The Goodlad Family Journal

The Goodlad family was begun on July 14, 1973 when Kathleen Marie Nunnally was married to Ronald Starr Goodlad. This event took place in the Los Angeles Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We rented a small house on Rose Avenue in Bellflower California. Kathy worked as a teacher for Los Angeles Unified School District, at 122nd Street School in Watts. Ron worked as a warehouseman for Darnell Wheels and Casters in Downey California.

The landlord was...interesting. She was in her 80's and was about as cheap as anyone could be when it came to repairs. She often used her husband, much older than her, to do our repairs. I remember one time when he was calmly working on a leaky faucet when there was water running everywhere. Didn't seem to phase him. He didn't bother turning the water off to complete the project. Then there was the time it needed to be re-roofed.  She had her husband and his older brother do it. We were afraid we would have to call the paramedics, but everyone lived through the experience.

After a year of living in this home we moved next door to a house with the same floor plan but a different landlord. This was nice but it wasn't ownership. I had quit my job to return to school, and worked part time. We put out a request for what we could afford to Dorothy Benson, a family friend. She amazed us by coming up with the Artesia Court house. The house was dilapidated. It needed electrical work, roofing, carpet and paint. It had a small garage apartment that was filthy. We bought it for $17,500. Our payment was about $150 per month. We immediately went to work at fixing it up. The apartment was scrubbed for weeks, then painted and rented for $75 per month. Yes, that's half of our house payment. Remember I was in school so it was wonderful to have this extra income.

During our first year there we replaced the electrical service, put in a laundry room, roofed it, painted it, and carpeted it. We lived there about 2 years before we began to look for something bigger, since Melissa was on the way. Again, we put in a request and found the property on Beech Street. We also rented out the Artesia Court home. By this time I was working full-time while finishing up my degree.

The property on Beech needed much work, which was becoming our norm. It lacked a working toilet which we had to install before we could get the loan on it. Some one had begun a restoration but ran out of money before completing it. The garage was locked until after the escrow closed. Then it proved to be a disaster. It was filled from front to back with construction trash. We had two dump trucks haul everything off. We had our first child, Melissa, while living here. Born in 1977, Melissa was the love of our lives. She was spoiled by grandparents and parents. Cute as a bug and a head full of hair.

In 1978 I went off to Salt Lake City to see if I could find work there. I spent weeks looking, while my family was back in Bellflower. I actually was hired by two firms but neither was what I was looking for. Finally, I was hired by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an accountant for construction projects. This was my first of many exposures to construction accounting. We bought a new house in Kaysville Utah. It was a beautiful split entry house on a large lot. It was almost two lots side by side. One lot contained our house, the other our garden and fruit trees. For some reason few pictures were taken during this period. While living here we put in a 50' x 50' garden and some 15 or so fruit trees. We also planted all the parkways with strawberries. We had lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. While we lived here, in 1979, we had Aaron.

At work I went from welfare services, to payroll, to international operations, and then to overseas assignment in Western Samoa. We had just moved from our new house to an old Victorian house. This old house was a classic of old Utah architecture. A beautiful old brick home built in 1907 with high ceilings, a steep stairway, and lots of neat old features. The master bedroom had a bath off it and a walk-in closet. The sitting room had a beautifully crafted fireplace. There was also a bath upstairs, but that was added later. Upstairs, there were two rooms in addition to the bath and landing. We did one bedroom in pink and was perfect for Melissa. Aaron had a huge bedroom suited for many future brothers. It was papered with lots of zoo themed wallpaper.

Just as we got unpacked I was offered the position of Regional Financial Manager in Western Samoa. I jumped at the opportunity, although Kathy was 6 months pregnant with Ben at the time. We hurriedly got passports and were on our way. Kathy was 8 months pregnant when we arrived in Samoa. Stepping off the airplane in Pago Pago American Samoa was like having a wet towel thrown in your face. The heat and humidity were amazingly high. We made the short flight from Pago to Apia, Upolu, Western Samoa. With Kathy being 8 months pregnant the humidity really bothered her. Well, it really bothered me too!

Our house was still being prepared with some updating, so it was still unavailable. We stayed at the Tusitala Hotel for the first two weeks. One day at breakfast, lightening struck the building we were eating at, and Melissa jumped into my lap. There's no thunder like Samoan thunder.

Shortly after arriving we decided to take a drive to see the island. We drove until we were completely lost. We were driving on the beach on the other side of the island from where we lived. We were in country where no one spoke English, and we didn't know any Samoan then. We finally found a girl who spoke English, who gave us directions home. As we started recognizing landmarks we got a flat tire. There was no spare. We walked to a nearby village and explained our plight. They treated us wonderfully. They put guards on the vehicle, put us on the bus back to Apia, and took great care of us. We later made the village chief a chocolate cake for his help.

Kathy had Ben in the middle of a hospital strike in 1981, so the staff consisted of two nuns. We had already hired our own physician and he came to help with delivery. The charge for the delivery and hospital didn't even make our insurance deductible. The hospital was $6 and the delivery was $50.

Western Samoa was a large terrarium. It rained just about every day. Two days without rain and we were discussing the drought. As I recall, rain was about 300" per year. A passing tropical storm could drop 40" or more of rain in a week. Growing conditions were such that you could break off a tree branch and stick it in the ground and you ended up with a new tree!

We had a great time here getting to know our Samoan neighbors, and getting involved in the community. Kathy and I team taught a Primary class that had driven out several teachers. They didn't know Kathy the Great! It was a great success in which we set a goal of reading the Book of Mormon, which many of these 11 year olds did. Kathy's parents came over for a visit and we toured Savai'i together.

