Don was born in Flint, Michigan to Andrew and Alta Royce. He had only one sister. In the year 1930, Don moved with his parents to California, and it was in Glendale, California, where he finished his schooling. In his youth, he enjoyed ice skating, bowling, fishing, swimming and music. After high school, he worked 10 years with Lockheed Aircraft Company, then moved to Utah, where he spent 3 years farming on the Chase Ranch, south of Levan. Then Don moved to Nephi, where he became employed at the Thermoid Rubber Co. and I seem to remember he was in the Production and Planning Department and there for about 25 years, and if you worked anywhere at Thermoid like my family did, it was a tough job and with no retirement or benefits. He then retired from there, but not tired enough to become a couch potato! During his work years and after retirement, he kept busy with the LDS Church, being Dance Director, Ward Chorister, Organist, Elders Quorum secretary, Extraction program, and last but worst of all, he was the Scoutmaster for me and three brothers from hell, and "Mr. Royce" was a great one, exploring nearby glory holes; Scout Camp and pushing us troubled kids to... almost goodness, one of which became a Scoutmaster and another an Eagle Scout. He loved kids and the Nephi area, and made an honest Nephi Council Member, then a great Juab County Commissioner. Wife Bernice kept busy as a Bee. She was born in Manti, to Byron and Jane Barton. The family later moved to Burbank, California, where Bernice finished her schooling. As a young girl, she enjoyed roller skating, bike riding and dancing. Before her marriage, Bernice worked as a waitress in a drug store, in a bakery, then upon arrival to Nephi, she became Supervisor of the Juab County Hospital kitchen. In the LDS Church, she gave her time to be an Extraction worker, along with Don; Dance Director: Librarian, but if you had asked, her greatest pleasure, was her service to her husband and children. And to us Boy Scouts, we knew we could count on her and neighbor-Mrs. Max Bowles to bake a cake whenever we were fetching donations for Troop 134. Both Don and Bernice kept busy, but both of them like "surfing" on the dance floor while in California and it was probably during a slow dance that Don popped the question. She didn't hesitate for the next song and they were hitched. Along came four kiddos including Jean, who graduated from Juab High School; worked as a secretary for the Sta
te Legislature; at First Security Bank; then as a Teachers Aide at Juab High. She married Lee Fowkes and I think four kids popped up. Then came Robert, who I only remember as one of the stars of our Basketball Team when Basket ball at Juab High was the only real sport around. I may be wrong, but seemed like he moved to Salt Lake; married Patricia Webster and for some reason, think he worked at a Rubber Company then had his own gas station, but I could have too much gas in my brain to recall. Along came a good friend of our family, and that was Mike. He did two tours of duty in Viet Nam, then worked as a pilot for the the state of Utah, and I can confirm that, as he took me on a hell of ride to pick up a fugitive in another state. I wasn't sure who had "an accident" during the flight home, as it scared the dickens out of me as well as the bad guy. He married one of Levan's beauty-Carolyn Stephenson, and she has now learned how to put up with Mike's Shandiagans. And yup, Mike is the father of his son, who also became a Trooper, but be careful, as Todd is now the Big shot over Fish and Game and knows how to fly a hand held mini helicopter over ponds and fishing holes! Youngest son is Dale, and now retired from security work at the local hospital, although had worked in construction and road equipment. He served an LDS Mission and was in the Bishopric and father of 4 kids, with enormous help from wife-Gay Andreason, Now don't you all feel better. You got to know the Royce family, a great Juab County family to know.
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