The Theodore Turley Family Book, pp. 128-129
Fred was born August 4, 1895 at Snowflake, Arizona. Wilma Fillerup Turley was born March 8, 1900 at Colonia Diaz, Mexico. They were married June 1, 1920, and started “ranching” at Airpine with Fred’s brothers Ormus, Barr, Harvey, Harry, and their father Theodore. Right after the war things were sky high, especially cows, so they thought they could make it big. They did, BIG in DEBT. The slump came on, spring of 1921, the bottom fell out and we were left with the burden of a staggering debt. All got discouraged and moved from the Ranch but Fred and Barr, and they, with their wives, decided to make it go.
We did make it work, struggling along, enjoying the while our children as they came into our Home, five of them. Working and playing together has been such a delight through all the years. We had school on the Ranch for them to attend, often just barely enough to get a teacher, but our children did well under such conditions and all graduated from high school with honors, and attended universities. They were all married in the Temple to fine companions and now are rearing their children in the Gospel, being active in their wards and stakes.
In the depth of the depression, 1923, the Bank took all our cows at $20 per head with calves thrown in, so we had to turn to something else to make a living until we could get back into cattle. Fred got the mail contract from Holbrook to Heber, for 8 years, and that gave us a little cash, We desired a rich, full life for ourselves and children, so we decided to develop a Ranch for Boys. Sundown Ranch for Boys, we called it.
Through faith and prayers and hard work, we promised the Lord that if he would help us to get the right contact we would pay an honest tithing and teach the Gospel as much as we could and try to make a life long friend of all who came to the Ranch. Our prayers were answered, and Bill and Viola Kurtz of New York City came into our lives and we started Sundown Ranch for Boys, summer of 1927. It was so successful that in 1930 we established Sundown Ranch for Girls which Barr and Grace and cared for.
October 1941 another dream to come true, Stan was called to the Eastern States Mission where Fred filled his Mission in 1915-17. War drums beat again that year, Dec. 75h and Grant enlisted in the Air Corps. He didn’t come back; he went down with his plane the first daylight raid over Berlin, March 6, 1944. What a price for peace, and yet there is no Peace!
We ran the Boy’s Ranch until summer of 1944 when we sold it to Alma Bigler and spent all our time with cattle. That summer Wanda and her sisters took Promontory Tower to watch for fires on the forest. It was a good experience for them. Grant was missing and Stan was in the Air Force, the war intensified and the days went by with stress and strain for all the world.
Building up our range and cattle was such a delight to us, improving our herd of good Herefords year after year, and the proof was in the sale of our yearling steers the fall of 1950 when they weighed out 800 pounds at the Snowflake Stockyards after being driven all day.
August 1951 the call came for a Mission to Texas-Louisiana. Fred said, “I can only do one thing at a time,” so we SOLD THE RANCH. It was hard to do, but the Lord blessed us for it. Since then we have spent our entire time in the Church, and Life is good.
Missions for Fred and Wilma as a team: Texas-Louisiana 1951-53; Arizona Temple 1955-57; K6 Ranch Florida 1957-58; President Southwest Indian Mission 1958-61; Arizona Temple 1961-63; First Counselor in Arizona Temple Presidency Aug. 1963-April 1966.
Fred with Monita
Children of Fred and Wilma:
Stanley Frederick Turley b. 1921
Grant Marion Turley b. 1922
Wanda May Turley Smith b. 1926
Monita Turley Robison b. 1930
Marilyn Turley Larson b. 1931
Ann's Stories 