On a cold winter evening Tom Callister, single father of seven children, is in his kitchen, preparing a big pot of chili.

Daughter Tara, 13, samples the cooking, as the other children in the household, Steven, 16, Ted, 15, and Tawni, 11, set the table. (The three other children - Tina (Mrs. Kurt Allred), 22, Tami, 20, and Paul, 18 - are living on their own.)The home is not elaborately furnished, but it is orderly and warm. The household - at least on this particular evening - is a model of efficiency. The efficiency does not flow from regimentation, like that of Baron Von Trapp's household in "The Sound of Music." Rather, it seems to come from a general attitude of helpfulness and love.

Such cooperation has helped the family cope with the loss of Brother Callister's wife and the children's mother, Rebecca. She died three years ago of cancer.

"It's been hard," reflected Brother Callister, first counselor in the Grantsville 1st Ward Sunday School presidency and a former member of two bishoprics.

"The hardest thing I have ever done in my life was to tell these children their mother was going to leave. We got together around the dinner table that night and I told them then. It was difficult, but we had the help of the Lord."

The Callisters were living in the Jordan North 16th Ward in West Valley City, Utah, at the time. While Brother Callister was at the hospital with his wife, a neighbor gave each of the children a priesthood blessing to help them cope with the pending loss. Later, Brother Callister also received a blessing.

Priesthood and gospel principles, as well as love, continue to bless the Callister home, evidenced by some of the items on the wall of the living room. They include a family portrait, pictures of the children, and a photo of the 1990 Grantsville baseball team. Above the doorway is a picture of the Savior.

Elsewhere in the room are a wooden relief plaque with the words, "The Family that Prays Together Stays Together," and a framed picture of President Spencer W. Kimball on a March 1974 Ensign magazine cover.

A picture of the Salt Lake Temple on the wall is inset with a photograph of Tom and Becky, a constant reminder to the family they will one day see their wife and mother again.

"I would be lost without the gospel," Brother Callister acknowledged. "Prayer is an important part of our family life, and we stress individual prayers. I have had lots of occasions when the children have come to me and asked for a father's blessing, and I have relied on the priesthood to help get me through that."

When acquaintances ask how he is getting along, Brother Callister's typical response is that he is OK, although loneliness will always be a problem."The children feel lonely too," he said. "I do what I can to fill the role of both mom and dad. But there are days when we've needed Mother in the home, and all you can do is put your arms around them and reassure them they're loved. A lot of times, kneeling down with them in prayer helps. Every family goes through periods of adjustment, and we're still adjusting, quite honestly."

One adjustment made by Brother Callister, who works as a machinist for a magnesium producer, was learning to sew.

"My wife sewed," he explained, "and always in the back of my mind, I thought it looked fun and I wanted to try it."

His mother, Jennie, who lives around the corner, had an old sewing machine that she no longer used. Brother Callister brought it home, cleaned and adjusted it, and found a pattern that had belonged to his wife. From an old sheet, he made a western shirt and was surprised at how well it turned out.

His sewing projects proliferated from that point. He has made jumpers for his daughters and dresses that they wear to Church. He has fashioned pants and shirts for his boys. For himself he has made work shirts and a denim jacket.

His crowning achievement was a suit he made for himself.

"I remember the day I wore it to Church," he said. "My mother stopped by afterward and said I was the envy of the Relief Society for being able to accomplish that."

Beyond Brother Callister's sewing abilities, the family survives - and even thrives - with everyone pitching in on the laundry, household budgeting, meal planning, grocery shopping and meal preparation. And they take care of each other.

Last Father's Day, eldest son Paul took his father into town, saying he needed to buy a newspaper. Paul concocted the explanation that the Grantsville Gazette contained an article he needed for high school graduation. Brother Callister opened the newspaper and was surprised to find a portrait of himself and the children. A lengthy article carried the headline: "Tom Callister - he plays the dual role of both Dad and Mom to seven children."

Secretly, the children had all spoken to the editor, Mary Ruth Hammond, and she had written the article for the Father's Day issue of the Gazette.

During the summer, a school teacher and fellow Grantsville resident, Ron Johnson, saw an advertisement seeking nominations for outstanding single father and single mother of the year. The contest was sponsored by a national support organization based in Moab, Utah, for single parents.

Johnson clipped the Gazette article and sent it to the contest sponsors. Brother Callister became the organization's first recipient of the outstanding single father award.

Among the congratulators was U.S. President George Bush.