The longest post ever........Just try to beat me boys-----Berezay Memories--- Disclaimer written by everyone-- so not a fair competition but I do have a long Title!!

In the book ordered the Mom , Chrystal ,John , me , Joseph, Eliza, Joshua, Nicolina, Mary, Dad, and Luke-- I tried to layer serious and fun. I also printed a black and white picture of the one Janice Berezay took of all of us at thanksgiving. With the Title--Some Memories Never Fade.

When I was dating Joseph, we went to the Berezay's during conference weekend. I think he was eager to show me that respectable people thought highly of him. Unfortunately Brother Berezay's first words to me were, "What's a girl like you doing with this riffraff?" so that plan may have backfired. I immediately fell in love with Brother and Sister Berezay. They put me completely at ease and made me feel like we'd been friends for years. We listened to conference, talked about spiritual things, told jokes, played games and then the boys headed to the Priesthood Session. Sister Berezay and I were manning the fort and hanging out with all the delightfully pregnant cows. One of the cows was in labor and her little one was on the way. It was awe-inspiring to watch her give birth; I had never seen anything like it. Sister Berezay was taking care of the mama cow. With the sun setting behind her, and such kindness in her eyes, Sister Berezay looked like an angel. That new mama was in good hands.

Eliza Erickson

It was a rare thing we did at the Berezay's.  Change Pipe.  But this time we were.  I was probably about 15 years old.  And being an entitled teenager, I thought my work and effort to change pipe was worth a monetary value.  So with a smug attitude, I asked Bishop Berezay, (He will aways be bishop to me, even in heaven), "How much are you gonna pay me to do this?" Now Bishop is a tease and so I supposed that we would banter back and forth.  But he quickly showed me that this was no laughing matter.  So without skipping a beat, almost like he had be asked this question before, he said, "I'll feed you dinner."  And that was that.  He didn't have to feed me.  I wasn't entitled to that either.  And yet, here he was offering me a meal.  As well as giving me a chance to serve and work.  Two things I didn't really appreciate until years later.  

Words I would use to describe Angie Berezay: fun, exciting, magnetic, infectious, and crazy.  She always seemed to be the life and laugh of every party.  And there would never be a dull moment if you could share a tent with her at girls camp. (Funny thing that I wear an old girls camp shirt as I type this)  Since you wanted to be just like her, when she had advice to give, you paid attention.  

So one afternoon a few Erickson girls and Ang were hanging out in the basement of the Berezay home.  And Ang was giving the lesson.  This was lesson 101 in hiding your farts when you walk.  "Just pretend it's a squeak in you shoe."  And then she would walk and sort of squeak her shoe and fart at the same simultaneously.  "Works every time."  This was the same girl who made me a bookmark with the words written on it, "All big boogers are flipped by the first finger into the big blue sky."Although I think those might have been originally penned by Cody.  Either way, inspiring.  :)

Certain country songs will always remind me of the Berezays; A Little Dust on the Bottle, God Bless Texas, Heads Carolina; Tails California, Xxx's and Ooo's (An American Girl), and Angels Among Us.  Even when I hear those songs today, I can't help but think of good memories of a family that works hard and plays hard.  A family that believes in family and doing what's right.  A family that laughs often and finds the humor in those tense situations.  A family that has blessed so many of those around them just for being who they are.  To the Berezay family: Bishop (Don), Janice, J.R., Cody, Dacia, and Ang.  I am a better person because I have known you

Mary Erickson Taylor

We went on a school trip.  The whole horticulture department was invited.  We went to Las Vegas, and Phoenix, and visited all sorts of cool places.  We studied the landscaping, the farm, the nursery.  The trip was an eyeopener for the job opportunities available to someone of my major.  A horticulture major.

On the way back the bus stopped at a gas station in Nephi, UT.  There was some sort of fast food or Subway type place attached to the gas station.  Our professor announced that this is where we would be getting our late lunch, and we would have about an hour before we needed to load and drive the rest of the way back to Rexburg.

I looked around me and noticed I was at the very exit of the Berezay residence.  In fact I could see their house up on the hill from where I stood.  All I had to do was cross the road and walk on up.

