Fun in the Kitchen

One of the things that I'll always cherish about Wes was curiosity about life and his love of learning. The desire to learn about the world he was in not only enabled him to excel in school, but often led to some bizarre "real world" experiments. During one summer between school years in high school (I would guess that it was either 1998 or 1999) Wes and I were "hanging out" at his house as was the norm for us. On this particular occasion, it was just Wes and I and we were discussing "fun" modifications that we could make to the tamed-down legal fireworks in order to make them more exciting. I had heard tell of an urban legend that involved painstakingly emptying out the contents of hundreds, if not thousands, of "poppers" into a large napkin. This would allow us to make a huge popper and would (theoretically) vastly increase the explosiveness of a standard popper. Upon hearing about this potentially awesome popper bomb that we could make, Wes enthusiastically agreed to start our own experiment of this idea.

We set up shop on the Truman's kitchen table and began the tedious work of emptying the insides of popper after popper onto a napkin that we had chosen. After approximately an hour we had a small mountain of what we called gunpowder. With each addition to the pile we would giggle with glee at the thought of our bomb making a huge explosion in the street. It was going to be legendary and something that we would definitely have to tell our other friends about. Had Phil or Lucinda known what we were "cooking" in the kitchen, they would have certainly asked us to take it outside...and for good reason. I'm not sure how or why it happened, but when the contents of the next popper were poured onto the pile, a huge blinding and deafening explosion erupted right before us. Dazed and ears ringing, it took me a moment to realize what had happened at a completely unexpected moment. We brushed charred bits of grit out of our hair and tried to spit out the bits of "shrapnel" that had mysteriously ended up in our mouths. At first, we weren't sure whether to laugh or cry. On one hand, our faces and arms stung from thousands of little bits of explosive, and moreover, our hard work had been completely wiped out in less than a second. On the other hand, the explosion was...AWESOME...we were just a little too close when it happened. We were fairly certain that had we stopped a few minutes sooner, that we would have had ourselves a completely functional super popper (although we never did work up the courage to attempt this again).

Ultimately we settled on laughing as we attempted to clean up the gigantic mess that we had made of Wes' parent's kitchen and adjoining living room. I'm sure that to this day somewhere in 4851 Torrence Drive there are still tiny bits of our experiment-gone-wrong hidden despite our best clean up efforts. Whenever this story came up over the next decade or so, it would make us laugh and look back fondly upon the good times that we shared.

-Matt McArthur

A Letter from a Friend

In sorting through some of my things, I found a letter Wes wrote to me when my father passed away. It gave me some peace and hope back then when I was missing my father and now the same letter gives some peace and hope in missing a dear friend.

Chad Watson

July 15, 2007

Dear Chad,

I write to offer my condolences on the loss of your father. I don't have any memories of him other than his being in the background when we would go to your house in high school, but I do assume him to be a great man due to the quality of the son he helped to raise.

This is one of those instances when I don't feel like there are any words that I could say to offer any real solace. So, Lori and I thought we would send you a favorite CD with songs that have comforted us these last couple years. We hope you like it and that it provides some comfort for the days and years ahead.

I also wanted to share with you an experience I had, in the hopes that it will help you as it has helped me. Do you remember in Mr. Artman's math class, when we were just starting to get to know each other, how I would have pretty crazy dreams and tell you about them in that class? In most of them I was being chased by something. They would be perfectly normal dreams, except in the background I knew that something was after me. After a while you suggested that maybe I should just stop running and face "the something." That night I boldened up to your challenge and ended up being bitten in half by a shark. Thanks =).

Anyway, around the same time I had a dream that I think about often now. I don't think it has any deep prophetic meaning or anything like that but it has helped me to maintain hope these last couple of years. So here's the dream, you ready?

I was standing outside of my cottage-like home looking out at an amazing landscape. In the dream I was middle aged, I had a family of my own, and my father had been dead for several years. As I stood, looking at the pristine landscape, I noticed a man running toward me. When he got close enough I recognized him as my father - only he was in the prime of his life. Bewildered, I stared at him. He hugged me before I could say anything, he then invited me to come with him to tell others that it was the day of the resurrection. The last thing I remember was running with him and having a difficult time keeping up.

