Sister Ardell Archibald

Ardell Griffeth Archibald was born in Preston, Idaho on October 23, 1928. She was born by Caesarian section, and she and her mother both almost died. She was the oldest of four children. The next oldest child was ten years younger than her, so she was an only child for most of her years living with her parents. She was raised on a farm. She learned how to cook and clean and sew from her mother, but she loved most being outside working with her father. She learned how to do most of the chores on the farm, such as herding sheep, milking cows, working in the fields, etc. She learned how to work hard.

She was quite the tom-boy in her early years. She liked to hike. She and her friends would hike on the lava rocks near her home. She was daring and would jump over crevices where she could have fallen a long way and gotten hurt quite badly. Someone was watching over her, and nothing ever happened though.
She would ride a horse to take the cows up in the canyons and then bring them home to milk them in the evening. One night, when they were going up to the canyons, the horse she was riding suddenly turned and headed back down the hill. Miraculously she did not fall off the horse. When she looked back to see why he had turned she saw a wildcat running in the opposite direction. The horse had obviously scared it as much as it scared him.
She learned the hard way to obey her parents. One day her mother asked her to bring some empty quart bottles down from the attic to can with. To do this she needed to go outside and climb a ladder at the side of the house. Her mother told her not to take her little brother with her. She took him part way and went up to get the bottles. She had a jar on each finger, when she heard her little brother and thought that he needed her. She ran and fell, breaking six of the bottles. She still has the scars to tell the tale.
She spent all of her early years in Idaho. She went to school there through her high school years. When she was a junior in High School they moved to Dayton, Idaho – which is where her future husband, Leroy Alder Archibald lived. She attended the Utah State Agricultural College (Utah State University now) for 1 ½ years. When she went back to Dayton, Leroy was just returning from serving in WWII. They met at a church dance. Later they were in a 3-act play together. They were married in the Logan Temple May 26, 1949. They lived in Logan, Utah, and Dayton, Burley, and Armerican Falls in Idaho. They moved to Salt Lake City in 1956. They had nine children, eight who lived to adulthood. They also welcomed many foster children and Indian-placement children into their home.
Ardell enjoyed gardening and most years she planted a large vegetable garden in their back yard. Her children spent many hours gardening with her.
She spent eleven years as an 11-year-olds scout leader. Those were some of the most fulfilling years of her life. She also had callings in primary, young women, relief society, Sunday school, etc.
When her children were raised, she went on two missions with her husband. One to Rochester, New York (where they served 1 year at the Grandin Press Building in Palmyra, and 7 months at the Peter Whitmer Farm in Fayette,NY), and a temple mission to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Between these missions she worked in the Salt Lake Temple. After her husbands death she worked in the temple again for 9 years and served a Family History mission for 9 ½ years at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake.
She has spent her life in the service of others, her family, neighbors, boy scouts, even total strangers. She loves everyone and gives her all to everything she does. She is happiest when she is busy helping others.
She still enjoys reading, working in her yard, and doing genealogy.