Max L Wilson-Life Sketch Part 1

Max L Wilson

Life Sketch

Given by President Myron Hancock

15 October 1997

     If I might begin by one of Max’s favorite phrases “This is tremendous!”  Joyce and family may I extend to you my sincere and deepest love.  I love this family like it was my own.  I am grateful for an opportunity to be asked to participate here a little bit today. 

     Max L Wilson was born March 28, 1944 in the Idaho Falls LDS Hospital to George William and Emma Leah Lane Wilson.  He was born in humble circumstances and was born to loving parents.  His growing up years were mostly spent in Menan and he was raised in a large family.  He was the 8^th of 9 children.  The oldest George Lee and a sister Betty Jane have both passed on.

Living are Donna Jean, Walter Keith, Quentin R., Earl Dean, Vonda Rae, and Danny Kay. 

     In his early growing up years his family moved and his father was working on a ranch up in Montana.  He related the experience of being just a little boy and that he remembered his older brother, Lee, killed a deer.  And how impressed he was to think that his big brother could shoot a deer and take care of it and how grateful they were to have the meat to eat.  That was one of the early remembrances that he had of living in Montana.

     Later they moved to Annis and lived there for awhile.  My association with Max was to begin after they moved into Menan.  That’s where he spent most of his growing up years and was raised there. 

     Max was one who always enjoyed life. I never remember Max being down or anything like that even though they didn’t have a lot of worldly possessions.  For as long as I can ever remember him the people in Menan called him Smaxy Maxy.  I have to tell you that the people in Menan have a real claim on Max.  I’m the Stake President there and last Sunday as I announced in our high council meeting that Max had been killed, one of the high councilmen there from the Menan Ward, the first word that came “Was it our Max Wilson?”  We are possessive of Max.  Everyone there claimed him as my Max Wilson. 

     When Max was a young boy and in the fourth grade, he contacted rheumatic fever and missed quite a bit of schooling.  This rheumatic fever affected his heart but it never did his spirit.  He was always happy and upbeat and he always had a zest for life.  Like most young people in life, there are experiences in our lives that kind of chart our course and maybe make a turning point in our life.  Max had one of these hard lessons.  He and a couple of his best friends one night decided that they were a little short on gas.  They went to one of the local farmers and borrowed some gas out of the gas tank of the tractor without the farmer knowing it, at least for a little while.  But anyway they got caught doing this and they went on home.  They were sleeping out on their lawn at their home place.  That morning at about sunrise Sheriff Howard Shaffer come along and he just picked ole Max up out of the sleeping bag and threw him in the car and took him over to the court house.  His Mom was in hot pursuit right behind him.  She was backing the Sheriff all the way.  Max said this was the best thing that ever happened to him and I might mention that the individual who they borrowed the gas from later became Bishop when Max was to serve his mission.

     Another experience he had, as soon as he got his driver’s license, he wanted to drive like all the rest of us, I suppose.  They were coming out of Roberts and I think they had the old red panel wagon at the time and Max, and it might have been Frazier or somebody with him, they were gawking off looking at ducks flying.  Max drove the old panel wagon off the road and rolled it over on its side.  Joyce related that she didn’t think that Max ever got to drive again until he was about a senior in high school. 

     During the growing up years, he worked a lot for a couple of farmers there.  He worked for George L and Bud Hart in Menan.  He helped them haul hay.  That was back when you did it by hand.  He always loved working for Bud and George L.  George L’s wife had passed away and Bud was an old bachelor, so when it came dinner time, they loaded up the haying crew and took them over to the Roberts Café and told them they could have anything on the menu that they wanted to eat.  I know that all the young men liked to work there because that was a good experience in those days.  He also worked for Milt Hammon and the Fullmer’s picking spuds and different things. 

     As Max entered junior high and high school, he was always an out-standing athlete.  He played varsity basketball as a sophomore.  And Joyce related to me that one time in a game out to Salmon that he scored 40 or 50 points as they beat Salmon.  He was always a tremendous athlete. 

     He was always a good natured person when you were playing sports with him but you didn’t want to push him too far.  Bob Dansie related an experience about playing basketball with him.  He said that one night it was either in Burley or Marsh Valley or somewhere they were playing.  He had fouled a young man and the young man picked the basketball up and as he walked by Max he just kind of gently stuffed it in his stomach for him.  Max just caught the ball and gently bounced it off the guy’s head for him. 

      One night they were playing Shelley and they were behind by one point.  The game was coming to a close and Max was fouled.  He went to the foul line.  He had the opportunity to shoot two foul shots and he missed them both.  So Shelley won.  The family waited for him to come out of the locker room.  They waited until everybody had gone and still no Max.  Finally Bill went down to the locker room and Max wasn’t there and so he went out to the car.  Max was sitting out in the car with his head wrapped in a towel.  He had been crying because he felt like he had let the team down and had lost the game for them. 

     When Max was in junior high, he had the opportunity to start playing basketball.  I think there is where he had an experience with a teacher that probably helped develop in him the special love that he had for people to teach.  He wasn’t quite eligible to play basketball because of low grades and a teacher there by the name of Gene Palmer took it upon himself to tutor Max at every opportunity and to help him get his grades up so he could play sports.