts or dress, heels, a hat, and gloves! It was something riding the transit carrying a

bunch of books and usually having to stand up because the subway and/or streetcar was full. I think a large

portion of the students came from fairly wealthy families so I didn’t feel like I had much in common with the

other girls. But I managed to graduate!

I found a job working for the General Electric/Hotpoint Company in Brookline (?) which is where I met the

next friend who I became very close to. In fact, Sylvia Mugica introduced me to the LDS Church, but that’s a

story for a different section. I worked there from June 1955 to June 1958.

After I moved to Utah, I had a number of friends over the years—mostly people I lived with. The first year I

was in Salt Lake City and lived with Carolyn Bennett and Noma Bowman. Noma went home to Ogden every

weekend, and Carolyn often went home to Idaho. But Carolyn’s family invited me to spend Thanksgiving with

them, and I had my first experience living on a farm. I remember being amazed at the huge breakfast they

fixed after the boys had been out working starting at 5 a.m. At the end of the school year, Carolyn went on a

mission, and her Aunt Bertie was a wonderful friend to me for years afterward.

The next year I took a job at Brigham Young University in Provo, but I was such a green convert, that a lot of

the verbiage was foreign to me and I had quite a time for the first several months. I lived in a house with five

other girls but was probably closest to Ruth Athay from Idaho. She took me to her home in Montpelier, ID

several times. As the years went by, roommates changed, and Arlene Champney from Alberta, Canada was a

close friend who invited me to spend Thanksgiving in Canada one year. The next year she married Rulon

Litchfield, and I remember driving to Canada in February by myself on a snowy, icy road to go to the wedding

even though I couldn’t go to the temple. No cell phone in those days! At the end of a work day I drove up to

Idaho and stayed with the Bennetts. Then early the next morning I headed out for Canada. It was a snowy,

cold day, and I seldom saw other cars on the road. When I got to Pincher Creek, the temperature was 30

degrees below zero. Then in a couple of days a Chinook wind warmed things up to 30 degrees above zero and

it seemed like summer!

After I left BYU in 1969 and moved to SLC again, I worked for the Foreign Study League and met Sharon

Sagers. Eventually we lived together in Murray in an apartment complex until she married Dan Boskovich.

Pat Russell moved in and after a couple of years I finally built my own little house on Brahma Drive. (Note: I

was only able to buy the land because Doreen and Clark Jones gave me a very generous deal on it.) Pat moved

in with me for about four years, but during that time when I was working and serving in the Primary, I met

Linda Palmer who was doing the same in Young Women. We became really good friends and decided we

wanted to live together. Soooo, Pat moved out and Linda moved in—about 1981. In 1984 Linda moved back

to San Diego for five years, but then returned to Utah and Murray. By the time I was ready to retire from the

Church, she was working at BYU and had to commute every day, so in December 1999 we moved to Orem and

bought a house together. As of this writing (2012), we have lived together for close to 30 years! Obviously,

Linda has been my dearest friend for many years!

Grandparents

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

I didn’t know any of my grandparents very well. My father’s father (Erasmo Piccolo) died when my father was

only sixteen. Erasmo and his brother left Gaeta, Italy when he was around 19 and emigrated to the Boston

area. They must have worked in orchards in Winchester, MA and eventually had their own fruit stand as part

of their living. When Erasmo was about 40 years of age, he decided he could afford to have a wife and family

so he wrote home and asked his family to find a wife for him and send her to America. They chose Marietta

Capodanno who was 21 years old and a school teacher. Marietta and her mother came to Boston to meet

Erasmo, and her mother stayed until after the wedding which took place a few weeks after they arrived.

My grandmother, whose real name was Mary, was named after her Mother and was called Marietta which is

the equivalent of Little Mary. For her day she was considered well educated. Marietta and Erasmo had six

children—Mary (who was called May), Angelina (called Ange), Cosmo (called Cauzie), Francesco or Frank,

Damniano (called Danny), and Josephine (usually called Jo). Some time after Erasmo died (my Father was 16

years old), Marietta moved her family to Watertown, MA. She bought a home with two completely separate

levels (an upstairs and downstairs), and she and Josephine moved into the upstairs house. As far as I know,

Ange and Eddie (Farrenkopf) lived downstairs all of their lives.

Marietta purchased a store not far from their home and across the street from the car barn (streetcar) and the

Charles River in Watertown. The store had a soda fountain, a kitchen, about 12 booths where you could eat

your meal, various sundries, and room for a pharmacy. Marietta was a smart businesswoman and directed my

father to go to school nights to earn a degree in pharmacology, which he did.

My Grandmother died when I was about 10 years old. My Mother said that when I was young, my

Grandmother used to take us shopping often to buy me a dress,etc, but I don’t remember it. My only memory is

of my Grandmother being in bed with cancer, and every Sunday afternoon my Father took me to see her. I

remember that she gave me a dollar bill each time, but I wasn’t comfortable seeing her, and for some reason by

then she only spoke in Italian.

My Mother was one of the people who got off the trolley or streetcar across the street and came into the store

to have a cup of coffee and wait for the bus to take her home. She and my Father became acquainted and dated

for two years until he finished school before they married. They were married on February 2nd because that

was the day of my grandmother’s birthday—at least that’s the day the family always celebrated it. But when we

got a copy of her birth certificate a few years ago, her birth date was listed as January 31st.

In the 1930’s, Grandma Piccolo rented a cottage in Maine in the summer and/or winter at which all the family

gathered for a fun week. That began years before my parents married and continued for about four years after

they were married until Grandma became ill with cancer. 8mm movie cameras were in vogue and we have a

lot of film of the family—especially Ange and May’s children who were the oldest in the family.

My Mother’s Mother died when she was just eight years of age. Mary Sullivan was Irish and loved a hot cup

of tea. After all the children had gone to school, Mary, who was still in her nightgown and robe, was brewing

a cup of tea on the stove when she had a seizure which caused her to fall over the flame. Her clothes

immediately caught fire. She apparently ran screaming to the front door of the apartment, but the door was

locked and neither she nor the neighbor who heard her could open it. By the time the fire department came,

she was badly burned and died during the night. My Mother, who was the youngest child, was also the only

girl and had been terribly pampered so of course she was devistated, which I will discuss at another time. But

my mother’s father, Stefano Julian, already had a mistress who lived downstairs and who he married soon after.

My Mother’s Father was Stefano Giuliano from Messina, Sicily, who emigrated to the United States when he

was 19 years old. During that time lots of people were emigrating, and when they arrived in Boston, they

found housing in the downtown area. There was a section of people from Ireland still called Southy (or South

Boston), and on the other side was a section of people from Italy. I’m assuming that’s how my grandparents

met each other because they would have undoubtedly lived close by each other. When Stefano went through

immigration, he, like so many others, wanted to be known as an American as opposed to an Italian, so he

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

changed his name from Giuliano to Julian.

Stefano (or Steve as he was called) was a barber, and also a member of the Mafia which originated in Messina

but was alive and well in Boston and New York. When I was a little girl about 2-3 years old, he used to take

me for a ride on Sunday, but he always had to stop and visit “Father Caution.” He told me he was a priest so I

had to stay in the car while he went inside. I was pretty little to be left in the car and it seemed to me he was

gone a very long time—maybe an hour or more. My Mother didn’t know he did that, but when it finally came

out, she wouldn’t let me go with him anymore.

Steve and his second wife, Belle, lived a couple of streets away from us so I visited them sometimes when I

was young. My friends and I played ball on their street because it was level and my street was a long hill—not

good for playing ball on. For a few of those years Belle’s mother, called Nana, lived there. She was old and

bent over but very kind and was basically the maid and the cook there. Belle was very “full of herself” and

took advantage of her mother. But my Mother loved Nana, and she was the reason years later that when my

Mother became a grandmother, she wanted to be called Nana. Unfortunately, I don’t know Nana’s real name.

Apparently Steve continued his association with the Mafia and must have done something they didn’t like

because one day he was crossing the street in downtown Boston near his barber shop and was the victim of a

hit and run driver. My Mother said it was done by the Mafia. I was eleven years old I believe. Then a short

time later my Uncle George (Steve’s eldest child who lived in New York) was killed the same way in New

York. As the family drove home from Steve’s funeral and got out of the car at our house, Belle told my mother

that she didn’t want to ever see any of us again. That also meant that my Mother would not be given anything

of her father’s. What she most wanted was the records he had of famous artists singing operas. Belle didn’t

like listening to the music, but she wouldn’t let my Mother have them, unfotunately.

Holidays

Celebrating the holidays when I was growing up is very different than the way I celebrate now. Of course

growing up I was in a family situation, and my parents didn’t agree on a lot. In my early years (until I was

about eight years of age) my parents got along better and we often had the greater Piccolo family at our house

for a nice dinner. It doesn’t seem like the children were involved much then but I’m not sure. I do remember

all the aunts and uncles sitting at our dining room table and they seemed to enjoy one another’s company. My

mother was a good cook and worked hard to prepare a nice meal.

But as I got older my parents didn’t get along as well. Money was a huge issue. My mother thought my father

was rich and just withholding money from her. But he was also unreasonable as to what it would cost to buy

food or things like Christmas presents. On the other hand, when it came to Christmas presents, my mother

wanted to spend too much and give her children all the things she didn’t have/get as a child. And on it went

until I was uncomfortable getting presents.

After I turned 21 and joined the LDS Church, I moved to Utah. Most years I went home for Christmas and

still experienced the same issues about money. My father’s family had long since stopped coming to visit

because of the wrangling between my parents. One year I went home during the summer and my father’s

friend, Dom, took me to lunch and begged me to do something to help my parents. But I really couldn’t do

anything; they each had their own thoughts on the subject (each blaming the other) and nothing I could say

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

would help. I had thought about staying in Boston but was happy to go back to Utah where I wasn’t constantly

in the middle of their wrangling.

There were times when I didn’t go home for the holidays because of the expense, and it was tough being alone

during that time. My mother always sent me a box of things so I would have presents, but I was torn between

not wanting to be home in the squabbling and being in Utah alone. There were friends I would drop in and see

in Utah over the Christmas holidays, but it certainly wasn’t the same as being with family. A few roommates

had family in the greater Salt Lake area who invited me to Christmas dinner; other families lived away from

SLC (in Idaho or California).

