September Biographies

 Jim and Ethel Hansen

Jim and Ethel met when he was working at a Chevron gas station and she was the waitress at the restaurant next door.  They were married in Las Vegas and later sealed in the SLC Temple in 1963.  Ethel was born in California but eventually ended up in Utah where she attended Jordan High School.  She worked for a publishing company before raising their three boys and four girls. Now her passion is Family History and she is an expert in FamilySearch.  Jim was very involved in music growing up, as a drum major in the ROTC Band, playing saxophone in a dance band, and singing in the mens choir.  In 1951 he was drafted to the Korean War, but was assigned to Italy in the Army Band. He worked for Chevron for 45 years and now works at Lowes part-time for fun. Jim and Ethel now have 26 grandkids and 16 great-grandkids. They served a mission in the Denver Temple and now continue the work by doing indexing and family history from home.

 Deanna Carpenter

Deanna is the mother of 3 sons and 1 daughter. 2 of her sons are police chiefs and 1 is a fireman. Her daughter is currently going to school to be in the medical field. 2 She has 7 grandsons and 2 granddaughters. One of her grandsons, Landon, is living with her now as he attends school at UVU. She is also the proud owner of Lacey, a rescue dog and Snicker, a blue heeler/beagle mix whom she recently found out was deaf. Deanna is a wonderful woman with many great stories to tell. Currently, she is a visiting teacher in the ward though one of her favorite callings was to serve in the M.I.A (Mutual in Action). She loved serving with the young women and being able to go to youth conference. Deanna grew up in Salt Lake City and was baptized in the Salt Lake Tabernacle when she was 8 years old. She said it was an amazing experience and her 4 children were also able to be baptized there. Deanna has lived in the ward since 1990, when her home on Hanover was built. Though most of her life has been spent in Utah, her and her family spent some years in Colburn, Colorado where her husband was the director of the job corps there. They enjoyed living in Colorado and had some great experiences there. They were part of a small branch where they had to travel 60 miles for church and other activities. It made for a long trip and when one of her sons was a baby, the drive would make him sick and so Deanna would spent sacrament meeting in the foyer with her sick baby. During all of this, she would think of the pioneers and how they traveled so many miles across the plains in handcarts and wagons. It made her 60 miles to church seem a little easier. 

If Deanna could change the world she would want everyone to be a little kinder and to judge less. No one knows what the other person is going through. She also said it's so important to remember to take care of our bodies and eat healthy and exercise. The most fascinating place she has ever visited is Thailand. She was able to ride on an elephant and they walked right down the middle of the river! And she left a little advice for the families of the Stonewood 5th ward, to laugh a lot and to have fun with your kids. Let them know how funny they are!

 Mike, Deanna, Derek, Aubrey and Grace Rowen

Mike and Deanna have been married for 9 years. They met through a mutual friend and were married in the Mount Timpanogos Temple. Mike grew up in California and served a mission in Detroit, Michigan. Mike had 4 mission presidents and his mission was renamed while he was there! He has an English degree and one day would love to become a motivational speaker. He loves his family very much and also loves to go 4 wheeling with Jeeps. Deanna grew up in Orem and served a mission to the Netherlands. She was a financial planner for many years and is currently working for an insurance company and also working at developing her own business. A candy shop, LG's English Toffee (which is delicious!). She also teaches classes that are financially based. ("Pattern of Plenty" and "The Wise Steward") She loves to be with her family and also go hiking.  They have 3 beautiful children who are fun and energetic. Derek,8, is the newest member of the Stonewood 5th ward as he was just baptized. He is learning to play the piano and is in the 3rd grade. He is a good helper to his mom and dad and loves to eat chicken wraps. Aubrey, 5, is in kindergarten. She loves all animals, especially bunnies. She told us a story about when they were at This is the Place Monument visiting the petting zoo. She enjoyed the animals in the petting zoo but really wanted to feed the big bulls on the other side of the fence. She did and she was not scared! Grace, 3, loves to sing and dance. She loves pizza and is such a fun and happy little girl. 

Deanna is one of the gospel doctrine teachers in the ward and Mike is the 2nd assistant in the High Priests. If there was one thing in the world they would like to change, Deanna would want everyone to be able to see their worth and Mike would love to change lives through motivational speaking. The Rowen's love ice cream and that would be the one thing they sneak to eat when no one is looking. That or chocolate chips! As the Rowen's have been married for 9 years, we asked what advice they would give to the newly married members of our ward. They said to ground yourselves in the gospel and everything will fall into place. Focus on grace and mercy in your marriage and always be kind to yourself and to your spouse. 

Leah and Jesse Green

Leah and Jesse met while attending BYU-Idaho. Jesse's sister was good friends with Leah.  They were married in the Sacramento, CA Temple on August 20, 2011.  Leah is originally from Sacramento, CA. She studied Health Science at BYU-I. Her husband, Jesse, is originally from Portland, OR and served a mission in Taiwan. Jesse recently transferred to BYU to study Chinese. He is also starting a job in American Fork doing Tech Support.  Leah and Jesse are expecting their first child, a little girl, at the end of October.