With this whole brain thing, I've really had to think a lot about the possibility of dying soon and through all the fear, sadness, and uncertainty that accompanies those thoughts I always go back to that dream and what I believe about the resurrection. It helps me to have hope. I know Christ died and was resurrected that we might live again. I know that we will have the opportunity to see all of our loved ones again in the flesh!

There is something else I really want to mention. I don't want to make this into just another way to get you interested in my church, you're a way too cherished friend to do that. But I want to tell you that I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His church, the one that He started, the one that He runs today through prophets and apostles, the one that holds the real answers to life's tough questions. I wouldn't be so persistent if I didn't know that this was true and that it brings happiness and peace. You can know too, without any doubt, without having to blindly trust me, or anyone but yourself and God, the same things that I know - if you are interested.

Whatever happens, man, know that I love you and that we are praying for you and your family. If you do have any interest in the things that I believe please give me a call or shoot me an email.

Your friend,

Wes

The Best of Us

I met Wes when I was 15 years old and Joe Dixon brought him over one summer day to go swimming in my backyard. I had known Ryan and Joe since kindergarten, but a few weeks later I went to hang out with Wes, Joe, and Ryan and met Nate. I didn't realize then that this would be the start of the greatest high school years that a kid could ever hope for.

That first time we hung out we went to the Murray's backyard and threw waterballoons at the passing cars. There are three types of drivers that get hit by a waterballoon. Those that keep on driving without a care in the world, those that slow down looking around wondering what just hit them, and those that know exactly what hit them and drive to find the culprits. It was the latter ones that were the most exciting cause we would take off running in different directions. It was so nice to be the girl in the group because nobody ever suspected the girl. I could just walk away and when people rolled up and asked if you saw some guys running you could just point in whichever direction. I also didn't realize that waterballoons would also become our fallback plan when there was nothing else to do.

There always seemed to be something to do when Wes was around though. I'm not sure if it was the ample parking by his house, the rumpus room, or the fact that Sister Truman always had some form of tasty goodies, but you could generally guarantee that the night would start and end at Wes' house. It also didn't hurt that you could leave Wes' house at 11:55pm and still make it home by the midnight curfew. Wes was every parent's dream. Usually when you were going out there was 20 questions about who you were going with, where you were going, what you would be doing. If you said you were going to Wes' house it was a free pass with no questions because every parent knew what a good guy Wes was and they could trust we would get in minimal trouble since he was the conscience of the group as well.

To say that Wes was a good guy doesn't really do him justice. He was kind, thoughtful, energetic, and had the spirit of a man three times his age. I will never forget the many wonderful memories of hopping walls, spring break trips, staring at the stars on the roof of a gazebo, church youth dances, and high school dances.

Wes truly was the best of us.

Kelly Kennedy

Wes-

I first met Wes when we sat near each other in Mr Teluckys seventh grade math class. I had recently moved with my family to Las Vegas and was desperately in need of finding a core group of friends. The first afternoon we hung out Wes had mentioned earlier that he'd "have his people call my people and we'd do lunch!" He shows up wearing an irish golf cap (that represented, to me, an old world class and intellectuality) and I remember how excited and happy I was to finally have found some friends who were kind, good natured, respectful, and going places. Wes Truman became the ring leader of a group of us who would hang together on and off for the next five years. More than that, Wes became a close personal friend; and an inspiration. His sharp wit, social intuition, righteous leadership, and humor would provide the catalyst for many afternoon and evening recreational activities; spiritual and intellectual ambitions; youthful adventures and overall enthusiasm for life. The purity of Wes's intentions, in all situations, is an example by which I am honored to have witnessed. I remember a long afternoon in underground tunnels, endless games of chess, trading recommendations of music and books, claytionary, swing dancing, kool-aid and the rumpus room, star wars, night-swimming, ice-blocking, wearing wigs and lip-syncing a song by aerosmith, the sub, wyoming, a heretofore unmentioned event involving dishsoap and fountains at a certain unnamed hotel in las vegas (this was actually my idea, sorry BT....) etc. More than anything else though; Wes believed in me. He single-handedly inspired in me a spiritual confidence and sense of self-worth more so than anyone in my entire life. Thanks Wes. I'll miss you.