As the years went on, my father passed away in his 60’s (I think he was 68 when he died in 1963?). Ray and

Lenora moved to Florida, and my mother moved down there to be near them. Richard was in Utah attending

BYU and Karen was in the Philippines then teaching school. For several years Richard and I I flew to Florida

to be with family which was fun—especially being in a warm climate when it was freezing cold in Utah!

Eventually mother moved to be with me in Utah, and Ray and Lenora joined the LDS Church and moved to

Utah a year later. So once again I had family living close to celebrate the holidays with.

Change always happens eventually. Mother died in 1983; then Ray and Lenora moved back to Florida.

Richard married Alice and they began having children so even though I was in the SLC area and they were in

Provo, I had family to celebrate the holidays with and it was a fun time with all the nieces and nephews (eight

of them eventually). They have become “my” family, and I’m very grateful for them and the years we have

spent together.

Hospital Stays

I believe the first time I went to the hospital was when I had my tonsils removed. I’m not sure how old I

was—maybe 7 or 8? What I do remember is being scared because I didn’t know exactly what would happen.

Then after the surgery when I was awake, I was put in a sort of holding room where parents could pick you up.

I watched every other child leave, and still didn’t see my Mother. I was feeling abandoned, I remember. And

finally, after a long time after the last child had left, my Mother arrived. She had been given incorrect

information from the doctor.

The next time I was in the hospital because I kept fainting and the doctors couldn’t figure out why. I was about

19-20 years old. After I was examined physically and nothing was found, the doctor said perhaps it was

psychological or emotional—bingo! I finally realized that it was happening because I was investigating the

LDS Church which of course was against my family’s religion or desires. I wasn’t really able to stop the

fainting very much even though I thought I knew why it was happening. I wasn’t used to doing things my

parents disapproved of, and it was a very traumatic time for me for a long time. I investigated the gospel for 2

1/2 years, but even after I moved to Utah, I fainted from time to time for quite a while.

Sometime in my 20th year, as I recall, I had an appendectomy. I remember that when my Mother picked me up

to take me home, she drove exceedingly careful over bumps so as to not cause the incision to burst. I

especially remember when we had to go over railroad tracks; she almost would have carried me over she was

so very careful. But being as young as I was, I recovered quite quickly and was ready to be up and doing in

about ten days.

I don’t believe I had another surgery until I was in my late 50’s when I had a hysterectomy. I was living in

Murray at the time and was living alone (Linda had moved back to San Diego for five years). I am really

sensitive to medications, so I couldn’t take morfine and the doctor gave me several different shots every four

hours the first day out of surgery. But I reacted terribly to the third one they gave me; I thought I was checking

out of life. The nurses called Dr.Macy, and she told them to reverse it. I finally felt better and refused any

medication at all after that and got along with just an aspirin for the next ten days or so. The first night after

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

the surgery I hardly slept. One reason was that the helicopter pad was above my room, and I heard the rotors

going most of the night. Early in the morning I finally got up and took a shower which felt really good. When

I came out of the bathroom, Dr. Macy was there and could see that I could manage on my own just fine, so she

let me go home. Interestingly, my friend, Carolyn Rasmus (who had the same position in Young Women that

I had in Primary) had the same surgery on exactly the same day except that she lived in Provo. But knowing

that I was home alone, Carolyn called every day to check on me and to compare aches and pains. I was very

grateful for her calls!

Last April (2008) I went with Linda to Georgia to visit Elaine Marshall (who had previously been the Dean of

the College of Nursing at BYU). One of the nights I was sleeping there, I got up to go to the bathroom. While

sitting there I suddenly felt like I was going to faint. The next thing I knew Linda was calling my name and

trying to wake me up and get me up off the floor. I had fainted so suddenly that I didn’t break the fall, and I

fell head down on a cement floor in the corner. It took me quite a while to wake up totally (Linda said 45

minutes), altho after a while I could hear her but couldn’t respond. She ran to get Elaine, but Linda had seen

me do this before and knew the best thing was to let me come out of it and not call an ambulance. I remember

that Elaine was on the phone with her doctor husband who was in Los Angeles telling him what I was or wasn’t

doing and getting advice. Finally I was conscience enough that they could get me into bed. I had a large goose

egg on my left forehead and some blood although my head wasn’t bleeding. I had vertigo really bad and felt

terrible. Linda and Elaine slept in my bedroom that night in case I needed help. The next day was Sunday,

but no one went to church because I was pretty incapacitated and needed help. One of the big problems was

that our flight to SLC was the next morning early and we/I didn’t see how I could get on the plane. Finally

mid-day we could see that I could easily stay there a week, but Elaine had company coming, Linda had to go to

work, and I just had to leave for home. So Linda called Delta and they got us on the last Monday flight

leaving, but we had to first fly to Atlanta, and then take another plane to SLC. Poor Linda had to wheel me

around airports in a wheel chair, and I was feeling pretty punky and looked terrible. By then not only was my

forehead and left eye black and blue, but it had begun to spread to the other eye. I definitely looked like I had

been in a gang fight or perhaps my husband had beaten me! By a small miracle, we got home about 1 a.m.

Tuesday. I slept until 9 a.m. and then we went to Insta Care who sent me to get a CAT scan to be sure there

was no damage. Nothing showed up, but I was incapacitated for days and didn’t look very good for weeks!

Today on our news we learned that the British actress Natasha Richardson (who played the English Mom in

the second film version of “Parent Trap” died from a fall on ski slopes and what began as a small head wound,

but she wasn’t treated soon enough and passed away. That could have been me I realized tonight (March 20,

2009)! I was more blessed in my recovery that I ever before realized!! I still have some vertigo and sometimes

a sore forehead, but basically I’m well again.

Medications

Medications have been very tricky in my life. Much of the time they have given me fits—just simple things

like an antibiotic, a cold remedy, etc. have reacted negatively in my body. For a long time I didn’t get it. I

remember when I was young and living at home if I got a nasty cold or when I had menstrual cramps, my

father, being a pharmacist, would bring home the prevailing medication for that thing, or there would be a

prescription from the doctor. But invariably not only didn’t the medication work for me, it made me sicker or

gave me fits in some way or other—usually by my throwing up or sometimes feeling light headed.

Especially when I was a teenager I had severe menstrual cramps and sometimes had to go to bed for a day.

Although I tried different things to manage the cramps, most of the time going to bed with an aspirin and a hot

water bottle was all I could do. And I remember when I had a hysterectomy in my later 50’s that I knew I

couldn’t take the morphine drip after surgery so the doctor prescribed a few different meds every four hours. I

don’t know what the second medication was, but I suddenly felt terribly flushed and like my head was going to

leave my body; it was a very scary feeling! I called the nurse who called the doctor and she had them do

something to reverse it so that soon I felt better. From then on I have dealt with any pain with just a coated

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

aspirin because I knew my body could handle it.

When I had to begin taking estrogen, I remember that both the actual estrogen pill, and afterwards the combo

pill made me ill. But I was able to tolerate estrace and have taken it to this day in the smallest dosage on

Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Just last Summer my gynocologist said from what she has read, it is

better to continue taking it because of benefits to the heart than to go off it even though I am in my 70’s. On

the days I don’t take the pill, I still have some “warm flushes.”

In 2008 I took a bad fall while Linda and I were visiting a friend in Georgia. That caused me to have vertigo

and a bad bump on my forehead which kept me in bed for several days. Shortly thereafter, one of my eyes

became very black and blue and gooey. The doctor wanted to prescribe a new, fast-acting antibiotic, but I was

afraid to take it because of my history, so he gave me an older, slower acting one that I had taken before

without problems.

Other Relatives Important To You

Most of my relatives lived close by while I was growing up. Interestingly, none of my Mother’s three brothers

ever had children so her four children are the only Giuliano or Julian descendants, but of course the name

hasn’t been carried on. Her brothers were George, Paul, and Herbert. There were two other girls, Grace and

Virginia, who died a few months after birth because, it was learned later, they couldn’t tolerate milk. By the

time my Mother was born, doctors discovered that infants who couldn’t tolerate cow’s milk could tolerate rice

milk.

In my Father’s family there were originally three boys and three girls, but Cosmo died at a very early age

(about 38) and he had had no children, and Josephine never married. Ange and May were the oldest so their

children weren’t very close to my age. In fact, Anita who was Ange’s youngest child was six years older than

me and one I looked up to a lot—especially when the families were together at the beach house. The Piccolos

were pretty close as a family until I was about 13-14, but after that my parents’ relationship had deteriorated to

the point that my Father’s family and my Mother didn’t interact with each other much. Then of course when I

became a member of the LDS Church, all interaction ceased. So the following is what I know and/or

remember about that side of the family.

Ange married Augustus Edward Farrenkopf, and they have four children—

Phyllis married George Gage and they had four children—I think two boys and two girls

Charles married Mary Frascatore; I think three children. The third child I think was Down Syndrome

Brenda married Joseph Gebhardt; two children

Anita married Paul O’Halloran; I think four sons

May married Thomas Green (American name; Italian name may have been Verde); two children

Robert married Kathleen (Kay) ?

Gloria never married; was profoundly deaf

Cosmo married Catherine Fallon; no children

Personal note about Cosmo who died of cancer at age 38. I was five years old at the time he died so I don’t

remember him. But my Mother said he often took me with him. She described him as one who loved people

and was always happy, joking, and smiling. Because of that description, since Rebecca and I have been doing

family history research and have had so much success, I have thought that perhaps Cozzie accepted the gospel

early after going to the Spirit world, and that he has been a great missionary there teaching the gospel to our

relatives.

Danny married Mary Kinchla (she went by “Kinch”); three children

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

Diana (died of Sids at approximately 2 1/2 months)

Daniel married ?

Brenda married ?