I decided to go and see if they were home. I invited a friend to go with me I told her they were the coolest people ever and she would love it.  She declined.  Which I get now because who would really want to go visit a stranger for fun?  But at the time I couldn't see how anyone would want to go and visit the Berezay's.

I walked up the dusty dirt road, it was a sunny day.  The house and yard seemed quite, and when I knocked on the door I hoped someone would be home.  I was greeted with a huge smile and laugh from Janice!  She said something like, "Hey you, what are you doing her?  Come on in!"  

I explained why I was there and that I only had a few minutes, and we talked for a minute.  Don made his way to the kitchen area, and I was just peppered with love and questions.  I was given an ice cream sandwich to snack on.  I probably laughed and smiled more in those short minutes then the whole time I was touring with my class. The hour passed quickly. I was hugged goodbye and told over and over again how great I was. And then it was time to walk back.  But I'm pretty sure Don gave me a ride back down the hill in his truck.  I remember the ride, not sure who was all in the truck.

I got back to the gas station just as the bus was being loaded back up, and we were off.  Best pit stop of my life!

Nicolina Erickson Tanner

I remember getting the chance to go to Berezays' after school one day. I am not sure why, but I was in junior high or maybe a freshman and had ridden with Dacia, behind the school and to the river. The boat they rowed across with, to their property was on the other side of the river. I think they tried the best they could to coordinate which side the boat would be on, but in was before cell phones. Dacia stripped down to her skivvies and swam across the river and then rowed back to get me! I remember being a little surprised but mostly in awe. I thought Dacia was so cool and tough. She could do anything!

I think it was my fourth year during girls' camp that some of us had our hair done in little braids all over our heads. We called them dreads, but I don't know if dreads or dreadlocks is a term used when hair isn't washed and gets matted into stringy ropes? Either way, after a week of camping, even with swimming in the river, I guess it's about the same! Ang and I started talking in Jamaican, probably inspired by our braids and "Cool Runnings" We ended up talking the entire week like that! Ha! Some of the 1st years started to join in too.

Dacia and I were headed to a stake dance one evening and Bishop Berezay was rowing us across the river. It was pretty foggy on the river and he kept talking about how "froggy" it was. I just remember laughing so hard and thinking he was so funny! I may have been a little slap happy, but I just remember being content and excited about life and the evening ahead. I also remember listening to "Guitarzan" on the way to the dance, once we got into the truck and Bishop singing right along with the line, "Shut up baby I'm trying to sing!"

One time I stole Cody's hat (baseball cap). I must have been between 8-10 yrs old. I remember Dacia saying that you should never touch Cody's hat. Well, one time I wanted to test it, so I stole his hat and was running around. He caught me, pinned my arms under his knees and while he sat on me started to tap his fingers hard where my collarbones meet. I thought I was going to outlast him, but he kept on going until I promised to not take his hat again. I remember being sore for a couple days and thinking.."Sheesh, Dacia was right, he sure is protective of his hat!"

I remember walking across the old bridge before it got washed out and before Berezays started rowing across the river. It was weathered and gray and even green and where the posts met the water

When JR got back from his mission I remember him talking about "The Lion King". It had come out not too long before he had gotten home and when he watched it, he drew a lot of parallels to the plan of salvation and how we leave our Heavanly Father's presence and how we need to "Remember who [we] are" and try and live up the the Savior's name.

I remember a high school teacher talking about how great of a Senior Class President he was and how he would send a "Thank You" shortly after an event or something and the high school teacher said how rare that was. I remember thinking, "I want to be like that."

When Cody got his mission call to Texas, I remember the song "God Bless Texas" was his theme song. Ha!

There were times in the winter when we would get pulled around on the inner tubes by the pick up truck, all down the road and through the fields, and laughing so hard I could barely catch my breath, and my arms were tired from holding on. I remember the crisp air with sparkles of snow speckling my face as we would glide over the snow. Sometimes we would run through and over the cow pies, and I always hoped they weren't fresh!

Dacia had wolves and huskies posted up in her room. She loved any decor that was black and white.

