THROWBACK THURSDAY

Elder (Davis) Agle asked for some info on his great-grandparents and so I wrote up this short info for him and thought I might post it in the blog. Here goes:

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's Dad JR, preaching in England@ 1900

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.

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.

Turning the first spades of dirt on their new lot.

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!

Joseph and Avon with Betty, Joe Jr., Mary Ann and Carol Jane
just before moving into new home..

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.

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.

Avon & Joseph Price @1956