I've been doing quite a bit of work on the Westra side as far as family history ... organizing photos, writing up blog posts featuring the histories and memories of the Westra and Norman clans. Time to turn to some Blackham history. On both sides (Blackham and Zundel) there are a couple of aunts who are very into genealogy and I was able to find some treasures. This post will feature the Blackham side, Grayson's grandfather Wayne Nielson Blackham, who passed away just a few months before Gray was born.
A huge thanks to Caroleen May, who researched and wrote up several histories. They are all on
FamilySearch, but to make them even easier to find and read, I've included links to GoogleDrive copies for Dick and those around him who impacted his life (below). I've also included an abridged history and photo collage here, but be sure to check out the unabridged originals!
Known as Dick throughout his life,Wayne Neilson Blackham was born August 2, 1919. He had two older brothers (Dallen and Creal) and the family lived with his grandparents on his mother's side for a time. Dick's grandmother Hulda was a nurse and midwife and may have assisted in his birth. Samuel and Helena (Lena) divorced when Dick was about 10 years old. His father remarried and that union added a sister when Dick was seventeen years old. Dick had stayed with his mother however, and Helena remarried a few years later also. Dick, not liking the new living situation, went back to Moab to live with his Grandma Hulda when he was fourteen or fifteen years old. He remained living with her until he married Donna May Shumway in 1941. They had two boys, Gordon and Gary. Dick worked as a truck driver. One day, Donna took off with two-year old Gary, leaving Dick and six-year-old Gordon. Hulda took the two back into her home to help raise Gordon, known as "Punk". Dick met Carrol May, a single mother with three boys: Ted, 15; Stan, 13; and Phil, 9. Dick’s son Punk and Carrol’s youngest son Phil became very good friends. Dick and Carrol decided to get married and move to Salt Lake City, but let Gordon stay with Hulda to finish out the school year (she was very attached to him, and wanted to make sure he got baptized).
Dick and Carrol were married February 6, 1950, a double wedding with Carrol's younger brother. Carrol's parents had a small apartment to the side of their home, and this is where Dick and Carrol started their married life. Dick continued to drive trucks. He would be gone for a few days, then off for a couple days. Sometimes he was called back to work after being home just a few hours. He had two pins (representing five years of driving without an accident) which he wore on a black hat. At one time, he entered the semi-driving skill contest at the fairgrounds. Dick would pick up fireworks from out of state while traveling in the semi, and would put on a big display on the 4th of July. Later on, Dick changed jobs, from driving a semi to working with the city's maintenance department. This was a day job, and he could be home every evening and spend more time with the family.
Dick and Carrol had three children: Rebecca, born September 8, 1952; Vanessa Carrol, born September 1, 1953; and Dick Wayne, born January 3, 1956. They were called Becki, Nessa and Dickie making this a large family of seven children. After having all boys between them they were delighted with the girls.
The family enjoyed picnics, campouts, fishing and hunting. Dick would do the cooking, cutting up potatoes to fry in a Dutch oven. He made the best potatoes. He said he learned to cook at the sheep camps as he was growing up. He always carried his pocket knife and used it for everything. Dick took his guitar and enjoyed playing it in the evenings. He enjoyed raising rabbits and chickens.
Dick's son Gordon left for his mission to the East Central States on Mar 9, 1963. He returned home in March 1966 and attended BYU, where he played center for the football team. He met Pamela Zundel and they were married on January 28, 1967 in the Los Angeles Temple. They had two receptions, one that evening in California and the other on Saturday evening, February 4th at the Pioneer Stake Center in Salt Lake. They were expecting their first child November 1969.
In January 1964, Dick (age 44) had driven his brother home after a visit and was hit by a drunk driver on his way back home. The car was hit with such force that Dick went flying through the passenger side window and landed in a snowbank. He'd only been wearing slippers, no coat, and he related later that the cold as he waited for the ambulance was worse than the pain from his injuries. He was taken to LDS Hospital in critical condition, not knowing if he would survive the night. He never fully recovered and struggled with any type of physical work. He tried driving a cement truck for a while, but ended up on disability and welfare. February 1967, Dick was taken to the hospital where he was tested and evaluated. It seemed they just could not find out much about his condition. May 29, 1968, Dick was taken to the Valley West Hospital (now known as Pioneer Valley Hospital) with a heart attack. June 14th he was discharged from the hospital just to return on June 24, 1968. He stayed a couple of weeks being discharged on July 7, 1968. The doctor determined that Dick had originally damaged his heart in the auto accident. He was in and out of the hospital four or five times over the next few months. On January 17, 1969, Dick was back in the hospital for tests. He finally went home on January 25th without having the test as the machine had broken down.
After going through so much, in August the doctor decided that Dick would have open heart surgery to correct his problem. He entered the University Hospital on August 5th or 6th. A lot of family members went up to visit him the night before the surgery. He was in a cheerful mood. He related that he was told to take a shower and not to come out until he had used up the entire bar of soap. He indicated that this was quite a chore for him and it took a long time. The surgery was performed on the morning of August 12, 1969. There was a chance that he would not make it through the surgery, but he did. After the surgery the doctors told Carrol that all went well, that he should be fine. When he came to he saw Carrol sitting by his side. His first words were “Well, I made it.” He was in the intensive care unit being watched over along with another patient. The nurse said she had her back turned to Dick helping the other patient and did not see Dick get out of the bed, but she said she heard him hit the floor. His heart had stopped and by the time they revived him, tests indicated that he was brain dead and he was removed from life support on August 17, 1969. His funeral was held at Redwood Memorial Estates in West Jordan where he was buried on August 20th 1969.
Dick’s son Gary who was living in Oregon at the time was on vacation. He made a wrong turn and ended up headed for Salt Lake. He thought he would keep going and looked up his family members, but Dick had already passed away. Gary missed the funeral by a couple of days. Gordon had already left to go back home to California. Dick and Gordon and Gary hadn't seen each other since Gary was two years old. Gary did eventually make contact with his brother Gordon in California and his siblings in Salt Lake. After Dick’s first wife Donna remarried, Gary was later adopted by this husband.
Gordon performed the endowment ordinance for his father Dick on December 19, 1973 in the Oakland Temple. On October 15, 2004, Nessa’s children Eric Montague and Angie Chapman; Dick and Karen and their daughters Lindi Prestwich and Brooke Stocking; Pam Blackham (Gordon’s wife) and her sons Grayson and Clayton; Ted and Caroleen May and their children Shauna and her husband Marion Markle, Ted May lll and his wife Tanya performed the sealing of marriages and children to parents to eternally join the Blackham-May families. This was a joyful occasion.