The downstairs in the house in Frenchtown had the best carpet! Roses and floral and crazy patterns.

I remember being in awe of the food storage downstairs. It looked like a store to me! I thought Top Ramen was the coolest stuff ever!

Cody dished himself an entire plate of potatoes and gravy. The gravy had so much meat in it; I remember thinking Sister Berezay should give my mom her recipe. Anyway, Cody had the plate piled up, heaping at least 2-3 inches high and ate the whole thing! I remember being surprised at how much he could eat.

Ang always did crazy things with her hair. I remember her cutting her own layers by sticking her hair in a pony tail and then cutting it off! She also used red koolaid to dye her hair a few times. I thought she was cool and so brave!

One time, when we went to Berezays for conference, some of Ang's kids and mine, I think Cody and McKay, sat around Bishop Berezay with his bowl of ice cream and opened their mouths to get a bite. He laughed how they were all like baby birds, and Sister Berezay laughed too! They were such good sports with all the crazy and truly enjoyed kids.

Sister Berezay always gave great hugs and had a funny laugh. You could hear her anywhere by that laugh! And she always listened to our stories, as goofy as they were.

I remember staying with Berezays one time, I am not sure why, and we went on a trip to Canada for a wedding. Most people who saw me thought I was Dacia, all grown up! Ha! I guess it's the brown eyes, brown hair and brown skin. They would hug me and call me Dacia, and coming from the Erickson family where we only really did the side hug, it was a bit overwhelming, but funny too.

Sister Berezay was my Primary teacher when I was 11-12.  I remember she taught us something about the loive tree and the gathering that would take place. Looking back now, I can see how much effort she truly put in because she had all sorts of corss referencing, maps, and facts about loive trees and different people. In my immature way, I disregarded that and was talking with my peers. She didn't do this very often, in fact , I don't know if I remember another time she did this, but she got stern with us and told us to quit talking. She then asked us how we expected to feel the Spirit if we weren't listening. I remember it really stuck with me. I felt bad and didn't want to let her down.

Another time, as a primary teacher, she spoke of missionary work. We talked about having a fast as a class that someone in our community would accept the gospel, or at least have a missionary experience. I remember being worried because I was going to an Erickson Family Reunion, but she said that she had a reunion to go to as well, and I gained strength from her! When I went to the reunion and wasn't eating, I even had an uncle who was concerned about my lack of eating and was trying to encourage me to eat something. I was proud of myself for staying strong, and felt like the Lord would answer our class fast. Years later, Sister Berezay told me that there was an experience that had happened. It seems like the experience wasn't very significant, but the lesson learned about fasting and prayer, of committing and following through was lasting.

I have had a flood of memories as I type this...maybe too many for this book, maybe I will do a part two..But I love the Berezay family and their legacy! They truly have blessed lives. The ripple effect is enormous! I feel fortunate to be connected to such an amazing family!

Chrystal Erickson Tillery

This was Spring of 2011. I know that we visited them in April to watch conference with them. I am not sure if this memory took place on that occasion or on another one.

We had finished eating a great dinner and we decided to play some cards. I think we were playing 10-2 or Beat Your Neighbor or some other game. I was teasing Eliza mercilessly. I don't remember about what.

Bishop Berezay reached over with the deck of cards and hit me on the head with them. I was so surprised. Cards flew everywhere and my head stung from the force in Bishop Berezay's strong hands. I sat there confused and I wasn't sure what to do. Everyone else laughed because Bishop Berezay was laughing. Eliza was happy that someone had taken her side. I then had to pick up all the cards!

It wasn't until later that I realized that I wasn't being as kind as I should have been and that the cards on the head were Bishop Berezay's way of letting me know that I was out of line. I am grateful to have spent some time with them then, and I am happy that I was counted as one of the family (Family enough to have cards on my head)

Another memory I have (A short one) was of playing baseball in the Berezay's backyard in Montana. I remember I was going to bat and I would get some dirt and rub it on my clothes like I had seen in the Goofy Sports Show. That was how I would get a hit, right? I remember Sister Berezay just laughing and laughing at me.

Joshua Erickson

The very first Berezay memory I have happened soon after we moved to Frenchtown ward.  

