Joan spent part of her 1977 summer working at Flaming Gorge, and the Uintah’s. “One evening I was happy to receive the assignment to take mail and supplies to trail workers a few miles up the mountain. After I made the delivery, the sun began to set. I walked quickly to get down the mountain, but soon the skies began to dim and the shadows darkened. At times I could hear wildlife noises in the mountain forest and it became very difficult to see the trail. My flashlight helped significantly, but as full darkness came on, it became difficult to distinguish what was the path and what were small clearings leading off into thick forest. Fortunately the trail had been blazed. Every few hundred feet there would be a pine tree with hatchet markings, the outer bark had been removed exposing a section of inner tree. These round white signs on the trees let me know that I was on the right trail. At one point I turned off my flashlight, I was surrounded in darkness, impossible to continue on. I looked straight up above the tall pines and gazed at the thick Milky Way galaxy. At that moment a scripture entered my mind, ‘And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you…’ I was filled with happiness as I received this personal message from God! The task of getting down the mountain became joyous as I thought on the similarities of this experience to my life and my own mission on earth. Staying on the trail was like keeping the commandments, my steps took faith and effort, but I was determined to not get lost. I felt the Savior’s love as I considered that he walked this path before me. The flashlight was like the gift of the Holy Ghost. The hatchet markings were like personal revelations. I was confident that whatever way I was caused to turn, it would eventually lead home. There was an added joy when I approached the lights of my home camp. I had returned successfully as I hope to return successfully from my mortal mission. Before I went to bed, I opened the Book of Mormon to find the scripture I had heard up on the mountain. With it came this echoing confirmation, ‘Wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.’ (1 Nephi 17:30)”
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On the farm young Ferril was taught by his father “to work hard and be a good person.” In addition to farming, football, dancing and music, Ferril was good “with [his] hands and could do construction and other tasks… The principal… once said, ‘I never had a son, but if I had I would like him to be just like you.’” Before graduating, with books in hand he hitchhiked each afternoon to learn about electricity and motors at a vocational school. With good grades in science, Ferril received a scholarship to BYU. He completing his undergraduate work at the University of Utah in his strongest subject, electrical engineering, where he “helped to run a student/faculty lounge, where we would electrocute hot dogs—the best hot dogs you ever tasted—with our electrical gismos.” In 1953 he earned his bachelor of science degree, complimented by the Outstanding Engineering Graduate award from the Institute of Radio Engineering, and received job offers from all seven of the companies with which he interviewed. Ferril chose Hughes Aircraft Company where he, “invented things and headed up the first satellite communications group,” completed his master of science degree at the University of Southern California, and for six years “did other things that were exciting.” At Aeroneutronics he “had an enviable record of getting new business, and that was very good for [him] financially.” After another 6 years, “I was shocked,” when “I received an offer to be the Chairman of the Electrical Engineering Department,” at BYU. He built what “eventually became one of the outstanding electrical engineering schools in the country.” Ferril taught for a couple decades and consulted for government agencies and industries. His specialties were radio, radar, and x-ray. In his retirement, he wrote two successful editions of an engineering textbook, in which he wrote, “there is both a desire and a need to learn about this important subject as completely and as easily as possible.”
During the boom-town 1950s in Los Angeles, Dona Hansen, the queen of the church Gold and Green Ball, and daughter of a self educated businessman and a most charitable mother, culminated her youth in what she thought would be the crowning event, marriage to a promising man. A short time later while anticipating their first born, her husband left her. She was devastated. “I didn’t think anyone would want to marry a divorced woman with a little son,” she thought. Dona prayed as she always did, was blessed by the prayers of others, and remained “close to [her] Father in Heaven and Savior.” Some time later Dona received a proposal of marriage from a man not of her faith, and she went away to Salt Lake City to consider her future seeking direction in the Temple. She felt inspired to return to Los Angeles. Upon her return, she felt and knew that he was not the one. To her surprise, her fiancé informed her, “I have just met a fellow at church. In fact, he is just what you are looking for.” Driven by the Spirit of the Lord, she stood in church and bore her testimony. Her fiancé and friend Ferril Losee were in attendance. Ferril thought, “She is wonderful but… to good for me.” A short time later, noting the absence of the ring, Ferril asked Dona out on a date. They drove to the beach where, as the sun set upon a beautiful day, the sun rose on a glorious union. Ferril said that he “would be the happiest man on earth if [Dona] would consent to marry him.” Dona knew the Lord was in it, and agreed. (by Kenneth Hardman, adapted from, Losee, Ferril A., 
“One day when… 14 years old, I was on top of a load of hay. In crossing over a bridge some of the hay was grassy and moved on me. I put the reins to the horses over the ladder and went back with a pitch fork to straighten the hay. The horses lunged forward and pulled the reins off of the ladder. Then, they ran down a hill, pulling the wagon with them. I could not guide or stop them. They ran faster and faster… I jumped off the wagon which was moving at high speed just before we got to the highway. A big… freight truck… plowed into the side of the wagon. It killed one of the horses and seriously hurt the other…I avoided serious injury… [but] was very sad… I doctored the injured horse every day for about three months. It finally healed. I learned compassion and dependability in doctoring that horse.”
In the early 1920s, having served as a wireless telegraph operator and sergeant at the end of World War 1, high school valedictorian Andrew Fredrick Losee, set his course for college degrees that would some day land him as a teacher at a university. Part way to his goal, with a master’s degree in hand, he took a position as a high school teacher in Malad Idaho and acquired residence at the local boarding house where Ardella Anderson worked for room and board. Andrew and Ardella developed a friendship, fell in love and married in the Salt Lake Temple in September of 1924 then departed for Chicago to complete his doctorate studies in education, mathematics, physical science, history and psychology. While learning and serving in church callings, Ardella had an appendectomy, and was diagnosed with a leaky heart attributed to earlier rheumatic fever. Putting his goal on hold, Andrew moved Ardella back to the clean dry air of Idaho and Utah where he took teaching positions in Preston, Orderville, and a temporary assignment at Snow College in Ephraim, returning to Lehi each summer to help on the farm. They welcomed a son, Rex into their family in 1926, then a second son, Ferril in 1928. Ardella’s heart condition worsened so the small family made another move closer to better medical attention in Price, Utah, however in December of 1930, Ardella died in the hospital at the age of 27. Andrew found himself alone. A faithful teacher, Andrew taught for another year and a half in Price, then thinking of his boys, he moved back home to Lehi, terminating his goal, and his profession, to raise his boys on the family farm and to care for his aging parents. Ten years later, Andrew married a widow with five children, together caring for seven. In the words of his son, Ferril, “Andrew Losee’s life was filled with unselfish service. He was kind and loving. He was an intelligent man and well educated. He was respected and honored by all who knew him.” Andrew Losee inspires me to set good goals, pursue them with effort, but place family and service first above all else. Both of Andrew’s sons went on to teach at universities.
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