Dear 9th Ward Friends,

Autumn 2009

Dear 9th Ward friends,

Thank you for all of your sweet words and sincere prayers regarding our father and his passing. We enjoyed seeing your faces again at his memorial service. You have given us much warmth and friendship throughout the years. We just wanted to let you know that your love extends beyond the 9^th Ward to St. George, Utah and Las Vegas, Nevada. We cherish our fond memories as children in the Modesto 9^th Ward.

We thank you for supporting our father in his most difficult medical situations and keeping him cheerful when he was lonely. You were his family when we were not near. In that thought, we hope this message comforts you with the loss of your friend and brother.

A personal message from Rachel: Modesto 9^th Ward has always been home. Dad would always keep me updated on who got married, who was called on a mission, who had a baby, who got what calling, who had a van for sale. Dad’s fond friendships turned into us having several extra “uncles”. Thank you all so much for your lasting friendships over the years and your sincere sympathy and goodwill in these last long months. Dad loved the 9^th Ward so much and had the highest respect for all the members. His example to me of missionary work, service to those in need, and loyalty to friends has made a lasting impact.

A personal message from Aubrey: In the past few years, Dad started to include a saying in most of our phone conversations. He’d emphatically say, “Do Your Best”. In spring of this year, Dad went into end-stage cancer and those words became more special to me and seemed to echo in my mind. All he really wanted me to do was my best. I will do just that in memory of him. Dad was admittedly imperfect, yet I noticed a softness about him during a last visit to Sonora with my sisters. Until the viewing, I thought this softness was just the frailness of his frame. When I looked at him for the last time I finally realized what I was seeing. I saw the image of the Savior in Dad’s countenance. By the end of his life, he had done his very best and I am so glad I was able to see that.

A personal message from Heidi: I miss my Dad so much. He was a wonderful man, an extremely talented artist, a hilarious story teller, a wonderful friend, and an amazing father. I was truly blessed to have a father and friend like him. I will ALWAYS miss him everyday.

We apologize for not writing to each of you individually. You were his dearest friends and a great source of his strength. Thank you for all of the dinners you made for or invited him to, the needed priesthood blessings given, fasts on his behalf, the “parking lot interviews” and chats, the spirit of youth the Boy Scouts gave him, and the countless other favors. We know that helped Dad get through some hard times.

We will treasure the memories we have of Dad. If you have any memories or pictures you would like to share with us please email: idispatch4911@gmail.com, aubreyjune@gmail.com, heidizzle@hotmail.com. Also, please visit RexMcBride.com to add photos, stories, and information.

Our most sincere thanks,

The McBride Girls

Our Daddy & Grump-Pa Rex

Sunday, September 26th

marks the one year anniversary

of Rex's passing.

Please keep his loved ones in your thoughts.

Rex's Version of Success, 2003

Sent:	Sat 4/19/03 1:34 PM
To:	idispatch4911

Cool,
Maybe we will have to take the boat out for a spin and some fishing if the weather is pleasant. Bring your 'boomstick' and we'll "drill some holes" at the range, the indoor one on Yosemite Ave. here in Motown and the Gun Club range in Jamestown.

I sure feel better after a good nights sleep. Just slept until I wanted to get up. Woke once during the night and took a pill then went back to sleep. Refreshed today. Usually have more restless nights than last night. Am starting the process of scaling back about 25% on my meds. I am really getting tired of basing how much work I can do on the pill intake. Have done this before. I know when I have reached the point to where I'm overdoing the work based on the meds helping me to feel I can do more work. It can become an ever increasing cycle of pill taking, so time to scale back.

Rest more. After all, I'm not in my 20's anymore and can't work at the pace of a 20 or 30 year old.

The theory for becoming a success is "Find a NEED and fill it".
What I need to do is hire Mexicans. haha. That is what everybody else that is really making it in this business is doing. Housing is certainly a "need". Here is the formula that is working for the construction industry :



1. Hire truckloads of Mexican or any cheap labor to do the work. Doesn't matter what 10 to 15% of the work looks like or how badly it is done, just keep cranking it out. This small percentage of loose ends created by the cheap labor will be dealt with by step 2:

2. Hire a nucleus of 'key' guys, good at problem solving. One guy, particularly good at Supervising/Delegating. A Leader. Under this 'leader' there is a need for someone that can be creative enough to fix the screw ups the 'cheap labor' created. This creative position may be 1 to 3 individuals, maybe each with their own specialties. Pay these 'key' guys more to keep them around and happy. These guys are also the eyes and ears for the Leader. There needs to be a loyalty within this nucleus.

3. Turn out a product that meets the minimum acceptable standards for the industry you are involved in. Always make sure your product hovers around these minimum standards. No flashes of brilliant ingenuity accepted unless it can be cashed in on somehow thru a marketing campaign. Remember ... the bottom line.

4. Have a willing, sheep-like people with tolerable credit ratings and an unquenchable desire to feed their own egos and every whim with 'the latest' or the newest' fad or fashion. They want to show off their acquired possessions to their envious friends and neighbors/co-workers. In their own minds, they must 'feel' as if they are doing better everyday. They must get more, every day, every paycheck. More stuff. Newer stuff. Once acquired, there is the need to 'store' this new stuff.

This is easily resolved by upgrading one's housing situation. What is needed is more space. Buying homes with three car garages and extra bedrooms can resolve the dilemma. This added square footage can be turned into guest rooms, media/music rooms, hobby rooms, sitting rooms, reading rooms, display rooms, etc.

In earlier times, say 50, 100 or 200 years ago, this country's backbone was the family. The big family. In a one or two room house. The living, sleeping and dining quarters were all found within the same square footage. Multipurpose rooms. Great families with large numbers of children were raised without the benefit of each having their own room or 'space'. They learned to share because it was essential. There was no other way.

Today, if people would only cut down on the number of children they feel they need, to have a 'complete family'. Hey, that also frees up a room for 'stuff'. If there is a void felt by not having that one additional child, this can be rectified by the addition of a pet. Usually a dog. These animals tend to be interactive with the humans in the house. They can sometimes be trained to not damage too many of the acquired items that are in storage or on display. They tend to require less maintenance than a child and are less costly. They are not inexpensive, just cost less to maintain than a child.

Goldfish and cats are sometimes chosen as the preferred pet. These are much less interactive. Personally, I found that watching goldfish for a few minutes after a crazy day to be therapeutic.

It is not known why people have cats for pets. Having had the experience of being a husband and father for about 16 years, I saw no need to have a pet who also ignored me.


Whoa, sorry Rachel. I went thru a stream of consciousness thing.... This could be an essay with more work on it.

Love dAd