WAYNE H. REDD

Re: WAYNE HARDISON REDD

Dear Buckley,

Thanks so much for your articles on Giants of San Juan in the San Juan Record. I look forward to reading them. The recent history of Wayne H. Redd was very important to me because it tied into my father’s life and gave me an appreciation for the man who gave my father his patriarchal blessing.

In reviewing family history items recently, I came across the church’s Annual Conference Report for the April 1927 conference in Salt Lake City. My mother had saved this because Pres. Wayne H. Redd, San Juan Stake President spoke in General Conference. I am enclosing herein a copy of the cover sheet of the report together with Pres. Redd address. The notes on the cover sheet are my mother’s.

President Grant explained in one of his talks, that because of the urgent need for more missionaries, seasoned church leaders were called to serve short term missions. Based on your facts, Pres. Wayne Redd was called to be Stake Patriarch in 1910 and then stake president of the San Juan Stake in 1923. He spoke in General Conference on April 4, 1927 and then served in the California Mission in 1928 to give patriarchal blessings to the members of that mission. My father was assigned to be the missionary companion to President Redd, sometimes being his chauffer and other times working alone or with other missionaries when President Redd was out of town giving blessings. My father had never received a patriarchal blessing and Pres. Redd told my father that he would receive his patriarchal blessing before Pres. Redd returned home at the end of his six month mission. Pres. Redd gave my father his blessing on June 12, 1928 in Santa Anna, California. My father always described Pres. Redd in very loving and respectful terms.

Jay and Marie Redd were also called to be short term missionaries during my father’s mission and were also assigned to the California Mission. They brought their child along on this mission. This is where my father met Jay Redd who convinced him to move after he returned home in 1929 to Monticello where he was hired to run the L. H. Redd Sheep Co. for the Redd family. The company had approximately 22,000 head of sheep. Leland Redd, son of Wayne H. Redd, called my father to be his counselor in the San Juan Stake Presidency in about 1960 so my father served in a stake presidency with the son of his missionary companion.

Buckley, you are a great writer. I read your articles every week. Thanks for the time and effort expended by you.

Kelly summers