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Siler Family Story
Table of Contents
What started as a typical English course at Utah Valley State College
(UVSC) ultimately became a great adventure.
"UVSC ultimately became a great adventure"
When Clark burst into the classroom in his typical fashion—probably
singing some silly tune—he saw a demure redhead, Maryann, sitting in the
seat adjacent to "his spot." It turns out that both had taken a course
the previous semester in the same room (at different times); Clark, a
creature of habit, was headed for the same seat he had occupied each
class the last term; Maryann, looking for a new view, had switched to
the other side of the room.
"He saw a demure redhead, Maryann"
Those early days are a bit foggy,
but for every degree to which Clark was "Here I am!", Maryann was
almost equally reserved. These seemingly opposite personalities (we
think of them as complimentary now) may have induced the initial
attraction, but we're not so different from each other now.
"We're not so different from each other now"
Clark was almost immediately attracted to Maryann; she was sweet,
honestly kind, concerned for others, and she had an amazing smile that
could make anyone comfortable. Before long, simply sitting next to her
in class just didn't seem enough—feelings
were growing.
"Sitting next to her in class just didn't
seem enough—feelings
were growing"
"How's your boyfriend?" was answered: "Great...
considering I don't have one." This question meant to test the volatile
waters of attraction had a reassuring answer. With a perceived go-ahead,
Clark and Maryann nurtured their friendship that naturally grew to
something more.
"Their friendship...
naturally grew to something more"
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From courtship to engagement to marriage. Life, and love, move fast
when encouraged by tender feelings and a hope for the future.
"Life, and love, move fast" December 15, 2001 brought a
magnificent blizzard to Salt Lake City and northern Utah in general. The
trip to the temple was the last adventure that we would face before we
really were together. While the blizzard snow kept many wedding
guests stranded at home, we were in the right place—the
temple. If white represents cleanness and purity, our wedding day was
very much of both! The snow made for a smaller ceremony and frosty
breath, but the pictures were amazing!
"White
represents cleanness and purity" Long after we were
married we would be asked if we had just been, or why we still had the
newlywed glow. For Clark the answer was simple: "I have the most
wonderful wife; every day is heaven." Maryann, on the other hand, always
seems happy independently of others—she
really is an angel.
"She
really is an angel" Our beginnings were at UVSC,
where we met, fell in love, were married, and had loads of fun. In fact,
one semester will always shine as the greatest semester ever. We took
all of our classes together—including
two ballroom dance classes, aerobics, chemistry, and calculus—and got
straight A's! We were the best study-buddies.
We ultimately graduated (Cum
Laude) and we continued our fun and education at Brigham Young University (BYU). We had
great fun together in between classes, on hikes in the surrounding
canyons, and in starting family traditions of our own. With a deeper,
more mature love for each other, we felt ready to invite children into
our lives.
"We continued our fun and education at
Brigham Young University" |
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We spent five years in Pflugerville, a town outside of Austin, Texas, for Clark to pursue graduate studies at the
University of Texas at Austin (Hook 'em Horns) in
civil/environmental engineering (water resources).
"Hook 'em Horns" Two degrees later, we entered "the
real world" and are still getting used to life without classes and tests
(for Clark, at least). In case you were wondering, the
stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas.
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We say that we're getting used to "the real world," but it's probably
still a bit off because we have our own little bit of paradise in
Florida, as the sign on our swing set reminds us!
What do we do for fun? We spend all of
our spare time playing as a family—we
take walks, go for family bike rides, explore the beauties of Southern
Florida, and
we often take trips to Orlando or Ft. Lauderdale (where we worship at the temple). While we miss the family and friends (and mountains)
that we left in Utah, we are finding a wealth of new family and friends
(no mountains, though) here. We love life here, and
we welcome and invite visitors to come and explore with us the
excitement of the Sunshine State!
"We spend all of our spare time
playing as a family" |
Family History Each of us is
benefited by those who have gone before: we live in houses we did not
build, we drive on roads we did not pave, we are governed by laws we did
not write, and we have names that we did not choose. We want to make the
most of these endowments—we
feel we have a responsibility to do so—and we want to reflect the honor
and dignity that are in our names.
What's in a name? Much more
than we realize. The people listed below are part of our family tree,
and like a tree's roots and branches, they have provided strength and
protection for generations—for
us.
Other Silers
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Town of
Siler City, North Carolina, population: 8,000. While we don't
plan on moving to Siler City, NC any time soon, it is likely a happy
place to live (by virtue of its name).
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From what we can gather, the
Siler Group (Grupo Siler)
is a pipe adhesive company in Mexico. While we don't know much about
their product, their name and logo sure are impressive; take a look:
Click to select an alternate image:
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While not strictly another "Siler,"
Clark University (in Worcester, MA) has some interest... at
least to Clark.
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While we're on the topic of schools, if you're interested in
starting smaller than Clark University, try
Clark College (in Vancouver,
WA).
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By the way, apparently, there is/are: one (1) person named Clark
Siler, two (2) named Maryann Siler, one-hundred-eight (108) named David Siler, twenty (20) named
Rebecca Siler, twelve (12) named Benjamin Siler, and
twenty-five (25) named Andrew Siler in the United States; how many of you are
there? Find out here. |
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