President Howard W. Hunter not only had close relationships with his two sons, John and Richard, but also sweet and tender relationships with his two daughters-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

John's wife, Louine Berry Hunter, and Richard's wife, Nan Greene Hunter, shared several of their remembrances of the prophet with the Church News. Some of their thoughts and experiences are mutual, while others are individual.

- John and I were in our first year of marriage when Dad became an apostle, and our son, Robert, was three weeks old. Because of the new baby, Claire was at our house to spend a week after my mom had gone home. She had just been there a couple of days when she got that memorable call from Dad, who was in Salt Lake to attend general conference. When she got off the phone, she said she had to go to Salt Lake, unexpectedly. She didn't say more, but she didn't have to.

I had heard her say on the telephone, "I'll support you," and then I saw the tears, so I knew he had been called to an important position. Because I had heard my own father predict for many years that Howard W. Hunter would be an apostle someday, I strongly suspected what the office was to be. - Louine

- Once Claire told me about how she spent the day washing all their windows inside and out. When Dad came home, he inadvertently turned on the sprinklers, negating much of her efforts. When she called it to his attention, he promptly went out and wiped down all the wet windows. That's a good man.

When they were young parents, Dad was going to night law school and also working full-time during the day to support his family. Because they didn't have - and couldn't afford to buy - a washing machine, Dad volunteered to wash all the diapers by hand, which he did until he was out of law school and could afford to buy a washing machine without going into debt. This was not something he ever mentioned doing. - Louine

- Dad loved coming to our homes, but he didn't love sitting around, so we devised a plan in our family that would help his visits be more enjoyable. We would sometimes make a list of things that needed to be done around the house. He was a great fix-it man and would often spot a broken window pane or a dripping faucet and proceed to fix any problem with expertise, or he would work on our list, or ask us if anything needed fixing. He kept our dryers and other appliances going.

He built a puppet stage for Nan's children, designing and building all of the hand pieces used to move marionettes and helping Nan string the marionettes. His knowledge about carpentry, appliances, electronics, plumbing and everything else around the house was just amazing. - Louine and Nan

- When Howard and Claire came to our homes for Thanksgiving or Christmas, they always brought the turkey. We always asked him to carve it because he enjoyed it and did it so well.

After any meal at our homes, he always dried the dishes. We always appreciated the way he stuck with us until the kitchen was clean again, and we appreciated the good example his actions provided. It was a good time to visit, too. - Louine and Nan

- During a reunion last year we put on a program for him. One of the granddaughters sang him a song, dancing around him, and he grinned from ear to ear. We mentioned that just a few days before his death, and he just giggled. - Louine and Nan

- In 1969, John and I flew back east for a three-week Church history trip with Howard, Claire, Nan and Richard. Landing in Boston, we rented a car and drove to many of the historical sites and recalled the happenings at each place. We were in Nauvoo at a bed and breakfast as we watched the astronauts walk on the moon.

Traveling with an apostle was very special, which added sweet memories to the trip. But Dad would never stop to eat. We'd start out in the car in the morning, intending to stop somewhere for breakfast and lunch, but because Dad did the driving and food was low on his list of priorities, most days he wouldn't get around to stopping until dinner time! After a while, we figured we'd be ahead if we could all agree to one meal a day - if we just knew ahead of time which meal it would be! Hunger was a memorable part of that trip. - Louine and Nan

- Dad turned 87 last November, but his most memorable birthday celebration was his 80th. We wanted to have a big family party to celebrate, but we had a hard time getting his consent.

Finally, Richard made a bargain with him, "Dad, if you'll let us have this party, we won't bother you again until you're 90!" He laughed heartily and finally agreed.

So we had a big, formal dinner at his home, followed by the grand entrance of a cake blazing with 80 skinny candles, which lit up his laughing face as we dimmed the lights.

After dessert, we sat around the table and took turns expressing thanks for Grandpa, bearing testimonies and sharing memories of special experiences with him. When we finished, it was time for a response from Grandpa. "Tell us some words of wisdom, Grandpa. Tell us what you've learned in 80 years."

He paused, thoughtfully, then he cleared his throat and began, "When you take a shower, always put the shower curtain on the inside of the tub."

Everyone broke up in laughter. This was so much like him because his sense of humor was wonderful. - Louine and Nan

- Dad was single for several years after Claire died. Both of our families live about 700 miles away, and we hated to think of him coming home to an empty house, so we let him know that we would be very pleased if he were to remarry. But it was a few more years before he took that step and married Inis, someone from our distant past. She had been in the El Sereno Ward when he was a young bishop.

Inis has truly been a blessing in his life. Her companionship and loving care, combined with her unfailing positive attitude about his health, has been an inspiration to all of us, but I think the quality he liked best about her is this: "She's such a happy person." - Louine and Nan

- It was not unusual for members of the family facing a crisis or difficult decision to receive an unexpected call from Grandpa Hunter at a serious moment.

Several years ago we encountered some of life's harsh events, and they disturbed and hurt us and upset our peace of mind. One very busy day during this time, I felt sad and discouraged and decided that no matter how busy the day, I needed desperately to seek the Lord in fasting and prayer. We needed to be reassured of His love and know that He remembered us in our time of trial.

Though the day did not allow one moment for pondering in private, or more than a short scripture reading, I had a good feeling as I ran, visited, met, called and worked through my list. Driving home late in the afternoon, I looked forward to the stillness of my room, where I could group my thoughts in peaceful prayer.

A few messages blinked on our answering machine. I got paper and pencil to record them.

The first message said: "Hello, Nan. I don't have any business to talk over. I am just thinking about you and wanted to call and say hello. This is your friend."

Love filled me as I heard the voice of my dear father-in-law, and I knew that my prayer had been heard and a faithful servant, in tune and ready, had responded to the promptings of Him who loves us all. - Nan