We moved in on a Saturday in April 1989 which was General Conference Saturday.  The next day, the ward met at the chapel to watch conference via satellite.  Between the morning and afternoon sessions, there was a potluck.  We had been told about it the day before when Waldrons and other members of the ward helped us unload our moving truck.

We enjoyed the conference and potluck very much.  I think that was the first time I was introduced to the mother's room too since Joseph was only 6 weeks old and I was nursing him.  There was a comfortable recliner rocker in there.

Anyway, the next week at church, Alan was gone.  It was the first and only time he had a business trip that was scheduled over a Sunday.  So I was sitting at church with the four girls and baby Joseph.  Bishop Berezay, who was President Berezay then as Elder's Quorum President.  He greeted me and teased with the girls and wanted to know where Alan was.  He was an attentive EQ president who noticed one of his quorum members was absent. He didn't wait until there were several Sundays of absence.  He noticed right away and inquired to find out the status.  

Don and Janice Berezay have a gift of helping everyone they meet to feel loved.  I sometimes felt that they were there just for me and my family.  They were my own connected friends.  Of course everyone who's associated with Don and Janice feel that way.  I think that's because Don and Janice have pure love, charity the pure love of Christ for all they meet. People are drawn to the safety of their love.  It is so easy to laugh and feel warm and welcomed in their presence.

Another important Berezay memory that has sustained me was when they did nothing but were still there.

Joshua was the 6 week old baby this time.  Theresa Bingel came back to Frenchtown after being gone for about 6 months. She and Gary had separated in the spring of 1991.  Actually Gary came home and she and her kids were gone.  Six months later she came back 5 months pregnant with another man's baby and was hoping to reconcile with Gary.  Alan was Gary's home teacher.  We offered to have Theresa and her kids stay with us.  They stayed in the family room.  It was Christmas season.  We also had Bart and Janet (Alan's brother and wife) newly married come to stay for a few days.  We had been unable to attend their wedding because of Joshua's birth. So we had a house full and all of the busy activities and concerns of the season. Theresa stayed about 2 weeks or so, but it felt much longer.  Gary scrounged for a place for her the minute she came back because he didn't want her imposing on us too much.  It was exhausting because Theresa felt she couldn't do any housework or food prep since she was pregnant.  She really expected us to wait on her.  Her children received about 5 times the amount of gifts on Christmas morning that our kids did.  I was trying to care for my baby and almost lost my milk.  I had to really concentrate and relax to save it.  Finally Theresa moved out; Gary had found a place.

Later when I was expressing relief to Janice about it she told me that they had been watching our

situation and if it had gone much longer they would have had Theresa move in with them.  I was gratefully stunned by that revelation.  I felt so loved to know that there was a back up for me, for us.  

I feel more inspired to be more like them myself.

Sheri Erickson

I remember when I was fairly young we went to the Berezay's house for dinner. It was a Sunday so I assume that they kidnapped us children and took us to their house for food. Of course dinner was delicious. I remember mashed potatoes being part of dinner. Well it got to the point where only a few of us were left at the table. I remember Chrystal or Mary, Angie, Joshua and me. I was still there because it was quite a challenge to fill myself up. Angie was there because she hadn't finished her food. Chrystal or Mary was there to be with Angie and Joshua was there for the same reason as Angie. As it often happened at the Berezay's house, there was some serious laughing going down. By serious laughing, I mean all-out-belly-laughing-till-it-hurts-and-still-more. Joshua was young and loved to laugh. Angie was a teenager and ready to leave the table. Angie would get Joshua laughing and sneak a spoonful of potatoes onto his plate. Angie has a very contagious laugh, so it was pretty easy to sneak the potatoes over to his plate. This process was so funny that Angie and Chrystal or Mary couldn't stop laughing. Pretty soon Angie's potatoes were on Joshua's plate. Joshua kept eating like a trooper. And I kept eating because I was hungry.  

Joseph Erickson

I have fond memories of the Berezay family.  I remember the feelings of love and laughter at their house.

