Ned is Dead Again

Our "Ned is Dead" group met again this past weekend. This is a group of 6 couples that met in Everett, Washington in 1978. We lived in the same ward, served together and served each other, had children together and helped each other raise each others kids. We have kept in touch for all these years and get together every two years. We all take turns hosting and planning the event. Events in the past have included a weekend in Aspen, a trip to Lake Powell, and Estes Park in Colorado. John and Connie Woodward (seated) are leaving for a mission to Ghana next Monday. So this was a reunion and a farewell. We laughed, updated each other on our families, enjoyed very delicious food, and cried together. Most importantly, we bore testimony to each other of faith and tender mercies that are part of our lives everyday.

I have always wondered about the name of our group and even have thought it a bit morbid. However, I finally heard the origin of this title. Many (and I mean many) years ago in an old Mutual manual there was a list of ideas for Halloween activities and one was titled Ned is Dead. The group grabbed the name and started meeting on Halloween every year. As time passed, many of us moved and then we started meeting every two years.

I would have liked to have posted photos of us in the early days, but did not have any. It doesn't really matter because as we discussed what we would like to do in two years, it became very apparent that in our minds we are still the same young adventurous group we ever were. We threw out ideas such as build a house for a humanitarian project or float the river and sleep on shore in the Grand Canyon. The photos wouldn't really do any good. In two more years we will probably settle for a cruise to somewhere warm and sunny. But for now the "Ned is Dead" group is alive and kicking and feeling young again.