However, we had to cut our stay in Samoa short because of problems in getting Melissa into school. We returned back to the US at about 18 months. Back in Kaysville we settled into our old house again. One winter the roof began collapsing under the weight of the snow. I opened the rafters and replaced a few. We then had a "slate look" tile roof installed, which looked great. Shortly after this, in 1983, Adam was born.

After several years here my mother's health deteriorated rapidly. She had cancer that required a mastectomy. She was OK for about a year when the cancer showed up again. This time in the form of a brain tumor. Mercifully, she died of bronchial failure shortly after this. In studying her journal from this period, Mom apparently had the brain tumor first but it was discovered much later and too late for surgery.

Out of concern for my now single dad and Kathy's now single mother we felt the need for living in California. This opportunity came in the form of a position opening up in Deseret Industries for a financial manager in Colton CA. David was born here in 1985. I learned much while working there, but after two years I wanted more challenge. Also, there were some cutbacks that would eliminate one position for a financial manager. I found a position outside of Church employment in Lancaster CA. I took it and left Church employment. Once again Kathy was pregnant at the time of this move and had Jacob 4 weeks after arriving at our new house. The only problem is that Kathy didn't want to change physicians at this point so we have to drive like crazy in the rain from Lancaster to Redlands while Kathy was in labor. The drive was 1 1/2 hours while speeding.

Lancaster turned out to be...exciting. I bit off a huge job at work. It took 70 to 80 hour weeks to get a handle on it. Kathy was stuck as a "single mom" in a house that needed fixing up. It's also the house we all look back as the one we really wish we had time to fix up. It was a "glass house" with lots of windows. The kids threw balls through windows so often the glass man became almost part of the family. The kids attended Monte Vista Elementary School, just 3 houses away.

We lived in Lancaster for 4 years. Kathy did a wonderful job of keeping things "normal" at home. Family Home Evening, scripture study, family prayer, church attendance, etc. My venture at work was successful, but it cost me at home. Kathy was so tired from being a single mom, and not having a voice in family matters (career always first) that she was ready to send me packing. At the end of the period I took time off and was shocked about what I didn't know about the family. I quit the job shortly after this. I went through a couple of jobs including self employment.

I found a job ad in the LA Times that seemed to be a match. A construction company in Fresno CA was looking for a Controller, a new position for them because of growth. (Where's Fresno anyways?) We drove up there for the interview. Clinton and Clifford Howe made a generous offer. It was a very successful electrical contractor that did work throughout the state. I became their Controller, and they paid for my move there. I started in February 1991. With the move to Howe Electric came also the move to Fresno CA. We moved with kids in 8th, 6th, 4th, 2nd and kindergarten. Jacob was also still at home with Mom. (Jacob graduated from Clovis East High School in 2005.)

We bought a lovely home in Fresno. A large ranch style home with huge palm trees and a big pool and spa. We often entertained groups from church at our home, especially the youth. About a year after moving there I was called to serve as bishop of the Fresno First Ward. Although difficult, I managed to balance the requirements of job and church. This continued for two years. I ran into ethical issues with my employer, and found it necessary to quit. During the next several years I went through many jobs for various reasons. Because of the effects of bipolar disorder on my career, I had to take on successively less responsible positions with lower salaries and we ended up in bankruptcy and giving up the house through foreclosure. During this period Kathy returned to work, moving from teaching to administration in the school office.

We rented a home in Sanger CA for just over 4 years. It was a nice experience to be out in the country on our 5 acres. We've seen a whole new world, and realize how much we are "city folks". We've had cattle and horses on our property, renting the pasture. We don't know a thing about either except to throw hay at them during the winter, and to count and be sure they are all there. Kathy had become Vice Principal at Freedom Elementary in Clovis while we lived here.

In December 2005 we moved into an older house, built in 1959, that had just been through a major remodel. The kitchen is new along with major updating in all the rooms throughout the house. We've added a new patio, a spa, and triple-paned windows. It was affordable for us, and offered everything we were looking for in a house, so we worked out a purchase arrangement. Since my Social Security disability had been approved, we moved ahead with the purchase. The house is so much more convenient to get anywhere from. We love living at the new place. We have enjoyed making it into our dream house. It still has some work to be done as money becomes available but it is looking great now. Unfortunately, housing prices collapsed right after we purchased the home and we will be here for many years before it is once again worth what we paid for it.

Kathy is in her fifth year as principal of Kerman-Floyd Elementary School in Kerman CA. She went there after there had been several rather rapid turnovers of principals and morale was low. She has stayed focused on what is best for the children, and assured the staff that she is there for a while. With the addition of a new elementary school in her district, Kathy experienced big changes in the 2011-12 year. Her school has been a K-4 school in the past and has become a K-6 school. She went from 1,050 students to 700 plus 120 preschoolers. The load will hopefully be lighter in the new year.

At Church I am the ward executive secretary for the Gettysburg Ward of the Fresno Ca North Stake. I work at Franzen-Hill in Tulare CA as an accountant. Actually the duties range from bookkeeper, where I input invoices and payroll, to financial manager, where I provide analyzed financial statements.

Kathy and I cross the milestone of 38 years of marriage in 2011. From all you have read here it's amazing that Kathy stuck it out through all these years. She had no idea at the time of marriage she was faced with living in 12 different homes, five moves while pregnant, and a late in life career. I'm just grateful she stuck it out through all the unexpected turns of life.