Frank married Dorothy Marie Julian who had four children—

Janice Marie never married

Raymond Frank married Lenora Borello (later divorced); four children

Christine never married

Michelle never married but one child (Tayler); she died at age 34

Brian married and had three girls

Michael married and had two boys

Karen Marietta married Philip Wisner; no children

Richard Stephen married Alice Cook; eight living children; one still born—

Rebecca Marie married Norman Baron; four children

Stephen Richard married Laurel Harmon; five children

Matthew Cook married Amanda; two girls

Rachel Ruth married Allesandro Moises; two daughters, four sons

Angela Michelle; not married, working on a Master’s degree

Melissa Sue; married Herschel; two boys

Adam Michael; married Celeste; one son

Samuel Francesco; graduated from college and working

Josephine never married and was my godmother

Parents And Grandparents (LDS)

When I joined the LDS church at 21 years of age, my mother didn’t approve and at first my father didn’t know

about it. Altho my mother didn’t attend church, she believed that “once a Catholic, always a Catholic.” And

while I was going to the LDS church, there were Sunday School meetings on Sunday mornings, and Sacrament

meetings on Sunday evening. My parents always wanted to know where I was going so that made it difficult.

The question is asked as to whether my parents’ feelings changed about my membership in the church over the

years. Both of them were not happy about it but didn’t say very much to me as I would come home for

Christmas, etc. They were happy to have me home and didn’t want to spoil the visit by saying anything. My

Piccolo relatives were very unhappy about my membership and basically didn’t have much association with me

when I was home.

Prophets (LDS)

I think I mentioned somewhere else that when I first began attending church with Sylvia (curious, not

investigating) there wasn’t a building to meet in so the branch met at the Harvard Divinity School (it began in

November 1955 I believe). Sometime in the Spring of 1956 Sylvia was excited that a building was in progress

and that President David O. McKay would be coming to dedicate it. She said “the prophet” was coming, and

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

my response was “what’s a prophet?” I believe it was in the Fall of that year that the dedication took place. I

went with Sylvia and was impressed with the tall, handsome, white-haired man who was the prophet. After the

ceremony, he and his wife stood in a line and shook hands with everyone in attendance. That was my first

experience in meeting a prophet.

When I was hired by the Church in September 1977, Spencer W. Kimball was the Church’s prophet. He was

housed in the administration building, and for a few years the Primary office was on the 20th floor of the

Church Office Building. Fairly often business took either me or me with the presidency across the parking

floor to the COB either to deliver something or to meet with Primary’s adviser. Occasionally, we would meet

President Kimball in the elevator or be invited to a meeting with some of the Brethren and The First

Presidency. So I saw President Kimball rather frequently during that time. There was a security person at the

desk as we entered the building, but they knew me and I was free to go wherever I needed to in the building. I

understand that has changed since I retired, and you have to show a badge as you enter, and then the security

person calls the office to be sure they are expecting you.

The last few years of his life, President Kimball was ill and unable to go to his office. What is now the Joseph

Smith Memorial Building was then the Hotel Utah, and a suite on the top floor was fashioned for the Kimballs

so the Brethren could more easily visit with him. The Primary, Young Women, and Relief Society

presidencies and administrative assistants (who were now housed together in the Relief Society Building) were

asked to spend time with Sister Camilla Kimball during those years because her husband wasn’t available.

And the Kimballs’ daughter hadn’t yet retired from teaching school so she wasn’t available until evening to be

with Sr. Kimball. That was a wonderful opportunity to be able to have Sr. Kimball for luncheons. She said

how much she missed visiting the Saints around the world as she and her husband had done previously.

When their daughter did retire (I can’t remember her name right now), Sr. Kimball hosted a luncheon at the

Kimball home for all of us which was a very special experience. By then I believe Sr. Kimball was 90 years

old, and she and her daughter took an oil painting class together—something she had always wanted to do.

I should perhaps also mention that during the first few years of President Kimball’s presidency, Nathan Eldon

Tanner was a counselor, but a couple of years later, he became ill and incapacitated, and then passed away.

President Gordon B. Hinckley was called to replace him. President Marion G. Romney was the other

counselor but not too long afterward, he became ill and bedridden for several years and unable to

communicate, so President Hinckley was left pretty much on his own to carry the burden of the presidency

with only occasional visits with President Kimball when he was able to talk.

After President Kimball’s passing, President Ezra Taft Benson was president of the Church. Again I saw him

from time to time in the Church Administration Building, and as he would be in the parking lot going to and

from the temple in the golf cart driven by Security, but I don’t remember shaking his hand. After about three

years he too became ill and was unable to go to the office again.

In 1984 President Kimball called the three auxiliary presidents to his office to talk to them about working

together as organizations and facilitating that by having Young Women and Primary move into the Relief

Society Building together. At that time Dwan J. Young was the Primary president, and Ardeth Kapp and

Barbara Winder were newly called Young Women and Relief Society presidents. They accepted the challenge

and some minor renovations were made to accomodate the counselors in particular. There were already three

large offices for the presidents which had previously been occupied by the Relief Society presidency. There

were several events held there which President and Sister Hinckley attended, and I was able to shake their

hands on several occasions with Sr. Hinckley calling me by name.

Of course many other general authorities were in meetings or socials I attended with the General Primary

Presidency over the years including some who were Primary’s advisers—Marion D. Hanks, Dean L. Larsen,

Robert L. Backman, Paul H. Dunn, Ted E. Brewerton, ….

Siblings

I was the eldest of four children. Raymond was four years younger than me, Karen four years younger than

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

him, and Richard almost four years younger than Karen. That meant that Richard was 11+ years younger than

me so I often took care of him. When I was left in charge of the family, Ray didn’t like being told what to do

so we weren’t close at all growing up. Karen and I shared a small room with a small outdoor closet (no

insulation) which was difficult in the winter so she kept her clothes in the bedroom which caused friction

between us. I guess I felt closest to Richard.

As time went on, Ray joined the Army, Karen got a teaching certificate and went to the Philippines to teach,

and I moved to Salt Lake City. When Ray came home, he married Lenora, they moved to Florida, and had

four children Karen also married and moved to northern Florida. After my father died, Richard came to BYU

to finish his education. He ultimately joined the Church, married Alice and had eight children.

I would say Ray and I weren’t particularly close until he was living in Seattle and divorced. Karen and I have

been close for a number of years, and with Richard’s family living close by, I have felt close to them all of their

lives.

This paragraph is written in 2018 and I would add that Ray and I talk a lot on the phone—at least twice a week.

Surgeries

As a child of seven years old, I had a tonsilectomy and adnoise surgery. The only problem I had was waking

up in a crib (at 7 yrs. of age?) and watching all the other children leave and not seeing my mother for hours.

Somehow she had gotten the wrong message about when I would be ready to go home!

When I was 18/19 and had begun attending the LDS Church without family knowing it, I frequently had

fainting spells. I didn’t realize until much later that some of it was occurring because I knew I was doing

something my parents wouldn’t approve of. However, some of that happened when I began a menstral cycle

although not all the time. In the middle of all that, I also had a strong pain on my right side which came and

went. Finally the doctor decided I needed to have an appendectomy. Because I was young, I recovered

quickly.

However, both the menstral pains and the fainting continued even past the time when I was baptized. It took

several years for me to adjust to so many permanent changes. To this day, if I have a severely emotional

situation, I respond by passing out! Linda knows all about that!

I think I was 58 when I had a hysterectomy. I was working for the Church and living in Murray. Interestingly,

my friend, Carolyn Rasmus, who also worked for the Church but lived in Orem, had the same surgery on the

same day but in a different city. That was great because we called back and forth every day to compare notes!

By 3 1/2 weeks I was back in the office.

Since that time I have had surgery on both eyes (cataracts) and other minor things that took me to emergency

rooms but no surgeries that I can remember.

Travel And Vacations (Holiday)

When I was little and my grandmother Piccolo was still alive, vacations were with the entire Piccolo family.

When I was very young, I have film of being at the beach with the family. Then when I was about 13, and

after my grandmother had died, the Piccolo family bought a beach house in Scituate, Mass. My father and his

siblings enjoyed it, but my mother didn’t because her idea of a vacation was to not have to work, whereas on

weekends especially most of the entire Piccolo family came to the beach and the women had to do all the

cooking for them. I of course was very empathetic of my mother’s feelings.

After I moved West, I enjoyed vacationing in my car to places I had never seen, and I tried seeing the

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

Intermountain West as much as I could. Unlike the beach, I was old enough to make decisions for myself. But

part of my vacation was usually at Christmastime when I flew home to visit with the family.

Over the years I have enjoyed seeing much of the United States and Europe. But now that I am in my 80’s, I

don’t have the umph to travel very far from home. For instance, this September (2019) Linda will be going to

Switzerland to her nephew’s wedding. I would love to go with her, but I no longer have the stamina to take

such a trip unfortunately.

Your Religious Heritage

I grew up in an Italian Catholic home basically, although my Mother wasn’t an active Catholic. Still, she

thought it was important and, being the eldest child, I was sent to church every Sunday. As a child I was

taught catechism by the nuns (St. Joseph’s order), received my first Holy Communion and also confirmation.

When I was sixteen and began working every day at Piccolo’s Pharmacy, I went to Mass Sunday mornings with

my father and then we went to work. Several Sundays on the way to work I asked my father questions about

something the priest had said or some other religious question, and I was always surprised that he never could

answer me—either because he wasn’t listening or because he didn’t know the answer.

In those teenage years I began to think more seriously about Catholicism, what the beliefs were and why.

When I was 17, I decided during the 40 days of Lent to be more serious about the church so I gave up smoking

during that time (which was a difficult thing to do), I went to Mass every morning of those 40 days, and during

the last days of Lent when difficult things such as “making the seven churches” were suggested, I did those as

well expecting to be rewarded with some kind of strong spiritual feeling. But that didn’t happen and I began to

lose faith in Catholicism.

Both of my best friends growing up were Protestants. Bobbie (Roberta) Donohue was a Baptist; Mary Porter

was a Methodist, so we didn’t have much in common in that regard, and we didn’t really talk much about

religion. Mary’s father was a Mason, but I didn’t know what that meant.

