James Arlo Vance

Arlo was our first son. He came to us after we were married for a little over 9 months. On September 29, 1980 Jeanette went through a long labor and gave birth to a baby boy. We named him James Arlo Vance, after his grandfathers. We smiled until our cheeks hurt. He was 8 pounds 9 ounces and 21 inches long.



We decided that we would call him Arlo. Arlo was a fun boy. He learned quickly. We were proud of everything he did. He could drink out of a water fountain and we would brag about how talented he was.

One day after Craig was born Jeanette took Arlo to the store with her. As they were getting into the car Arlo put his hand on the door post while the back door was closed. Jeanette opened the back door and heard a crunching sound. She discovered it was Arlo's thumb. His thumb was cut from the sharp metal edge on the door post. Jeanette went into Hansen Grocery and called me to come. I was a couple blocks away and ran there with Craig in my arms. An ambulance came and looked at Arlo. They could see that we did not have much in the way of this world's wealth and let us take Arlo to the hospital after they administered first aid. After a fashion I hesitate to post this because Jeanette still has bad memories of the incident.

Arlo had a plastic surgeon reattach his tendon to the back of his last knuckle. His left thumb is a pulgar shorter than the other thumb. Here you can see the bandages that he sported for a while to ensure that he did not use his thumb.



Arlo was a good helper around the house. He was Jeanette's friend. There was a time when he thought it was fun to do the dishes.



I encouraged Arlo to learn the piano. I taught him to play Book of Mormon Stories by plunking out the notes on our piano. He took piano lessons from somebody that knows how to play the piano. I like to listen to Arlo play.



Arlo entertained us with his witty humor. Here you can see one of his antics where he and his brothers used the Scotch Tape to alter his natural profile.



Here it is plain to see what a handsome young man Arlo was. He was obedient and helpful. In fact I would say that he was a good Boy Scout. He later earned his Eagle rank in Boy Scouts of America.



As he grew older he experimented with making his hair just right. This was before the 3 G's (gasoline, girls, and groceries).



It was exciting to see Arlo come home from his mission to California. Here you can see that Jeanette really gave him the red carpet treatment.



He has grown up. We are excited that he is soon to receive his degree in Graphic Arts from BYU.



Isn't he a fine looking young man?