About Me (Dad)

My names is Scott A. Edgar.  My children call me Dad and my grandchildren call me Grandpa or Papa.  I was born in 1946 at the Presidio of San Francisco, in the Letterman Army Hospital.  I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I spent many Saturdays (all day) fishing under “the Golden Gate Bridge.”  In those days, a young boy could go anywhere in the city for a 15 cent transfer ticket (bus and/or trolley); …just hop on and hop off. On “no school” days, my mother would often give me a brown bag with lunch, and just send me off for the day. “Dinner’s at 6:00 pm” she’d say. For me, the city was a magical and safe place to be. My favorite places to visit in the city were: the Cliff House, Sutro Baths and Ice Skating, Playland at the Beach, the Legion of Honor, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Palace of Fine Arts, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Marina, the Presidio, Fort Point, Golden Gate Park, Fleishhacker Pool, Fleishhacker Zoo, and Lake Merced.  I also loved baseball and enjoyed watching or listening to games at old Kezar Stadium. I remember when the New York Giants ball club transferred to San Francisco and the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to LA (both teams made the move around 1960). Those were great days for the city.

When I returned home two years later, I was required to report to the military draft board. I was certain I would not be accepted because I had “a heart murmur” or something that almost kept me from serving an LDS mission. So, I confidently reported to the draft board. They scheduled a physical for me, and much to my surprise, I passed! At that time, I was told I’d receive my Army draft notice in the mail within the month. Well, before I got the draft notice in my hands, I stopped by the Air Force recruiter’s office and joined the United States Air Force. I entered Active-Duty military service on September 8th, 1968.  Ultimately, I made it a career. I served tours in England, Southeast Asia, and Germany.  I separated briefly from the service long enough to attend and graduate from Brigham Young University-Provo.  After graduation, I reentered the Air Force and served as a Foreign Affairs Officer.  My primary area of responsibility (AOR) was the Middle East.  I lived and traveled in many countries (Far East, Western Europe, and the Middle/Near East).  For me, military service became my life; it defined me.  It was a challenging career full of discipline, growth, learning, and excitement. Except for a lonely year in South East Asia (the longest year of my life), I fully enjoyed all my assignments. It was a great honor to serve.

Jenny Marie

While on active military duty, I also had the privilege of marrying two wonderful and amazing women (at different times), both of whom supported me in my military service and our many travels.  My first wife was my dear Jenny Marie.  We had dated before I entered the service, but it wasn’t until after I finished basic and technical training schools that we married (April 15th, 1969).  That was about seven (7) months after I joined the Air Force.  We were married and spent 15 wonderful years growing together, raising a family, and learning.  Sadly, Jenny developed a heart condition and passed away suddenly (and unexpectedly) on the evening of April 8th, 1984.  She was just 37 years old.  At the time, we were living at Ramstein AB, Germany.  That event was perhaps the most tragic event in my life.  I was overcome with grief and sorrow.  And, I was ill-prepared to become a single parent with our seven wonderful children. Initially, I was in shock, but the Lord blessed us with His grace and tender mercy.

We were living comfortably in West Germany, and we had a large support network of friends.  However, under the circumstances, I decided we would be better off living in Utah near our family.  So, we packed up and moved to Bountiful, Utah.  The Air Force reassigned me to Hill AFB, but they also allowed me as much time as I needed to adjust to our new family dynamic.  I had many issues to deal with and much to learn.  At length, we all settled down to an acceptable routine and we were managing.  As a family, we did a lot of growing.  It was a struggle without our Mom (my Jenny), but we stayed together and continued to grow.

However, often at night after the children were in bed and asleep, I would go for a drive.  I wouldn’t go anywhere in particular.  I would just drive.  On one such evening, I remember stopping somewhere out on the west side of Salt Lake City.  I said to myself, “What am I doing out here?  I need to get home with the kids!”  This wasn’t just a onetime event.  Each time, I would just turn the car around and head back home.  What was I thinking?  Something was missing and I didn’t know how to deal with it.