Because all of my Piccolo relatives were Catholic, we often participated in baby blessings, weddings, etc. I

remember being very shocked when my eldest cousin, Phyllis Farrenkopf, married outside the church. And I

think I expected the greater family to refuse to let it happen. But George was a great guy, and Phyllis

continued to be an active Catholic and raised her children in the faith.

Brothers And Sisters

Friday, 5 February 1937 to Tuesday, 5 February 1957

I am the oldest of four children and we are each four years apart except that Karen and Richard (the two

youngest) are 3 1/2 years apart. To begin with, I have to say that it is sometimes difficult to be the oldest. The

youngest tend to think the oldest child gets away with more things just because he/she can do more by virtue of

being older. And as children get older, the oldest tends the others which doesn’t win friends and influence

people!!

Raymond is next to me and is four years younger. From the getgo he didn’t like me telling him anything so

growing up we didn’t have the best relationship. During those years we argued a lot. But once he came home

from the service and got married and began having children, our relationship improved. In fact, while he was

living in Florida (the first time), and I was in Utah, my Mother lived down near them so I visited often at

Christimastime. In fact, I arranged for the missionaries to visit him one year, and eventually both he and

Lenora joined the Church. They were active in the Church for a few years, but then became inactive and

remained that way until about September 2006 when Ray became active again. Unfortunately, he and Lenora

were divorced by then, and none of his children are members. For the past 15+ years, Ray’s family has lived in

Seattle, WA. As a result, I haven’t been very close to his children.

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

Ray’s family has had a lot to deal with over the years. Michelle became ill when she was around 18. She had a

complicated surgery that left her with after-affects all of her life to the point that she never could keep a job

very long. And the constant pain meant taking lots of pills, which eventually took her life at the young age of

38. She left behind a daughter, Tayler, who this year is 15 years old, and who lives with her Grandma Lenora.

Because Ray isn’t involved daily with his family (altho he would very much like to be more involved), for the

past two years Karen and I have each telephoned him twice a week so we can stay in close contact which also

provides Ray the opportunity to talk to someone.

Karen is the third child and eight years younger than me, so once she got to be eight or ten, we didn’t get along

all that well. We shared a bedroom, and she was at the messy stage while I wasn’t. The bedroom and

especially the closet was really small, so unless you put things away, the bedroom was messy. But I moved to

Utah when I was 21 and, although I went home as often as I could, Karen seemed to resent that I left home

because when I was there, I was the one my Mother talked to the most. But time can be a great healer, and

after Karen left the Philippines and moved to northern Florida, we began to be friends—especially after she

divorced John—and over the years that has only increased. Now, and for the past 25 years, we have been good

friends and we email each other daily. She probably isn’t excited about the fact that people think we’re a lot

alike in many ways (including her husband, Phil), yet Karen looks and walks a lot like my Mother, and I’m

built more like my Father.

Richard is the youngest and probably the one I was closest to growing up even though we are eleven years

apart in age. Even after I moved to Utah but came home to visit often, he spent a lot of time visiting with me.

Then after my Father died, he finished college at Brigham Young University. After a couple of years Richard

too became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That led to his dating LDS girls and,

believe it or not, that New England boy met and married an Idaho farm girl! Over the years they had eight

children—Rebecca Marie, Stephen Richard, Matthew Cook, Rachel Ruth, Angela Michelle, Melissa Sue,

Adam Michael, and Samuel Francesco. Inbetween Rachel and Angela, they lost another daughter just prior to

her birth named Katie. Over the years Richard has served as a bishop, in a regular ward bishopric and a BYU

bishopric, and many other Church callings. I have always felt close to his children and after I retired, Linda

and I moved to Orem for two reasons—so she didn’t have to commute to BYU, but especially so that I would

be close to Richard’s family and see them more often.

Family Traditions (You as a child)

Friday, 5 February 1937 to Tuesday, 5 February 1957

Hmmm; family traditions. That would be more like Mother’s traditions. Because she missed having a Mother

after age eight, she missed a lot of the traditions their family would have had, so she really wanted to have

those traditions for her children—and she didn’t want to skimp. But my Father was focused on the money

aspect being afraid Mother would spend too much money (which she generally did). As a result, he was never

very excited or involved—and often grumpy.

I think the traditions were common to most families then—Christmas and Easter were the big ones, but we did

Halloween costumes and candy; traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinners; and along the way we observed the

Catholic traditions of not eating meat on Fridays (even the day after Thanksgiving!). On Easter there were new

outfits, baskets with goodies and the traditional ham. Christmas of course was the big one and again, because

my Mother never had much in the way of gifts or family, she wanted to give us lots of presents. I remember

her being up Christmas Eve until two or three in the mornning putting out toys, putting them together, filling

stockings, etc. But then we were up very early eager to see what there was, and often she was too tired to get

up that early to enjoy the gift opening. When my Father was there, he was more concerned about the

upcoming bills seeing all that we were given. At the time that put a damper on my Christmas joy because I

knew it would become a source of disagreement between my parents. In fairness, as I got a lot older, I could

understand a little where my Father was coming from.

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

Neighbors

Friday, 5 February 1937 to Tuesday, 5 February 1957

On the block where we lived most of the time on Palfrey Street, there was a mixture of people—Italians, Irish,

English, Canadians, and Scottish. We knew our neighbors but didn’t interact very much. My Mother belonged

to a bridge club which included three Jewish families down the street, and other ladies who lived further away.

Karen loved jewelry from the time she was little and always admired my Mother’s rings. She had an

engagement/wedding ring that was diamonds, and a lovely opal ring. One day when Karen was about four

years old, she was out playing in the dirt with other kids and one of our neighbors noticed she had an opal ring

on her hand. She quickly told my Mother and that was the end of that. But Karen always loved that ring, and

when my Mother departed this life, she left the opal to Karen.

Everyone drank tea or coffee in that part of the world, and neighbors sometimes just dropped in and had a cup

of coffee together while they chatted. My Mother loved having company.

Places You Lived as a Child

Friday, 5 February 1937 to Tuesday, 5 February 1957

Our family didn’t move around much. Because Piccolo’s Pharmacy was in Watertown Square, it was important

that we live in Watertown. My grandmother lived there as well as the Farrenkopfs and Josephine (they all

lived in the same house; some upstairs and some down). So the first place the family lived was on the second

floor of a rented home close to Belmont Street and only a few streets from where the other homes were. I

believe we lived there until I was about three years old.

The next home was on Palfrey Street. My parents purchased that two-story house and lived on the bottom

level. After a few years the upstairs was split into two three-room apartments. I remember that Phyllis and

George lived there as newly weds, and their first child (George) and my parents’ last child (Richard) were born

just 2-3 weeks apart in August 1948. It was fun to listen to Phyllis and my mother compare notes along the

way since this was Phyllis’ first baby.

My friend Mary Porter’s family lived a few streets away on Marion Road in a one-story home that my mother

had always admired. When the Porters moved to the country while I was a Sophomore in High School,

(1952?) my mother persuaded my father to buy the home. It was lovely, and I was thrilled to have my own

bedroom, as were Karen and the boys. While living there, I finished high school, graduated from business

school, worked until I was 21 years old, and then moved to Salt Lake City. I believe the second year after

living in Utah the family sold the home and moved back to Palfrey Street (about 1960).

In about the mid-1960’s, Ray married Lenora and they moved to Florida. Karen was in college and then took a

teaching position in the Philippines. Then in 1968 my father passed to the other side which gave Richard the

opportunity to finish his college education at BYU. My mother then decided to move to Florida where Ray

and family were and rented the Palfrey St. home for a few years, after which she came back and sold it.

Your Place In The Family

Friday, 5 February 1937 to Tuesday, 5 February 1957

I am the oldest child; the first of four children—two girls and two boys. Because I was the oldest, my mother

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

talked to me a lot about her relationship with my father and her unhappiness. Because she married into a

family with a business (my father was a pharmacist and was part-owner in Piccolo’s Pharmacy), she thought

there should be more money available to her. One of the reasons she thought that is because when I was little,

my grandmother was still alive and she used to take us shopping and buy me expensive clothes. But after

Grandma died and the money from the store had to be split four ways, there wasn’t nearly as much money.

Mother had been so poor growing up that she had always hoped she could marry into money and she never got

over it.

My father was a pharmacist and worked 6 1/2 days a week so we didn’t see much of him. And he and my

mother were at such odds so much of the time that when he was home, things weren’t very good as far as

communication etc. was concerned.

My mother learned to cook Italian style from my grandmother, and since my father was used to eating Italian

food in his home, that’s mostly what we ate. My mother didn’t like fish but she sometimes cooked it for my

father, and we ate something different. In those days the Catholic church, of which we were members, forbid

us to eat meat on Fridays. Thanksgiving was the hardest because it was always on Thursday. Friday

followed and we couldn’t eat meat on that day which was difficult.

Favorite Activities During Childhood

About Saturday, 5 February 1938 to Saturday, 5 February 1949

When I was three or four, my Mother took me to tap dancing school, and I tapped myself silly until I was

around eleven. Every year there was a big dancing recital complete with costumes, and I was usually in several

of them. Even now it’s hard for me to watch the 8 mm movies my Father took of me dancing my heart out!

My Mother also wanted me to learn to play the piano—in large measure because she loved playing and always

wanted more lessons. But unfortunately I was more interested in playing sports like tennis, softball, and tag

football. When I decided not to take more lessons, she told me one day I would be sorry, and I definitely am!

In my younger years I mostly played with the boys in the neighborhood. We lived on a long hill (Palfrey St.),

but three houses up from us there was a flat street going the opposite way (Pearl St.), and we often played tag

football. When I was in Junior High I don’t remember playing sports there particularly, altho I do remember

that I chose to attend East Jr. High (as opposed to West Jr. High). Because we lived in the middle of the town

boundaries we could choose which one to attend. East was at the other end of town and we could have ridden

the street car to school, but Bobbie, Mary, and I were proud of ourselves for walking to and from school. I

never did clock the miles but I would guess it was 2 miles from home.

