Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The Ronald W. Last Park – Provo, Utah

Our family recently returned from a wonderful vacation in Utah. While we were there, we went to the Ronald W. Last Park. Our daughter had found this park on a map some time ago. It turns out this park was named after my father-in-law's first cousin! How cool is that?

Ronald W. Last Park Provo Utah

Here's a close-up view of the plaque on top of the sign.

What a beautiful tribute to Ronald W. Last. I especially love the last line - "Provo City is a better place because Ron Last was here!"

Ronald W. Last Park Provo Utah

Transcription of Plaque -

This park is dedicated to the memory of
Ronald W. Last.
He is a reminder to those who follow his example, that each
individual can make a difference and everyone should try. He
served his community tirelessly for 39 years as an educator,
principal, and city councilman. He constantly gave of his time,
talents and wisdom, always contributing to the present and
adding great promise to the future. He will long be remembered
by countless students and friends who were touched by his many
public and silent random acts of kindness.
Provo City is a better place because Ron Last was here!

Here's a map showing the Ronald W. Last Park's location in Provo, Utah, courtesy of Google Maps.

Google Maps - Ronald W. Last Park Provo Utah

The park is very pretty and as you can see sits right next to the Provo River. When we visited the park, the guys played Frisbee while my daughter and I had fun taking pictures.

Here are some photos of the park and the Provo River.

The Provo River is to the right of the trail in this photo, next to those trees and bushes.

Ronald W. Last Park Provo Utah

A glimpse of the Provo River through the lush vegetation.

Ronald W. Last Park Provo Utah

Here's another glimpse of the Provo River.

Ronald W. Last Park Provo Utah

A view of the park looking south.

Ronald W. Last Park Provo Utah

This bridge crossed the Provo River. It was a great place to get a better view of the river.

Ronald W. Last Park Provo Utah

View of the Provo River while standing on the bridge.

Ronald W. Last Park Provo Utah

The northern edge of the park.

Ronald W. Last Park Provo Utah

Looking south.

Ronald W. Last Park Provo Utah

I'm so glad we spent some time at this special park which was dedicated to one of my husband's ancestors.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

24 comments:

  1. That is awesome! I wish I could find something like that. What a special tribute to your cousin. Thanks for sharing.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jennifer,

      This really was an awesome find. I usually don't post anything about my hubby's ancestors on this blog, but his ancestors are the ancestors of my kids so why not right? I'm so glad our daughter found this park on a map, and that we took the time to visit it.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  2. Jana, I missed your Follow Friday post last week and guessed you were on vacation. What a great place to spend it! Ron Last sounds like a wonderful person to have given so much of himself. Your photos of the park show how beautifully it honors his memory. It's great that your daughter found this park - is she a family history sleuth like her mother? Doing the happy dance for you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Linda,

      Thanks for your kind comments! Yes, we had a lovely family vacation in Utah. It was so fun to spend time with our kids who are living there right.

      The park is a beautiful way to honor the memory of Ronald Last. And I'm so glad we were able to visit this special park.

      Our daughter isn't involved in family history sleuthing like me at the moment. She's pretty busy supporting her husband who's going for his Master's Degree in Accounting right now. Hopefully sometime in the near future she'll catch the genealogy bug. She still has time though. After all, I didn't catch the genealogy bug until I was in my 30's with five children aged 11 and under. =)

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. I love the line that he contributed to the present and added promise to the future. Kudos to your daughter for spotting the park on a map. That's definitely something you didn't want to miss.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Wendy,

      That is a wonderful line on his memorial plaque. And yes, props to our daughter for finding this awesome and special park. It was cool to spend time there as a family and read about Ronald Last.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. how great is that and I bet you felt proud he was your relation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Bill,

      Yes, I do feel proud to know that Ronald Last was so loved by the community of Provo, Utah. He sounds like he was a wonderful person.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Hi Cheryl,

      Yes, this definitely is a special and beautiful park! And it was a treat to visit it that day.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  6. That is so wonderful that your daughter found this park. It's even better that you all got to visit it. Beautiful photos!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Andrea,

      Yes, it was a real treat to spend time at this special park. I'm so glad I took pictures of it and our family enjoying the park as well.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  7. Absolutely beautiful photos. And what a great idea to dedicate a park to someone who made a difference through his "public and silent random acts of kindness." I wonder who got it together to fund this dedication and create this park? That, too, was an act of kindness. This kind of event seriously renews my faith in human nature. Thanks for this post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mariann,

      I love what you said about the creation and subsequent dedication of this park to Ron Last as being an act of kindness. That's so true! I also wonder who brought this about.

      Thank you for your kind comments and for stopping by!

      Delete
  8. That is a beautiful place! And good job to your daughter for her detective skills!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sally,

      It is a lovely park, especially with the Provo River running right next to it.

      Thank you for stopping by!

      Delete
  9. Replies
    1. Hi Birgitta,

      Thank you! I appreciate you stopping by and thanks for your comments!

      Delete
  10. ...so with this new found "ownership" does this mean that you have to perform park maintenance every time you guys visit? Hope not, that could put a crimp in vacation time... :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Brent,

      Oh, you are a funny one! Haha! I suppose by default then, you can help with any future park maintenance projects too, since you are related to me. LOL! =)

      Delete
  11. I thought you must have been on vacation. We all miss you when your posts don't appear when we expect them. :) What a lovely park and tribute to Ronald Last. He must have had an impact on many lives as an educator - and this proves it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kathy,

      Aww! Thank you so much for your kind words!

      We were on vacation and had a wonderful time with our family. It was a treat to visit this special park while we were in Utah.

      Thank you for stopping by!

      Delete
  12. Phooey! Wish I would have known about that park when I was at BYU, especially as a freshman. Especially since that looks like the Marriot building in one of the pictures, looks like it wasn't far at all.

    Oh well! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Heather,

      It is a lovely park, but it isn't near BYU really. It's actually near some kind of business complex or something, so the building in the photo is probably some kind of office building.

      Thank you for stopping by!

      Delete

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