Austin Wise

Summers with Wes

I just heard the news of Wes's passing. After reading all the touching
postings on the blog and crying on the phone with Vince for a while, I
finally got control of my emotions long enough to jot down a few
disjointed thoughts and memories of the most Christlike person I've
ever known. So many of my memories of Wes are of summer---from the
carefree summers of our childhood to our "summer of thunder" as
college roommates, where Wes and Ryan convinced Lori and Amy to marry
them. The last summer that I saw Wes and Lori was one filled with hope
and excitement for the future. We were a bunch of newlyweds ready to
sail through anything life could throw at us. I'm confident Wes and
Lori were more prepared than the rest of us for what lie ahead and
must have stored up some extra reserves to carry them through these
Job-like trials. The celestial relationship that Wes and Lori have has
and will forever be an inspiration to Lindsay and me and to the
countless others they lifted and blessed. Now it's summer again, and
I'm really missing Wes.

The first summer that I met Wes was as a 5 year-old climbing over the
fence to Vince's house as his cousins pulled in from Kansas (in a
white van with a green stripe as I remember it). Wes's subsequent
summer visits became the highlight of the year for me, Vince, and Mike
(and later Neal and Nate). Each visit turned into a crazy new
adventure---jumping off waterfalls in the canal, camping at the caves,
and building a 25 ft. tall zipline with an old bike (something only
Wes's ingenuity, patience, and sheer willpower could pull off).

Those adventures continued into high school and then college, where
Wes used the same creativity, perseverance, and brilliance that made
our childhood summers so magical for an even nobler cause---winning
Lori's heart. It was the summer of thunder for Wes and Ryan and they
(along with our the other members of the thunder club-- Ron, Morgan,
and Jeff) pulled out all the stops and made highspeed ziplines look
like child's play. One time they even managed to get our table through
our 12 ft. high dorm window so we could impress Lori and Amy with an
(unauthorized) rooftop dinner. After hours of trying to fit the table
through the small window, Wes managed to remove one of the table's
legs while balancing himself on a bedpost. I don't remember how we got
it back in our apartment.

That summer, I also got to listen in on Wes and Ryan's late-night
gospel discussions---something I wish every newly-returned missionary
could do. They taught me that the gospel was not just something we
shared as missionaries or talked about at church--it defined
everything about them. The same testimony that Wes used to share with
us over the campfire as kids and at EFY carried me through my first
year back at college and continues to strengthen me today. It was
actually at Wes and Ryan's joint mission homecoming that I determined
I would do whatever it took to be their roommate that summer. Since
the day I heard them speak, I've been looking forward to the time when
their names would be announced at general conference and I could tell
my grandkids that I was roommates with Wes Truman and Ryan
Fitzgibbons.

Summers will always bring memories of Wes and his "perfect brightness
of hope." I wish so much that I could there tomorrow. I've missed so
much being overseas--the birth of our twins, all of my siblings'
weddings----and now I can't even be there to say goodbye to Wes. I
want to live my life in manner that I can see him again..... and maybe
even get to spend some summers with him. It comforts me to picture Wes
in a future day, reunited with the love of his life Lori and their
beautiful children enjoying an eternal summer.

Travis Sevy

Weekends on the "Wes" Side

Way back in high school, my friends and I would venture from our East side neighborhood to the West side nearly every weekend so that we could spend time with Wes and his friends. It was almost like our weekly ritual. My memories of these weekends are all jumbled together and while one specific memory doesn't stand out, an overall feeling of nostalgia remains. We had a lot of fun going to movies, playing games, hanging out, and just laughing. If I had to describe the Wes I knew back then, I would describe him as always smiling and always a gentleman and, based on the other posts, he hasn't changed much over the years. He was a great example to me and I can't think of a better way to have spent those weekends so long ago.

Candace (Christensen) Knouse

Wes' High School Farewell Address

I first met Wes when I was 16 years old. While I don’t have any specific memories to share, I do have to say that he was such a big part of my life and I am forever grateful for his friendship and all the valuable things he taught me. He was fun and funny and smart and as everybody has said, very strong in the gospel. He always treated me kind and respectfully and would often tell me, “Whoever you marry better be an awesome guy!” He is. And I probably partly owe that to Wes. Wes really set my standard high for what to look for in a husband.

I have loved watching Wes & Lori's family through their blog over the past couple years. Reading it always inspires me to try and be better. I truly mean that. They are such an amazingly beautiful and righteous family, and it completely radiates through Lori’s every word. So although I haven’t been in direct contact with the Truman family for several years, I am still deeply affected by them and their righteous examples.