When I got to Watertown High, I really wanted to participate in girls’ sports. For a little while I played field

hockey, tennis, and girls’ basketball (in the days when we played half court). Believe it or not this “shrimp”

played guard and somewhat effectively! But when I turned 16, I had to work at Piccolo’s Pharmacy seven days

a week—after school weekdays, a full shift on Saturday, and Sunday until the store closed at 2:00 p.m. I

earned a whopping 68 cents per hour! But between working and homework, I wasn’t able to participate in any

extracurricular activities at school. I have always regretted that!

Father’s Occupation

About Saturday, 5 February 1938 to Tuesday, 5 February 1957

My Father was a pharmacist. I think I explained elsewhere that he worked at Piccolos and went to

pharmacology school evenings. He was just completing his education when he met my Mother. I always felt

that he had a great occupation; almost like a doctor in some ways. And of course it was exciting that our

family owned a store. He was well-liked by customers and in the later years especially by all the elderly

people who lived in the same vicinity. He was very kind to them and often delivered the prescriptions in

person if they couldn’t get around very well. In fact at his viewing (they call it a “wake” in Catholic country)

so many people wanted to attend that they held it a third day.

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

I think my Father enjoyed being a pharmacist, although he worked long hours and seven days a week since he

owned the store (along with his brother, Danny, and his sister, Josephine). But working with and knowing all

the customers for so many years really turned into his social life for the most part.

Mother’s Occupation

About Saturday, 5 February 1938 to Tuesday, 5 February 1957

My mother’s mother died when my mother was just 8 years old. My grandfather had had a mistress already so

she moved into the apartment with two nieces and a nephew which she was raising so she didn’t want to have

my grandfather’s 4 children there. At the time my mother was 8, and her brothers were approximately 12, 14,

and 16. The two oldest joined the Army and the 12 year old joined the Army a couple of years later lying

about his age.

My mother went to live with her mother’s sister–her aunt–but her uncle was a policeman in downtown Boston

and liked to drink his paycheck every week so that wasn’t a pleasant environment. As a result, when my

mother finished the 8th grade, she left school and went to work in a laundry.

Music

About Sunday, 5 February 1939 to Monday, 5 February 2007

Music was always important in our family because it was important to my Mother. She played the piano and

had had a dream when she was younger to be a concert pianist. As children growing up, she frequently played

the piano and had us sing. I remember that almost always when we had company (friends or family) part of

that time was everyone singing while she played. Mother had high hopes for her children (especially her

daughters) to play, but unfortunately I was more interested in being outside playing than

practicing—something I very much regret.

Karen took flute lessons and played in the high school band, but I don’t think the boys ever took lessons.

However, I have always enjoyed music and over the years have gone to concerts, musicals, etc. When I was at

BYU I often went to dances with dates and enjoyed that. And because my mother loved music, I often sat at

the piano with her and sang the songs that were popular in that day. In fact, I still sing that music from time to

time. Music is soothing and uplifting, and altho I wouldn’t say I have music “ability,” I have always loved it.

Dinner Time

Sunday, 5 February 1939 to Saturday, 5 February 1955

I am concerned that this history will sound too negative, but as I look at the topics like this one of what took

place at dinner time, unforutnately the memory of being at home at the dinner table isn’t always a pleasant one.

As far as the food goes, it was delicious! My Mother had learned to cook Italian dishes from Grandmother

Piccolo, and she was a good cook. In the Italian tradition on a Sunday or holiday, we had some pasta to begin

with; then a roast with all the trimmings and salad and dessert. Everything was homemade. Because Catholics

couldn’t eat meat on Fridays in those days, we had Italian dishes like baccala (potatoes and cod fish in a tomato

sauce) or pasta with Mother’s homemade tomato sauce or homemade pizza or scones. With every meal there

was always a green salad.

Too often my parents would disagree about something at dinner, and we children learned to eat quickly and

leave the table. To this day I eat dinner rather fast. When we lived at Palfrey Street, there was a U-shaped

nook where we ate except on Sundays when we ate at the formal dining room table. At that era children didn’t

carry on lively conversations at the table unless encouraged by adults. Of course that’s very different today

where children feel they have as much a right to talk as adults do.

We never went out to eat except for one Mother’s Day when I was working and saved enough money to take

the family out to dinner because I knew my Mother would really like a day when she didn’t have to cook. I had

hoped my Father would help me financially, but that didn’t happen. It was a milestone in her life; she was very

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

happy to go to a restaurant on that special day.

Movies

About Monday, 5 February 1940 to Monday, 5 February 2007

I couldn’t tell you what the first movie I saw was, but over the years I have seen a lot of movies—especially in

the earlier years (1950’s and 1960’s) when they were decent. I loved musicals but now even the occasional

musical is too close to being “R” rated. I don’t remember goitng to a movie as a child but began going to

movies when I was in high school. During that time movies were delightful and I probably went to a movie

every week.

In the 50’s we got our first television and occasionally got to see movies at home. As I have grown older, I see

movies less often mostly because they aren’t uplifting and enjoyable any more.

Radio

About Monday, 5 February 1940 to Monday, 5 February 2007

Because my Mother loved music, she usually had the radio tuned to listen to music as she worked around the

house. And when I was fairly young, I remember listening to radio programs perhaps on Saturdays like “Amos

and Andy;” “The Shadow Knows;” and one other I can’t think of the name of. But when I was around 15, we

finally got a television! It was black and white, a fairly small screen, and we loved it; we were absolutely

glued to the televsion every evening. It was difficult to leave it and do homework when others were watching.

The programs were funny and musical;; never anything like now where you have to shut your eyes and ears so

you won’t be embarrassed.

Nowadays and for many years the television plays much more of a role than the radio—except in the car.

Although we don’t just have the television on unless we are watching something. And there seem to be fewer

and fewer programs which we enjoy; so many have plots that are too dark or too full of murder and the like

that there aren’t that many programs for us to watch. We have especially noticed it this year.

Reading

About Monday, 5 February 1940 to Monday, 5 February 2007

I do enjoy reading. We carry the daily newspaper which I read every morning, and I have a book that I am

reading most of the time. And because of my interest in Church books, that is generally what I read. I think I

read fairly quickly but then I don’t remember what I’ve read for very long.

Because I was the first child in the family, my mother read to me quite a bit before I went to kindergarten. But

I don’t remember wanting to read books while I was in school. I wanted instead to be outside playing.

Nowadays I usually read emails on the computer and often do book reading at night when I can’t sleep. Many

nights I wake up around 1 or 2 a.m., read for an hour or two, and then go back to sleep. That’s also a good

time to read scriptures!

Primary Or Sunday School (LDS)

Monday, 5 February 1940

I was nineteen and a non-member of the Church when I began attending Sunday School at the Cambridge, MA

branch. As a Catholic we never delved into the scriptures ourselves; we were taught by the priest or nuns at

church. So I was intrigued about learning and reading what was actually in the scriptures and having what was

in there explained to me. In addition the teachers were excellent. I later learned that they were returned

missionaries who were attending school at Harvard University. Much, much later after I had joined the

Church, moved to SLC, and had a number of years in the Church, these teachers became well known and

leaders in one way or another. Some of the teachers were Truman Madsen, Stephen Covey, Hal Eyring, and

many others whose names I can’t think of.

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

Writing

About Thursday, 5 February 1942 to Monday, 5 February 2007

I have never kept a diary or a journal—I think primarily because I didn’t ever think I had anything to write

about, and actually it never occurred to me that I should do such a thing. I never thought I would know

something that others would want to read.

The LDS Church introduced me to so very many things. I attended the Cambridge Branch for 2 1/2 years

before being baptized so I was introduced to many people who attended Radcliffe or Harvard or MIT. I was

painfully aware of the broad scope they enjoyed even at a young age. The boys/men had all been on missions

everywhere in the world so many spoke another language. I felt like a drop of water in a large pond. The

Sunday School lessons were so interesting and informative and it was amazing to me how much the teachers

knew about scriptures, whereas that was my first introduction to the scriptures.

Sports And Physical Activities

About Monday, 5 February 1945 to Monday, 5 February 2007

I have always enjoyed sports from the time I was old enough to play tag football with the boys up the street.

There weren’t any girls my age close by so I played with boys. I never liked feminine things like playing dolls

much to my mother’s dismay. When Karen came along eight years later, my mother thought for sure she would

have a feminine girl, but she too liked playing sports.

I would have played sports in high school, but I only had a little while to play tennis and field hockey before I

turned 16 and had to work for Piccolo’s Pharmacy seven days a week until I graduated. When I could find

time and an opponent, I loved to play tennis. However, while I was in Boston I enjoyed watching the Red Sox

play as well as the hockey teams.

From time to time over the years I have attended or watched some sports—particularly BYU football. And for

many years I cheered my nephews as they ran in tournaments.

Secondary Education

Saturday, 5 February 1949 to Saturday, 5 February 1955

The question asked is “where did I attend school during my teen years”? Well I was in high school and

graduated when I was 17 years of age. Then I neither had the money nor did I think I was college material, so

instead of going to college I went to secretarial school. I was there for a year but took some extra classes

which amounted to two years of secretarial school.

I don’t remember having any teachers who influenced my choice of occupation. As far as subjects that I

enjoyed, I would have to say language, altho I didn’t really pursue a language outside of high school. I didn’t

like history. Even though I lived in Boston where so much of our country’s history took place, it was never

something I wanted to get into.

My school grades were average, no special organizations or awards. In high school I would have liked to take

a sports activity, but because I had to begin working seven days a week at Piccolo’s Pharmacy at age 16, I just

didn’t have time to do other things.

In that era of time, people didn’t live away from home unless the school we attended was too far from home.

So I didn’t have an experience with roommates until I was 21 years old and living in Utah.

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

Your First Date

Saturday, 5 February 1949 to Monday, 5 February 1962

The first date I can remember I was still living in Watertown with my family but I was investigating the LDS

Church. The fellow whose name I can’t remember was in the service and I met him at church. I dated him

several times when he was there and one time I invited him to dinner on a Friday evening. On Fridays we

couldn’t eat meat so my mother had prepared a baccala dish which of course was very strange to him. But he

was good-natured about it and ate heartily. I enjoyed dating him until he was transferred, but never thought of

marriage.

