A short bio of the lives of
Joseph Pratt Price and
Avon Averett Price
parents of Carol Jane Price Agle
JOSEPH PRATT PRICE was born in 1885 and was 51 years old
when I was born! He was the oldest son of
7 children and was left in charge when his father was called on a mission to
England.
Joseph didn’t have a lot of formal
education, but was one of the best read men I know. I would classify his life
and one that was filled with many challenges.
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| Joseph's Dad JR, preaching in England@ 1900 |
His first wife was much older than he and after several
years of marriage and since they were childless, they were called on a LDS mission
to NYC. She couldn’t bear being away from her mother, so she returned and filed
for divorce. Joseph stayed on in the mission and completed it. He later studied
at a music academy to further train his beautiful baritone voice.
When he returned from his mission he did various jobs trying
to make a living such as teaching, salesman, store clerk and sheriff. He really
was a jack of all trades and there was very little that he could not master. He
could fix anything and it served him well throughout his life.
Joseph met Avon while he was clerking at a store. She was a
young woman of 21 and he was 37, just a few years younger than her father! They fell in love despite the 17 years
difference in age, and after a courtship, traveled alone to the Logan Temple to
be married.
Avon Averett was born in 1902 and grew up on a farm with 5
sisters and one brother. Her parents had a nice farm, and they had a good, but
hard working life. Avon loved music and was very gifted violinist and had a
beautiful singing voice. When she was
quite young she and her brother had Scarlet Fever. It made her blind but she
received a Priesthood blessing saying her sight would be restored because she
would need it for her music throughout her life.
Joseph and Avon began their marriage in 1922 and one year
later to the day, my oldest sister Betty was born. Not too long after that, my father and Betty contacted smallpox and my father was very close to death
but after a long period of time, survived. His hair turned white and remained
so the rest of his life.
Joseph tried his hand at selling and was somewhat
successful, but when the Great Depression came, they were hit as hard as anyone, and
life was very difficult.
They eventually moved to SLC and Joseph secured a job
managing a building that belonged to the church. Because of his work ethic he
gained several building to supervise and they prospered and were able to
finally purchase a lot and build their first home.
By this time, my brother Joe
jr., sister Mary Ann and baby Carol Jane (me!) had joined the family. We lived
there happily for about 4 years. Then my father visited Phoenix, Arizona in the
winter and thought it was paradise because there was no snow! The following July
we moved to Arizona and yes, no snow, but oh the heat!
Music was always a big part of their lives, and Avon
especially was deeply involved with many aspects of music in the church. My
favorite thing was to hear them sing duets with their beautiful, harmonious
voices.
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| Turning the first spades of dirt on their new lot. |
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| Joseph and Avon with Betty, Joe Jr., Mary Ann and Carol Jane just before moving into new home.. |
In Phoenix after using their savings to invest in 2
businesses that failed, Joseph turned to Real Estate and eked out a living for
the rest of their lives. Joseph died in 1970 at age 85 and Avon in 1985 and age
72 and they are both buried in Phoenix.
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| Avon & Joseph Price @1956 |