Wes, thank you for everything.

Rachel (Koch) Bjorkman

Growing Up with Wes

Danny Earl

our first of many pictures!

Wes! This is one of the first pictures I have of you (and us). We had a huge group with STATUS that went to magic mountain. I remember having so much fun with you and you know what? Way back then when there was no such thing as a digital camera, I had my pictures developed and wrote on the backs and again on the album pages themselves. I wrote that you were "my best guy friend" and on this one I wrote "our pre-couple picture" since this was a week before prom.

Wes, I know my memory fails me more than the next person, but I do remember this: you were always so kind, thoughtful, caring, full of life and laughter, encouraging, and respectful. I remember writing to you on your mission and while I am not Mormon, I whole-heartedly respected and admired you for "walking the walk" so to say. You held firm to your principles, followed your heart, and led a life full of joy and love for God, family, and friends. I am so grateful for the times we had together.

Oh, and P.S. sorry for getting mad at you 13 years ago for drawing my hair with pieces that were out of place in your sketch for prom. I'll find that drawing one of these days and give it to Lucy who seems to have inherited your artistic skills!

love, Amy

Everyone knows Wes Truman

As I read all these amazing stories of Wes, it seems that everyone knows Wes. His kindness and open heart drew people to him and he was always willing to make one more friend! I have to say that when I met Wes at EFY I never thought I would see him again even though we ended up going to the same high school. But when I saw him at school and he remembered meeting me, I was thrilled! I was quiet and shy and never expected a handsome and amazing guy like that to remember me! My senior year of high school turned out to be amazing because of him welcoming Chad and I (who I had met at the beginning of the year) into his group. Swing kids, night swimming, Claytionary ("turtle, snake, rattle-snake!"), rumpus room, and so much more! Thank you Wes for befriending me and giving me the opportunity to meet some amazing people! I can't put all my memories into words but know that I will never forget the amazing person you are. Always a friend, always willing to welcome someone new, always an example, always willing to stand up for what you believe, always willing to share those beliefs with those around you. Thank you Wes!

~Kimberli (Walker) Hawkins

Swing Kids

I first started hanging out with Wes senior year in high school when a group of us decided to take swing dance lessons together. One of the silliest memories from that year was when Wes and Chad decided to have a peculiar little contest. I believe the goal was to see who could go the longest with a diet consisting only of carrots. Or maybe it was to see who could turn orange first?? I'm not really sure. But I do remember that both of them looked a little jaundiced by about the 2nd day! I decided to capitalize on Wes's new orange tint by asking him to the Sadie Hawkins dance with a giant bouquet of orange balloons. He just so happened to be wearing an orange polo shirt that day... much to his dismay! :)

I remember so many fun afternoons and evenings that year spent at the Truman household: swing dancing in the garage, swimming in their neighbor's pool, enjoying pizza, Kool-Aid, and root beer floats, and playing Clay-tionary in the Rumpus Room. Wes always guessed "turtle, snake, rattle-snake!" as we took turns hurriedly rolling the clay into a recognizable form. We always joked that Wes was the magnet that brought everyone together... and it was really true. His house was the hub and he was the common link among everyone who showed up. One of the things I admire the most about Wes is his kindness...the way that he welcomes anyone and everyone to join in the fun. I also deeply admire his faith, as well as his choice of a wife! Lori and Wes set such a beautiful example of what marriage was truly meant to be. Their faith and their love for each other brings hope and light to everyone they encounter. Wes is an amazing, brave, kind, smart, funny, faithful man who we are all so blessed to know.

Whenever I hear the R.E.M. song, "Night Swimming," I will forever think of the carefree days of the summer of 1999 after high school with all the Swing Kids... and I will think about Wes, praising God for the gift that he is to all of us.