Favorite Activities During Teen Years

About Sunday, 5 February 1950 to Friday, 5 February 1954

Even though I was a shrimp (5 ft. 1 1/2 inches), I loved sports—tennis, basketball, softball. Growing up I

played ball with the boys in the neighborhood on one of the side streets. When I was in junior high, I played

basketball a little until I had to give it up to work at Piccolos. In those days everyone was restricted by income

and didn’t play at gyms; I don’t remember knowing of any close by.

I didn’t have access to a car very often. Those were the days of one car families. Sometimes my mother had

the car to do grocery shopping but often my father took the car to work even though it was parked at the store.

On occasion he had to deliver prescriptions to customers. I didn’t have my own car until the summer when I

was 21 years old and thinking about driving to Salt Lake City. Then Josephine was buying a new car and I

bought her 1949 Plymouth Coop which was a two-door and had horsehair upholstery. I remember being

thrilled at having my own wheels. But it was dampened some by my father making me pay to use the two-door

garage which heretofore had only been used by their one car. It was a stick shift which is the kind of car I

learned on and got my license on. At that time automatic shift cars were coming into vogue, but there were

lots of stick shifts still. So a person obtained either a license to drive a stick shift car, or a different license if

you were driving an automatic shift.

Your First Job

About Thursday, 5 February 1953

My very first job was working at Piccolo’s Pharmacy as soon as I turned 16. I worked there every afternoon

after school, Saturdays(for eight hours), and Sundays until the store closed at 2 p.m. I earned a whopping 68

cents per hour! Weekdays I got to have a break and a snack (which was always a dish of ice cream for me);

Saturdays of course I had a choice of lunch as well as a snack.

My father was the pharmacist at Piccolo’s, Uncle Danny worked behind the soda fountain, although he was

often ill and unable to be there. Josephine (my aunt) was the primary person who worked the soda fountain

but unfortunately I found her to be difficult to work with. During the lunch hour Auntie Ange and Uncle

Eddie worked at the store with Auntie Ange doing the cooking and Uncle Eddie cleaning off tables or

whatever needed to be done. They were always good and kind.

I remember working at the store one Saturday when there was a hurricane. The store was situated across the

Charles River bridge and the street car barn was across the other street to the South. So often people came

into the store because they were getting off or wanting to get on a street car. On that day they were literally

blown across the street into the store, and the wind was so strong that someone had to stand at the door and

open it as they were blown in. We were busy not only taking care of customers, but making sandwiches and

hot coffee to give without charge to the police and firemen who were taking care of problems caused by the

storm.

But my first real job, after I graduated from Katharine Gibbs School in Boston, was with a large company in

Brighton, MA called General Electric/Hotpoint. It was in a fairly isolated area so that the company provided

food and drink for breaks and lunch—something you don’t see nowadays. That is where I met Sylvia Mugica

who was to change my life bigtime!

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

Jobs You Have Held

About Thursday, 5 February 1953 to Tuesday, 5 February 2002

I have already written that my first job was working at Piccolo’s Pharmacy after high school. Then I went to

Katharine Gibbs Business School in downtown Boston. Did I already said that the school required us to dress

“to the 9’s”? We had to wear Sunday-type clothes, heels, hose, a hat, and gloves. I got to school by riding the

streetcar and then the subway so with all those duds on I had to juggle a stack of books! Needless to say, I had

to wash my gloves every day!

So after I graduated, I got a job at General Electric/Hotpoint. It was a large company and it’s where I met

Sylvia Mugica who introduced me to the LDS Church. It was set up in cubicles so that my boss and I were

together in a cubicle. I was a smoker in those days, but my boss smoked cigars so that the cubicle was filled

with smoke all of the time. Amazing!

After I joined the LDS Church, I moved to Salt Lake City (1958) and worked for the State Park and Recreation

Commission. The pay was about half of what it had been in Boston. After having been there a little more

than a year, I got a call from the LDS Business School asking me to meet with the president. I don’t know to

this day how they learned about me. But the president asked if I would be interested in a position at Brigham

Young University working for a new vice president who would be coming from California to work for

President Wilkinson. I was shocked to say the least! I had never been to Provo, didn’t know anything about

BYU, where I would live, etc. I was still trying to get acclimated to SLC and the totally new way of living

there. The missionaries I had known in Boston (Donna Turley and Loydece ??) were living in Provo and

encouraged me to come. They didn’t have room in their apartment for me, but were sure they could find a

place. So I gave notice and moved to Provo in September 1959.

John Bernhard was President Wilkinson’s new vice president and, I learned later, was also a convert to the

Church from New York. He was very nice, but I soon learned that I didn’t have the proper skills for that job. I

didn’t know the “language” of the Church or the University so after two months of his having to constantly

correct what I had typed, I felt I should do him a favor and resign. I talked to John about it, but he was very

kind and felt sure I would improve in another month which I did—and I worked at BYU until June 1969. But

while I was there I learned many, many things about the Church and its way of doing things, and I met many

wonderful people. At first our office was in the Maeser Building, but BYU was have a growth spurt so a new

administration building went up and we were moved over near the President’s office. That was lovely

compared to the old Maeser Bldg. However, after a few years the Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences

had also grown and needed a new dean, so John was appointed and we moved back to the Maeser. The

English Dept. was also in that building, and I will always remember Chuck Tate coming downstairs to tell me

that President Kennedy had been shot.

The pay at BYU was pretty meager. I had barely enough to pay rent, food, a car payment, and enough to buy a

plane ticket home for Christmas most years. John left about 1966 to take a post for a year in Belo Horizonte,

Brazil, and I began to wonder if I should go somewhere else. I loved being in Provo, but I just couldn’t eek out

much of a living. My family had been wanting me to return to Boston so I finally decided to leave BYU in

June of 1969 and return home. But that didn’t work out.

So in September 1969 I returned to SLC again not knowing where I would work or live, but at least I knew a

few people by then. I secured a job at the Foreign Study League as the Director of Operations and enjoyed

working there for several years. Because of the nature of the company (taking student tours to Europe), I was

able to go on two different tours. In 1974 the company was purchased by TransAmerica and then by Reader’s

Digest. All employees were given an opportunity to transfer with the company to New York, but I decided to

stay in SLC. They gave us a generous six months’ pay to enable us to find another job.

And so I did! The University of Utah had a company which did biomedical research, and I worked there with

Reed Harker for several years. Reed was a great guy, LDS, and I really enjoyed working with him. After a

couple of years very unexpectedly I received a call from the Church Employment Office asking if I would

come in for a job interview. The Primary was in need of an administrative assistant. I really wasn’t interested

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

for several reasons—not the least of which was the poor pay. But Reed advised me to at least see what they

had to offer. I talked to Elder Marion D. Hanks who was Primary’s adviser, and also the Primary Presidency

(Naomi Shumway, Colleen Lemon, and Dorothea Murdock). But, as I suspected, the pay was low and I

declined. A couple of weeks later I got another call from the employment office asking me to come in again,

and indicating that they were able to increase the offer. Reluctantly I went. The pay was a little better but my

inclination was to say no. However, I said I needed time to think about it. And the rest is history!

So in September 1977 I began working as administrative assistant to the President. Generally a Church calling

was attached to it of General Secretary to the Primary but I think they wanted to wait and see. I was currently

the Stake Young Woman President in my stake so had my hands full and didn’t realize that Primary was not an

8-5 job! It was difficult to find time for both! In April 1978 I was called to the board and therefore released

as stake YW president. It was a very demanding and busy job and calling which I held for fourteen years.

Naomi Shumway was the Primary General President while I was there for an additional 2 1/2 years; Dwan

Young was president for eight years, and Michaeline Grassli was president for 2 1/2 years before I changed

jobs.

In 1991 I obtained a position in the Welfare Dept. as an Employment Specialist working with Deseret

Industries employees from which I retired in April of 1999 at the age of 62.

Hobbies

About Thursday, 5 February 1953 to Monday, 5 February 2007

I’m sorry to say that I haven’t had any hobbies in the traditional sense. I loved sports and either played tennis

when I could find some one to play with, or there were always boys playing touch football up the street, and I

played with them in my younger years.

As time went by, and after I built a home in Murray, my “hobbies” were working in the yard, gardening,

planting fruit trees and then bottling the harvest, etc.

I was always keenly interested in having and making friends, so much time was taken up in that “hobby” which

often resulted in taking little trips and visiting new places. I suppose in that sense travelling was a hobby!

Your First Thoughts Of Marriage

Thursday, 5 February 1953 to Sunday, 5 February 1967

Because my parents weren’t happy in their marriage, I wasn’t very excited about marriage, but in my late teens I

began to date a little. That especially happened while I was investigating the LDS church and met several guys

who were LDS. I remember dating Blaine (can’t remember his last name) who was from Utah (I was living in

the Boston area growing up). But I continued to be surprised at how different those of us from Boston and

Utah were. We just didn’t live life the same way at all. So not until I joined the LDS church did I begin to

understand that culture.

In the next ten years I dated several guys in Utah and received five proposals—all of which I rejected. The

first I met in a ward in Provo. After about four or five dates, he proposed but I wasn’t ready or interested. One

of my roommates at the time was from Alberta, Canada, and she dated a guy from Canada named Stirling.

After a year or so they both moved back to Canada but the next year my doorbell rang and it was Stirling. I

thought he hadn’t known that my roommate had moved back to Canada, but he was there to ask me on a date.

We got into his truck and went to get something to eat—and it shocked me when he proposed marriage when

we returned home. I declined, and learned later that he then went to California where a former roommate

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

lived, proposed to her, and she agreed and moved to Canada.

I was also dating Blaine at the time and continued to date him while he was going to BYU—about two years or

so. But as graduation got closer and he would be leaving, he asked me to marry him. I liked him a lot, but

didn’t feel like I wanted to spend my life with him, so I declined. That was a difficult decision.