My brother-in-law, Russ Castleberry, must have sensed I was having issues.  He called me one night and said: “Scott, what are you doing right now?  Let’s go bowling!”  During that late night bowling event with Russ, we talked about several things.  He made me feel much better.  I love that man.  He picked me up when I was down.  He even let me win the first bowling match.  (He soundly defeated me in the next two matches!)  Eventually, Russ mentioned he had a friend in his ward who was also a “Single Adult” in the church.  He thought it would be good for me to meet her.  That led to my first date as a single parent.

Dating for me was awkward.  I was young (37 years) and relatively attractive.  However, I had “baggage.”  The ladies I met were often very friendly, but very few were willing to take it to the next level and fully embrace a military man with seven children.  Of course, my children were the most important part of me.  I would not be separated from them.  And I was committed to my military career.  So, I decided to create an initial checklist for “serious dating.”  I determined to find someone who: 1) I was attracted to, 2) would have a firm faith in and testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ, 3) would be attracted to me, 4) would embrace my children, and 5) would support me in my military career.  For me, a meaningful relationship would need to include a combination of those five elements.  In short, I was looking for someone like Jenny.

Katherine Elizabeth

Then, five (5) years later, I met Katherine Elizabeth Platt.  She is a beautiful, sweet and patient woman. And, she was able to appreciate me and see beyond my obvious challenges. Kathy and I met at a Church Single Adult Conference in Long Beach California.  At the time, she lived in Las Vegas and I lived in Illinois, so we had a very long-distance relationship.  We kept in touch and visited when we could.  We even dated a little and spent quality time together (and with our children).  Kathy had two (2) children of her own.  We all got along well, and I was very happy.  But eventually, the long-range relationship became very expensive.  We both prayed independently about each other and about what to do.  We knew we were in love and we were right for each other.   So, we “simplified our lives” and combine our families. We were married and sealed February 24th, 1990 in the Las Vegas Nevada Temple.  We started out with nine (9) children and then added a 10th of our own.  We have been married now for more than 31 years, and we look forward to many more. Together, we’ve grown as a united family with ten (10) beautiful children. They’re all grown now and have families and children of their own. Currently, we have 32 wonderful grandchildren who call us “Papa and Nana.” We love them all; apparently, love has no bounds!

After serving 24 years of active military duty, I hung up my uniform on December 31st, 1993 and retired from the Air Force. We settled in Henderson, NV.  Kathy resumed her Nursing career, and I went back to school to study computer hardware technology and repairs.  Eventually, I found work at Boulder City Hospital as an IT Tech, and later as their IT Manager.

It wasn’t long before we also became proud horse owners.  It had been a life-long dream of mine to own horses.  So, we made it a reality. Eventually, the city of Henderson became too crowded for us; so, we packed up, sold our home, loaded the horses in a trailer and left town. We moved to Sanpete County in Central Utah, bought some horse property, built a small ranch, and began living my idea of “the dream.” We had horses, dogs, and cats. Kathy continued her nursing career in Sanpete County and I started a small computer support business in a nearby college town (Ephraim). My family, a ranch, horses, dogs, and cats: I was truly living the dream of my lifetime.  I loved waking up in the morning and beginning each day.

Senior Missionary Service

We continued to live that dream for more than 10 years. Then came a phone call from a friend asking us to accept a Full-Time Senior Missionary assignment.  After prayerful consideration, Kathy and I decided it was the right thing to do.  We interviewed with our Bishop, filled out our papers, met with our Stake President, and submitted our papers to Salt Lake.  Several weeks later, we received a package from the Prophet (Thomas S. Monson).  We were called to serve a Full-Time Senior Missionary assignment,  and we were to enter the Missionary Training Center (MTC) on May 1st, 2017.  So, we put our home up for sale, sold the horses, sold much of our household goods, and gave many things to our children; and yes, we did sell our home (in fact, we signed the final contract papers on the day we drove out of town).

Brief Mission Homecoming Report

Our mission call assignment was to serve in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission, and particularly at Brigham Young University-Hawaii (BYUH), Laie, Hawaii.  Sister Edgar was assigned to serve as the Visiting Nurse for the Married Student Mothers (and their babies), and I was assigned to serve as a Computer Support Tech.  My specific assignment was to serve as the Database Administrator of the BYUH Conduct Manager Software (Maxient).  In addition, we made personal commitments to do sacred Temple Ordinance Service each week in the Laie Hawaii Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

---

Scott’s Family History Fan Chart

Click HERE to return to the Home Page.