Love,

Adrianna Evans

A True Friend

I have a lot of good memories about you, Wes. One of my favorites is when you... well let's say stepped out of character a little. Everyone knew you as kind and generous, never wanting to hurt or offend. But I remember one day when we were in the hall at Durango, and Charlie accidentally bumped into another student. Should have been no big deal, but the kid decided he needed to test his manhood, so he got up in Charlie's face. After some big talk and posturing typical for the high school male, he started to walk off, went out the doors. Something happened to where he felt he needed to step up to Charlie again, and he started to come back in with some choice vulgarities. And you, the friend we all looked up to for your kindness and smiles, stepped between him and Charlie, threw open the doors, and yelled, "GET THE HECK OUT OF HERE!!!" The kid actually ran. And you returned to calm and smiles. Like Captain Moroni, even though you hated confrontation, you simply did what it took for the safety and welfare of your friends. We all knew you were a true friend and would never let us fall.

That fact was proved in a literal way in another favorite memory. I know some of us jokingly likened it to Nazi camps, but I really liked our YM trip to the Uintas. On one of those bright, sunny days when we idiotically decided to scale a vertical cliff several dozen feet up a vertical drop onto large boulders, you proved your friendship twice. First, you volunteered to be the first up the stone wall with nothing above to support you and no one knowing what hand holds there were. Then you laid on the ledge above and held your hand down to help everyone else up. Simple, right? But when Oscar got part way up and found that no handholds were in his reach to make it up to your hand, he decided to test your strength. With only precariously small hand and foot holds and a sheer drop below, Oscar crouched, then jumped vertically in an attempt to grab your hand. My first though as one of the guys beneath giving foot support from the 2' ledge below was "I hope Oscar doesn't take me with him in his fall!" But you caught him. You didn't let him fall.

We all want to let you rest and spend good time with your family, but I know I speak for Heather, Miranda, and the rest of the Hunter clan when I say we love you. I'm glad to have you as a friend.

Rob Hunter

Good Stuff

I have lots of memories of Wes, but the one that cracks me up to this day was on what should have been a simple ride home from Young Womens. Wes was kind enough to offer me, Jeanette, Miranda and Robert a ride home in his sweet orange VW Bug, even though we definitely lived out of the way. We were packed in pretty tight and all of a sudden, cruising down Russell Rd, the gas peddle broke. I'm not sure he really knew how it happened, or whether to this day it has ever happened to anyone else in the world, but all the same, everyone piled out to push the car. It was quite the adventure. I'm sure it wasn't that funny for Wes at the time, after all, this was his mode of transportation. But hopefully it's one of those things that you can look back at and get a good chuckle now.

I have to admit, I read everyone else's posts and I want to ditto what Jill said. I wasn't the eight year-old, I was the incredibly annoying 13 year-old that tagged along. But like she said, Wes always was my friend and looked past my intolerable audacity and immaturity to see a friend. He always made everyone he met feel like they were interesting and fun to be around. I, too, am grateful for his incredible example and hope he knows how many lives he has helped to change for the better.

Heather (Hunter) Parkinson

Thoughts of Wes~

Quite frankly, I'm not entirely sure if Wes knew me, but I knew him. (I was a painfully shy wallflower mostly content on observing people rather than interacting with people.) Anyway, we were in the same grade in highschool and shared one or two seminary classes together. And I have to say, his example was always one that I appreciated. Everyone can see that he was a true friend and a great spiritual example. The kind that always makes people want to be better also. So, thanks, Wes for being such a spiritual giant and such an awesome guy. Our love and prayers are with you and your beautiful wife and children.

~Heather (Isom) Scott

My Favorite Wes Story

I'm not sure how all the blogging works, but I'd like to tell my favorite Wes story...

There was a ward function at his house one night (to this day, I'm still not sure what the heck it was all about...). The parents had a thing going on downstairs, and all of us kids were upstairs in Wes' rec room hanging out, listening to music, etc...

Wes was the perfect host. He offered us drinks and basically gave us total access to anything in his house. I remember at one point we were all sitting down listening to the radio and he comes back from his room and shows us this... multi-colored... wax... mold of the inside of his fist. It was one of those "wow - that's really weird but somehow freakin' COOL at the same time" kind of things. I mean, he must have literally, like, poured warm wax into his hand, made a fist, and just took the burn like a man! I dunno. It was pretty spectacular though.

Later on, we were listening to the radio some more and he busts out this mix tape. "Buddy Holly" by Weezer had JUST come out and he had recorded it off the radio. We must have listened to that song only 10 times, but it seemed like 1000.

To this day, EVERY time I hear that song, I'm instantly taken back to that night at Wes' house...

... and I smile.

Kim (Leavitt) Raper