Several years later I had been dating a fellow in my ward that I liked quite a lot. But he suddenly got a job in

California and moved there. I really missed him but he was gone and we didn’t write. A couple of years later

I had decided to move back to Boston at least for the summer and see if I could live there again. The day

before I was leaving, the California guy came back to BYU to go to summer school. He came to see me and

wanted to date again. I was really torn because I had promised my family I would come home, but I really

wanted to stay now. I had left my job at BYU and given notice at the apartment. I thought and prayed about it

a lot, but decided I really had to go home for a while. He said he would write, but I got just one letter and then

learned he had become engaged to someone else. Clearly he was ready to get married.

One more time, when I was about 32 years old, I dated someone from Las Vegas at BYU. I met him because

he was assigned to the group having family home evening at our house. We dated for about a year until he

moved back to Las Vegas, but I just didn’t feel like I loved him enough to spend my life with him.

Your Life’s Work

About Saturday, 5 February 1955 to Tuesday, 5 February 2002

After high school I went to Katharine Gibbs Business School—one of the most prestigious in Boston. In those

days we had to dress up to the “nines.” That meant I had to wear nylons, a suit or skirt and jacket, gloves and a

hat. It wasn’t so bad in downtown Boston because most people dressed that way. But riding the streetcar and

subway to get to downtown was crowded, I often had to stand up in the streetcar, and I was carrying a lot of

books.

A lot of my friends went to college, but I couldn’t afford to do that nor did I have confidence that I could pass

college classes. I have often regretted not having gone to college, and I’m very grateful that my nieces and

nephews (at least Richard’s children) went to college and got a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree. Besides a

Bachelor’s degree, Stephen got a Ph.D., Matthew got a Juris Prudence degree, and Angie got a Master’s degree.

Unfortunately, if I remember correctly, Ray’s children didn’t have much schooling. Christine, Brian and

Michelle finished high school, and Michael finished two years of additional schooling.

When I finished schooling, I obtained a secretarial position for General Electric/Hotpoint in Belmont. I was

secretary to one of the managers and had my desk in his office. My boss smoked (as did most of the people in

that era of time) but I don’t remember smoking in the office. We had lunch at work (no one left to get food)

and I was assigned to a table with about eight women. Each of them took turns introducing themselves and

most said they were Catholic (as was I). But Sylvia introducted herself and said she was a Mormon. I was

sure she was kidding because whoever heard of Mormons? There was a little about them in the history books

at school, but that’s all. Everyone had a good laugh but then a couple of the girls got me aside and told me that

it was true, she was a Mormon. I was amazed! Of all the women at the table I liked Sylvia the best—but she

was a Mormon!

Several years later I moved to Utah where the pay was much lower and where they had never heard of

Katherine Gibbs. That was quite a blow. After being there a year I received a call from the president of a

secretarial school in Salt Lake City. To my surprise, he knew I had attended Katherine Gibbs and said the

president of Brigham Young University had hired a new vice president who needed a secretary/assistant and

wondered if I would be interested in the job. At the time I knew absolutely nothing about BYU or even where

Provo was, but I agreed to interview for the job. I was hired and began working in a strange environment and

where the language was very different. Whereas I had felt I was a skilled secretary, I was completely baffled

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

by the way people talked—partly because I didn’t know college lingo, and partly because I wasn’t yet familiar

with the way Mormon’s talked. After two months of blundering, I talked to my boss (John Bernhard) and

volunteered to quit for his sake. Because he grew up in New York and was also a convert to the church, he

was empathatic and suggest giving it another month. Fortunately, by that time things began to be a little better.

People In Your Home

Saturday, 5 February 1955 to Monday, 5 February 2007

Our home in Orem, Utah is one that Linda Palmer and I purchased together in December of 1999—whereas the

house in Murray, Utah is one I purchased (the first house I could call my own) and people who moved in (like

Linda) rented. The Orem home has an apartment downstairs with entry by doors to the upstairs but also an

outside door entry which could be assessed from the outside. For a number of years when Richard’s children

were getting married, often the newly weds would live downstairs for a short time and then move on. Stephen

and Laurel lived there the longest while he was finishing up his Ph.D. They lived there 6 or 7 months, and it

was a joy to have them there. During that time Kate was about 2 years old and Joshua was 6 months.

Places You Lived as an Adult

Saturday, 5 February 1955 to Monday, 5 February 2007

As I mentioned somewhere else, when I moved to SLC I first lived in a basement apartment with two other

girls on Princeton Avenue. Then when I took the BYU job, I lived for a short while with two returned

missionaries from Boston (LoyDece Strong and Donna Turley) until I found an apartment with space for

another roommate.

I don’t remember the timing exactly, but not too long afterwards a house was for rent on Cedar Avenue. It had

three bedrooms and in those days, amazingly enough, they had double beds so you wound up sleeping with

someone you didn’t even know! I remember that my roommate was Joyce (her last name escapes me for the

moment) from Canada, and for a while several of the other girls were from Delta, Utah. I wish I had written

names down over the years of who I lived with. I was in that house for several years and different people came

and went. About the second year for a semester I lived with someone who was working on a Ph.D. She wasn’t

terribly friendly but one day I was feeling terrible; like I didn’t belong anywhere and wondered what would

become of me. She heard me crying in my room and came in to try to soothe my tears.

About the 2nd or 3rd year on Cedar Ave. I met Delmont Oswald (Ozzie) who became a great friend for many

years until he passed away at a young age (late 50’s). I was living there also when a couple of roommates from

Alberta, Canada came to live—Vivian ? and Arlene Litchfield. Arlene and I became good friends. When she

got married at the Cardston Temple in February, I drove up to the wedding even though I hadn’t yet gone

through the temple. It was a pretty scary drive that time of the year; hardly any other cars on a two lane

highway much of the trip., and the roads were icey! But I survived!

That’s also where I was living when I got my first proposal. One Sunday Chuck took me for a drive down to

Price, Utah and proposed. I had only dated him several times so was completely caught off guard. But I said I

didn’t really have feelings for him. Of course he said his heart was broken, but lo and behold two weeks later

he had proposed to someone else! He was ready to get married!

Oh, perhaps I was at Cedar Avenue for six years because I lived with Ruth Athay from Montpelier, Idaho (near

Bear Lake) for at least two and maybe three years before she married, and I dated Blaine Seamons for three

years while living there. One year I began dating a single guy in the bishopric (Gordon ?) and really liked him.

Sometime during that year I went with him, the bishop and his wife to a wedding in the Los Angeles area of

someone in the ward. I hadn’t been through the temple yet, but I just hung out while they were gone. We had

a good time together. The bishop took me aside and said Gordon wasn’t quite ready to get married yet but give

it a little while, but at the end of the year Gordon took a job somewhere in CA and I didn’t hear from him for at

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

least another year.

After the sixth year I decided to move back to Boston for the summer. My family had been after me to come

back. But after being there for the summer, I decided I didn’t want to stay, so when I got back to Provo, I found

a place to live on Briar Avenue with three BYU English teachers—Sue Ream (who owned the home), Maureen

Derrick, and Mae Blanch. That was quite the experience living with two people with Master’s degrees and one

with a Ph.D. I definitely felt inferior, but we got along well. Maureen and I were both in rooms in the

basement so we became good friends. In fact two or three years later I was going home to Richard’s high

school graduation, and Maureen decided to come and drove her new Karman Ghia convertible. But that’s

another story!!

In the Fall of 1969 I moved to SLC because of a job with the Foreign Study League. I didn’t know anyone up

there so for a year I lived in a condo with a friend of Mae’s but that wasn’t satisfactory for either one of us.

While at FSL I became acquainted with Sharon Sager and persuaded her to move out of her parents’ home and

into an apartment with me. We found one in Murray (it seemed then like it was very far from SLC). In three

years or so Sharon married Dan Boskovich and Pat Russell moved into the apartment. But after several years I

wanted to have a house of my own which I couldn’t have afforded without the help that Clarke and Doreen

Jones gave me (they sold the land at only $5,000). I wasn’t making very much money but Dell Tripp,, the

builder, was very kind and generous in building the house adding a few nice things like a wooden railing from

the kitchen downstairs instead of just an iron one.

So my next move was into my own little house in September 1976. I loved it and was sure I would never move.

I knew nothing about yards or gardens or much of anything else, but with the help of good neighbors, I learned

a lot. The house had been built with an unfinished basement, but very close to having the house completed, my

Mother wrote to say that she wanted to leave Florida and come to Utah where I was (Richard was in Provo), so

Mr. Tripp finished one half of the basement with a bathroom, a bedroom, and a living room. I thought it was

pretty cold down there, but my Mother always liked the cold, and she was tired of the hot weather in Florida.

For several years Pat Russell lived with me, and then I met Linda Palmer and Pat left and Linda moved in.

Let’s see; that had to be about 1982 because it was the next year, 1983, when my Mother had a heart attack and

passed away. Then in 1985, I think, Linda moved to San Diego and I lived there alone for five years. That was

a terrible time. Linda moved back in 1990 and commuted to LDS Business College in SLC for about three

years until she was hired at BYU as a fund raiser, causing her to have to commute to Provo. So when I retired

in April 1999, Linda wanted to move to Provo/Orem so she wouldn’t have to commute.

It was very difficult giving up that little house I had given so much love and attention to, but I knew it would

be better for Linda not to have to commute, and I figured I would only get older and it would be smarter to live

closer to Richard’s family. So after looking and looking for a condo in Orem, we finally settled on a home that

had the floor plan we wanted and in December 1999 we moved to 698 East 700 North in Orem where we are

living still at this time. And in 2 1/2 years we will finally have the mortgage paid off!! That will be mid-year

2012. (It still seems a long way off as I write this!)

Special Events

Saturday, 5 February 1955 to Monday, 5 February 2007

Following are some significant dates in my life—

February 5, 1937 Day I was born. Apparently I slept a lot and Mother had to awaken me to get me to eat for

a good six months. Duh! Must have been the anesthezia they used on Mother, because she was so worried

about the delivery hurting her that the doctor put her out totally! Good thing they don’t do that now!\

June 1954 I graduated from high school at age 17. Being the first child I had a lot of attention in things like

reading so I didn’t have to stay in kindergarten. As graduation approached, I remember wondering what I

would do after high school. I couldn’t imagine what I would do afterwards. I couldn’t see myself in the future

so I kind of thought perhaps I wouldn’t live beyond my teenage years. Silly me! But, lo and behold, Heavenly

Father had other things in mind for me!

