Ora Carpenter Omerza history, 13th installment

Em didn’t have a job or any leads. It was about 6 weeks before he found work. We left L.A. with $2500. We got the house for $6500 on a 20 year loan.

While Em was looking for work he built a garage and a workshop. He found work and everything was just going great. In 1949 Phoenix was just a sleeping little town compared to L.A. and we enjoyed it.

Over the years I had tried to interest Em in the church but to no avail. I told him when we moved to Phoenix I intended to attend church regularly and take the children. He agreed, he felt the children should go to church. When we came in January we lived in the Capital Ward, but in July of that year the Phoenix 6th Ward was formed and we were in its ward boundaries. It was a small ward with a lot of new members so it was easy to get acquainted. I was asked to work in the Primary. For once since my marriage I felt I was on the right track.

I remember our early years in Phoenix as some of the best years of my life. Soon after we started to go to church Jay talked Em in to going with us. I was surprised when he went along. Everyone was so nice to him it wasn’t hard to get him to go back. Walter P. Haggard was the Bishop and he took Em under his wing and accepted him for what he was. He didn’t try to change him. Everything went great and in Nov. 1951 he was baptized. Since the ward was new they needed to build a building to meet in. We were meeting in the school cafeteria. Em could do almost anything with his hands and he got interested in helping with the building at 7th Ave. and Southern. It was so good having him a member of the church. He made so many good friends. After he had been in a year we were privileged to go to the Temple and be sealed and have our two precious children sealed to us. Em was quite interested in Genealogy and Temple work. He was Ward Genealogy chairman for awhile. He also fulfilled a Stake Mission. In fact he spent 12 years as a Stake Missionary.

Ted was born the 16th of October 1956 in Phoenix.