Les Smith, a native of Las Vegas and a student at Brigham Young University, was attending a wedding reception during the fall of 1981. A poor college student struggling to make ends meet, he made his way to the cake table for some refreshments. But eating was the last thing on his mind once he saw the blonde handing out pieces of cake.
After some brief chit-chat with the woman, he made his way over to the newlyweds and asked for the cake server’s name and marital status. He found out her name was Judy Wanlass and she was currently single, but was informed that she was divorced with four kids.
“I don’t want to marry her,” Smith protested, “just date her.”
A few weeks passed and the newlyweds invited both Wanlass and Smith to their home for dinner. At first, Wanlass protested, thinking Smith was too young for her. She was in her mid-30s and had been a divorced for five years. Although she’d dated several men, she realized none of them were up for the challenge of a woman with kids whose ages ranged from kindergarten to high school.
Since her children were her priority, Wanlass had decided to quit dating. Instead, she’d focus on providing for her family.
But her friends persevered and eventually Wanlass, a native of American Fork, Utah, gave in. After all, it was only one dinner.
But that dinner would change lives. That evening, Wanlass realized Smith was a great guy and seemed to be everything she could ask for. Then, during the drive back to her home, Smith asked why she hadn’t gotten remarried. Wanlass bluntly explained her other relationships hadn’t progressed because she and her kids were a package deal; the responsibility had scared other men away.
A red flag went up when Smith acknowledged that taking on four kids would be intimidating. With that comment, Wanlass immediately wrote the night off as their first, and last, date.
But when he dropped her off at the door Smith surprised her by asking for another date; Wanlass half-heartedly agreed. Several nights later, when Smith showed up for their date with a carton of ice cream and suggested they eat it in the kitchen with her kids, Wanlass was shocked. As Smith, Wanlass and her four children socialized over ice cream that night, Wanlass realized there was more depth to Smith than she had originally thought.
For his part, Smith was smitten. At 29 years old, he’d realized many of his other dates lacked the maturity and experience he was seeking in a woman. All, that is, except Wanlass. She had every characteristic he’d been looking for in a wife and was beautiful as well. He was overwhelmed with how perfect of a woman she was for him.
As their relationship progressed, Wanlass got up the courage to ask a favor. A beautician, she’d quickly noticed the severe way Smith wore his hair was unflattering, so she offered to cut and style it for him. Smith thought it was a wonderful idea and told her to do whatever she wanted.
Pleased with the result, Smith began calling Wanlass, asking if he could come to her home in Pleasant Grove to have his hair styled. So every morning, besides getting herself and her own children ready for the day, Wanlass also carved out time to style Smith’s hair, much to his delight.
By December, with the semester over, Smith got ready to travel home for the holidays and Wanlass focused on stretching her limited funds to provide Christmas for the kids. Then an event happened that continues to evoke emotional memories for Wanlass.
Before he left for the holidays, Smith handed Wanlass an envelope. But instead of the contents being a mere Christmas card, she opened it to find all of Smith’s meager savings, along with a note indicating the funds were intended to purchase an Atari gaming system, something her kids had begged for but she’d been unable to afford. Throughout the previous months, Smith had showed he was different from the other men Wanlass had dated. This act of unselfishness proved it.
After the holidays and back in Utah, Smith continued making his daily trips from Provo to Pleasant Grove for his morning hair-style. They’d talked about getting married, but an official proposal hadn’t yet been made. Then one day, between styling trips, Smith called Wanlass with an unconventional marriage offer. He explained, “I’m getting tired of driving back and forth between my house and yours every day. Let’s get married.”
Knowing his unromantic proposal belied his heart, Wanlass accepted.
The plan was to get married at a condominium clubhouse in Provo a few weeks before Valentine’s Day. Although they had only a few weeks to prepare, things were running smoothly.
Or so they thought.
With the flurry of wedding preparations, her own job, and caring for the kids taking up all her time, paying a speeding ticket had completely fled from Wanlass’s mind. Then, two days before the wedding, she heard a knock on the front door and opened it to reveal a police officer.
He told her he was under strict orders to either collect the ticket fine, or she’d be booked into jail.
Unfortunately, Wanlass didn’t have enough cash on hand, so the officer broke the news that he’d need to transport her to jail immediately. With that declaration, her children frantically began searching for money by pulling up couch cushions and breaking open piggy banks. As he led her to the car, Wanlass instructed the kids to call Smith; he’d be able to help.
When Smith heard from his future step-children that his fiancée had been taken to jail, he arrived to the view of $1.75 newly found change in their hands, the only cash they’d been able to scrape together. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to cover the ticket and Smith applied to friends for a loan. He had a wedding planned and wasn’t going to let his bride sit in jail.
Finally, with the ticket paid and her brief time in jail over, Wanlass and Smith were married on Jan. 29, 1982. After a brief honeymoon in Salt Lake City, they returned to a living room full of wedding presents. Embracing his family and role of father, Smith suggested they make opening the presents a family affair. As each child took turns exclaiming over new toasters and cookware, the seams of a new family were begun.
Les and Judy Smith recently celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary and still live in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Although the two never had children together, Smith long ago proved how to be a true father. The Smiths are the parents of four children, 17 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Elizabeth Reid has bachelor's degrees in economics and history. A wife and mother, she loves learning people's love stories and blogs about her own at agoodreid.blogspot.com.