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

November 1955 to February 5, 1958 I was introduced to the Mormon Church by becoming acquainted with

Sylvia Mugica who worked at GE/Hotpoint (my first job after schooling). That began a long curiosity, then

scriptural and doctrinal interest, and finally a full blown investigation of the Church. On my 21st birthday I

was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (see a more complete account

under “conversion.”)

August 1, 1958 I moved to Salt Lake City where things, people, food, and way of doing things weren’t

anything like back home in Boston! The first year was very difficult; in fact, the first several years were, but it

got a little easier as time went by.

September 1959 In July I received a call from the President’s office at LDS Business School indicating that the

President would like to meet with me. I hardly knew the school existed and couldn’t imagine how they knew I

existed. But somehow, and to this day I don’t know how, they knew something about my schooling and the

President said the president of BYU had hired a new assistant who needed a secretary with my skill level and

would I be interested in the job? Well, I had never been to Provo and knew very little about BYU, but I

interviewed for the job and was hired. Interestingly, President Wilkinson’s assistant, John Bernhard, was also a

convert originally from New York. The first couple of months were difficult because I didn’t know the Church

jargon so I offered to leave. Dr. Bernhard understood why I was having trouble and suggested we try it another

month. I worked there until June 1969. Then I went back to Boston for the summer, but decided to come

back to Utah.

September 1969 to June 1974 I worked for the Foreign Study League in Salt Lake City. Not only did I enjoy

working with many of the people (particularly those who were LDS), but it gave me the opportunity to go on

three different trips to Europe! In 1974 the company was purchased by TransAmerica and moved to New

York. I could have transferred, but I didn’t want to move back East.

1974 to 1977 I went to work for UBTL (Utah Biological Test Laboratory). Reed Harker (my boss) was a great

guy, and that’s also where I met Karen Mills and Marilyn Thorne who have been good friends since. While

there, the Director of Personnel at the LDS Church, called and asked me to interview for a position. I wasn’t

excited about going because BYU paid so little money that I didn’t want to work for the Church again. But

Reed suggested I should at least talk to them. The opening was for an administrative assistant to the General

Primary President. However, I felt the salary wasn’t enough so I turned them down. A couple of weeks later I

received another call asking if I would interview again; that the salary had been adjusted. My feeling was to

say “no”, but Reed thought I should at least talk to them. While there, I also talked with Elder Marion D.

Hanks who was then the Primary’s general authority adviser. Well, as they say, the rest is history!

September 1977 to April 1999 For 14 years I worked as Adminstrative Assistant to the Primary President and

a member of the Primary General Board (General Secretary was the title). I served for 3 years under Naomi

M. Shumway, for 8 years under Dwan J. Young, and for 3 years under Michaelene Grassli. After leaving

Primary, I worked for 8 years in the Welfare Department as a Human Resource Manager dealing princiipally

with Deseret Industries employees. From there I retired.

December 1999 Linda Palmer and I moved to Orem, Utah so she didn’t have to continue commuting to BYU,

and so I could be closer to Richard’s family in my old age.

Engagement

About Tuesday, 5 February 1957 to Saturday, 5 February 1977

I have had five proposals of marriage in my life which I turned down either because I wasn’t in love or I wasn’t

ready to get married. But only once was there a ring with the proposal which made it a little more difficult.

Arlin Cooney had given me a pearl ring for my birthday that year. I felt very uncomfortable taking it but he

insisted and at the time I told him I wasn’t ready to marry. Then I was really shocked when just nine days later

on Valentine’s Day he gave me a diamond. Again we talked about my not being ready to accept it but he

insisted I take it home I guess in the hopes that the idea would grow on me. Needless to say it didn’t.

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

Several months later, after I prayed mightily about whether to marry either Arlin or Blaine Seamons, I broke up

with both of them and tried to give Arlin back the pearl ring which he had purchased in Hawaii years before

when he was in the Army. He really wanted me to keep it saying he wouldn’t give it to anyone else, but finally

took it and threw it in the car’s glove compartment. I have always wondered if his wife has a pearl ring.

I dated Blaine Seamons for a couple of years. He was going to BYU and ready to graduate when he asked me

to marry him. I enjoyed dating Blaine, but didn’t feel that I was “in love.”

So…we broke up and he got a teaching job in Ogden, Utah.

For several years I had had roommates from Alberta, Canada. Arlene Litchfield was a close friend who had

moved back to Canada and married Rulon Litchfield. Another roommate from Canada (whose name I can’t

remember) had dated Sterling some from her home town. The next year she had moved back to Canada and

Sterling came to town and stopped by to take me on a date. I was quite shocked that on that first date he asked

me to marry him. I declined, and he went to California to see another former roommate of mine, asked her to

marry him, and the rest is history!

Retirement

About Thursday, 5 February 1987 to Tuesday, 5 February 2002

At the time I was eligible to retire (62 yrs.), I was working for the Welfare Dept. of the LDS Church. My main

responsibility was people working in the Deseret Industries of which there were several located in the

Intermountain West and which I travelled to from time to time.

I had previously worked for the Church in the Primary Dept. for 14 1/2 years and then for the next 8 years I

worked in the Welfare Dept. Unfortunately I retired as soon as I could which I regret. I had a home in Murray,

UT which I had had built in 1976. Linda Palmer was living with me and commuting daily by bus to Provo for

work, and I realized that it would be easier if we both lived in the Orem area. In addition Richard’s family,

with whom I interacted regularly, was living there.

We looked for a home in Provo/Orem for quite a while. Most of the homes had a large master bedroom but

then a much smaller bedroom which could be used for a guest or child. That wouldn’t fit our needs. We had

thought we would buy a condo rather than a house with a yard to worry about, but we just couldn’t find one

that suited our needs. We were told about a home in Orem that was larger than we wanted and much more

expensive. It had a large master bedroom and then two other bedrooms which could work if one of us had the

master, and the other had both bedrooms. But the price was much too high for me. However, Linda thought it

would work so we bought it and likely will be here at least until I pass from this life.

Soon after we moved to Orem, Betty Baker, who was the Relief Society President, came to visit. She called

me to be her counselor and then I was called to be the Relief Society President when she was released. I

served under Bishop Matt Brooks for 4 1/2 years and very much enjoyed that calling. During that time Frankie

Reimschussel served the entire time as my 1st Counselor and I had several 2nd Counselors and

Secretaries—Debra Archuletta, Kellie Knowles, and Diana Cazier to name a few.

Favorite Activities During Senior Years

About Wednesday, 5 February 1997 to Sunday, 5 February 2017

History of Janice Marie Piccolo

In 1976 I finally had a little house of my own built in Murray, UT. I loved it because it was mine and I had

worked a long time to get one. Pat Russell moved in with me and it was nice to have someone helping by

paying rent but not always ideal. I planted fruit trees, lawn, and a large garden; then I canned lots of things for

food storage. I didn’t plan to ever leave there.

But in 1981 I met Linda Palmer and we became close friends. Pat moved out and Linda moved into Brahma

Drive in 1982. Mother died in 1983 and Linda moved back to San Diego in 1987 for five years. However,

she came back in 1992 and in 1994 began working at BYU. I retired in 1999. But Linda was having to

commute back and forth from Murray to Provo every day, and since I was no longer working and Richard’s

family was in Orem, it seemed for the long term that it would be better if we lived in Utah County. It was very

difficult for me to give up that little house, and in some ways I still miss it, but we purchased a lovely home in

Orem where we have lived for 12 years now.

Linda and I have lived together now for about 30 years and our activities consist of mostly my family (since

hers is in San Diego) and our long-time friends with whom we associate a great deal. When everyone was still

working, we got together with our friends on a monthly basis at someone’s home for dinner. That meant we

drove back and forth a lot when we were still in Murray. But since we moved to Orem twelve years ago, and

as more and more of our friends retired, it has been a blessing to be here where everyone is approximately two miles or less away.

Testimony about the Holy Ghost

2/13/2009

Began with unanswered questions in Jr. High/High School about the Catholic Church.

Trinity (Godhead) – 3 Gods in 1

Grevious sins pardoned by priest by prayers/lighting candles

Testimony supposed to be strengthened by many acts during Lent – give up something (smoking), attend Mass every morning before school, walk to 7 chures in areas (many miles) . . .

Attended Mass on Sundays with my father. Had many questions after priests’ sermon that he couldn’t answer. In fact, he really hadn’t listened.

After graduating from business school, first job assigned people to break and lunch groups. In Boston 90% were Catholic – one girl said one was Mormon. I was stunned but impressed with her, felt prompted to know her better. Why would a nice girl join a weird church?

By time I was out of school but still living at home I decided not to attend Mass. My father wasn’t happy – to say the least. Prompted to call Mormon friend; long religious discussion; decided to attend her church next week.

I had no intention of joining another church. But the hymns (I Stand All Amazed); the Sunday School lessons (teachers like Hal Eyring/Stephen Covey/Truman Madsen were compelling) and many questions seemed to be answered.

Attended 1 1/2 years not wanting missionary lessons; not thinking seriously about making changes; not ready Book of Mormon. Couldn’t imagine becoming Mormon yet there were feelings often that the doctrine made sense and so many questions were answered.

Finally I agreed to read Book of Mormon to see if I would experience what so many had testified of. I’m not sure I wanted to because of the consequences. But by now I felt an obligation. While reading Alma 30 I received a strong witness – strong enough that I was compelled to tell my mother. Strong enough to continue toward baptism when fellow workers turned their backs and school friends turned away. Strong enough to compel me to leave home several months after baptism and come to a foreign land (Utah) and strong enough for me to stay in Utah the first year when I know no one, my family was upset, and I was terribly lonely. At that time the blessings of the gospel seemed out of reach and yet I know I had received a witness from the Holy Ghost which I couldn’t deny.

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