In 2010, I began blogging about my experiences as a woman in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2019, I expanded my message and launched Hawkerfamily.com to include my family. This website also serves as a repository for my past blog posts and related social media content, as I have chosen to step away from active engagement on social platforms.
I understand and recognize the importance of inclusivity considering the different communication challenges within the diverse global membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Please note that this website has a specific American perspective. To ensure clarity and consistency, this website uses traditional gender definitions outlined in the “Proclamation of the Family” from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Please note that this website does not represent the Church.
Thanks for visiting,
Julie
Rick and Julie
Rick and I typify the old adage that “opposites attract.” A farm boy from New Plymouth, Idaho, Rick enrolled at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah after serving a two year mission in Argentina for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was a native Californian raised in San Jose. After graduating from West Valley Community College in Saratoga, California, I transferred to BYU Provo in the fall of 1978. In December, the semester nearly complete, I met Rick on a Sunday evening when he visited my apartment. One of my roommates, Robin, had invited Rick to join us for a church “fireside” meeting that night. During the entire meeting, I watched Rick watch me. We didn’t see each other again until after winter break and started dating in January of 1979. Rick’s rustic, homespun charm soon won me over, and we married that same year on November 10th in the Oakland, California Latter-day Saint temple. We settled in San Jose and later moved to Morgan Hill, a small town south of San Jose.
Rick eventually graduated with an M.B.A. from San Jose State University. His career in finance involved defense and aerospace industries, and a start-up company. I was a stay-at-home mom to our two sons and two daughters. In my mid-30s, I went back to school completing a master’s degree in Communication Studies at San Jose State University. The department hired me as a part-time adjunct instructor teaching general education courses: Argumentation & Advocacy, Critical Thinking & Decision Making, Communication & Human Relationships, Public Speaking, and Writing for Influence. During those years, I also taught a couple of semesters at the University of Santa Clara and at Evergreen Community College. After nearly 25 years of teaching, I retired in May of 2019 when Rick’s employment offered him a job transfer to Utah.
We spent 40 years working and raising our family in California’s vibrant Bay Area—where I had lived my whole life. Our children were all married and raising their families in Utah and had ended up residing in the same neighborhood. Naturally, Rick and I wanted to join the fun and so built our own house in the same neighborhood community. Now, as grandparents to four granddaughters and four grandsons (and another one on the way), we love being an influential part of their everyday lives. Like all families, we deal with our inevitable idiosyncrasies and quirks but navigate our challenges with unwavering love as we all strive to uphold our covenants made in the holy LDS temples.