I remember their staircase had open spaces and Bishop Berezay would hide underneath and scare us. I was particularly easy to scare so I was often the target by others.

Dacia would call me Little Lee for the longest time.  

On my baptism day you were all there.  The Berezay’s show immense love and caring and tried to come to all the important events. Just like the time you surprised us all by coming to  Chrystal’s wedding.

I remember laughing and laughing.  

One time Angie took me on a motorcycle ride. I felt so special to go on a motorcycle ride. I got off on the muffler side and  since I was wearing shorts I burnt my leg really badly.  It was a scare that I’ve always been proud of.

Linda Lee Erickson Dalton

When I heard about this project, my first thought was of how easy this would be to just pick a memory and write it down. It sounded simple enough until I actually tried to pin point just one memory to share. I couldn't do it. They all came at me like a flood. I remember the first time I met the Berezays the day Chrystal and I were married. They were standing on the lawn as we were getting everything ready for the reception.  When all the Erickson boys finally saw them it was a mad stampede and a dog pile on Don and the boys. It was easy to see they were loving every minute of it. I remember standing on the porch at the ranch in Nephi knocking on a front door where there was no one home. We were just about to leave when Don came driving by the house in his big flat bed pickup not realizing who was standing there. After a triple take he slammed on his brakes and stuck what seemed like his whole body out of the window of that truck and yelled to Chrystal to stay right there and that she was not to move until he got back. When the family came back it was easy to see how much the Erickson children meant to the Berezays. It was as much a homecoming of long lost family members as I had ever seen.

I remember horse rides and 4 wheeler rides, funny jokes, farmer swears and the most violent and entertaining game of spoons I have ever played. I remember the day Chrystal called me to tell me Don had passed away. I remember feeling like the world had just lost one of the greats and there was nothing I could do about it. I remember choking back tears as best  as I could as I sat on Angie and Mitch's living room couch and read the memories of Don written by his children. I remember the kind of man Don was. I remember the feelings of great power, wisdom and love he seemed to project all the time. I remember how minutes after you met him, you knew that if you could just find a way to be like him, that everything was going to be ok.

But I think what I will remember most about the Berezays is the way they took you in as their own and welcomed you and made you feel loved not because they had to but because they wanted to. Because that's the kind of people they are. The kind of people we all should be.

I know this is closer to a lifetime of memories than just one memory but I don't think one memory would have been enough.

Luke Tillery

One of the things that I remember about the Berezay’s is that they really loved us. It was amazing how they reached out to us and became part of our family. I remember visiting them in Utah a couple times. I also remember when we were in Star Valley they came and visited us. Really they showed us Christ like love and really strengthened our family.

Another thing that I remember was that one year for Christmas Sister Berezay made me a stick horse. It was light brown with a multicolored yarn mane. It was such a good gift. I remember that I took a picture of me on that stick horse and I was so excited to give that picture to my grandma. I remember at my Grandma’s house I could hardly wait for her to open the picture.

1. John Erickson

Many times I would watch as Bishop Berezay come into the chapel.  He would go up to everyone, recognize them, shake their hands and ask them something specifically about themselves.  He had a way of making you feel good, like you were the only one he knew, yet he would do that to everyone.

I remember when he served as our Bishop, we had 4 little boys.  He took the time to pull me aside and tell me that you could work along side boys, but you also needed to have a break and do something fun, then you could go back to work.  He said that he found that they would work a lot harder for you that way.  I never forgot that.  I tried to do that many times with my own boys.  My boys were real small, but he saw the need early to teach a father.  Also, at that time he gave me a copy of the booklet “For Young Men Only”, put out by the church.  I am sorry to say that it took me longer to use this with my boys than it should have, but I have used it and been blessed many times with its content as I have taught them.

I remember a sister in our ward that served in a leadership calling.  He observed that she had a problem, and asked her to come in to visit with him, but she would not show up for the appointments.  He prayed for her, worried about her, counseled with us and even the Stake President about this fine Sister.  His love for those he served was incredible.  I am sure it was how the Savior felt and Bishop Berezay was the servant.   When I served later as a Bishop, I often thought of him and hoped that I might serve a little like he had.

Alan Erickson