This is a small history of a great man, Golden R. Buchanan, who served as Mission President in 1951 of the Southwest Indian Mission and started the Indian Placement Program for The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints.

A HISTORY OF THE LIFE OF GOLDEN R BUCHANAN as related at his funeral by Joyce Anne Buchanan, his first grandchild

https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/66668052

I was privileged to be the first granddaughter of Golden and Thelma, and always felt cherished by both of them. Their unconditional love has helped me through many difficult times in my life. Their kindness and patience have left me with memories of the many happy hours I spent with them.

The year of my 40th birthday, I decided to learn to ski. Since that time, every winter I have taken lessons each week and practiced hard to progress from an awkward beginner to a fairly competent intermediate skier. My grandfather followed my progress with great interest and encouragement. He even mentioned that the sport was something he would have enjoyed doing himself. Thus, I often thought of him while I was on the mountain, and during a particularly exhilarating run, the thought would pass through my mind, “This run is for you, Grandpa.”

At this moment, I feel as though I’m at the top of a black diamond run, looking with trepidation down an unfamiliar, bumpy and steep terrain, and knowing that I must garner all of my self control and courage to take me safely to my goal. This is also for grandpa.

I appreciate having the opportunity to honor the memory of my Grandfather, Golden R. Buchanan.

My grandfather was born on January 18, 1903, in Venice, Sevier County, Utah, the eldest child of Eugene Deloss and his third wife, Elizabeth Watson Buchanan. His father, after losing two wives in childbirth, and with both surviving sons dying in childhood, was reluctant to marry again. His brother was called on a mission to the Southern states and met a young woman in Mississippi, who was a convert to the Church. He thought brother Eugene ought to get acquainted with her. Money was sent for her to come to Utah on the train. As the train pulled into the station and my grandfather saw this beautiful, dark complexioned girl step off the train, he knew she was to be his bride. The day of grandfather’s birth was a day of anxiety for his father. You can imagine the great fear his father must have had for his third wife as she gave birth. How blessed he must have felt when mother and son survived the ordeal of birth.

Grandfather was named after J. Golden Kimball, who was president of the Southern States Mission, at that time. President Kimball had spent time at the Watson home in Mississippi and the Watson family loved and respected him very much. Later, grandfather was 3 or 4, when his father was called on a mission to the Southern States, being president of the Mississippi Conference. By that time, his mother’s family had moved to Oklahoma so his father didn’t meet any of his in-laws, at that time. There were two sons in the family by now. It was necessary for funds to be sent to this missionary husband so, as was the custom at that time, the wife had her load more than doubled, besides taking care of the family, she took over her husband’s responsibilities…..she milked from 18 to 21 cows night andmorning and took in the local school ’marm’ as a boarder in her two-room house.

My grandfather remembered well his pioneer grandfather, Archibald Waller Dverton Buchanan, as he was 12 years of age when he passed away. He sat by the hours, listening to this grandfather who had four wives and 27 children, relate experiences that happened in the early days of the church…in Nauvoo, he knew the sons of the Prophet Joseph Smith and played with them often. He told of crossing the plains in a covered wagon, and of helping to settle this area and many Indian stories.

School was attended in Venice and Richfield. Grandfather had an intense desire to learn and study. He preferred to read rather than play. Schooling came easy for him and he had a great desire to further his education at a university. Times were hard and money was scarce but he managed to scrape up a few funds to get started. He enrolled at the University of Utah, and finding a job, he worked his way through school, preparing to be a school teacher. During his years there, he played on the school football team. His summers were spent on the farm helping with the farm work. Being the oldest in the family, and his father suffering with bad health, a heart problem, it seems reasonable his responsibilities were many.

In 1923, he accepted a teaching position in Joseph. Some of his students were as big as he was and one young man was 18, grandfather was 19.

He married Thelma Shaw on May 28, 1924. when the school year started that fall, he took his bride to Joseph to live and they lived there for 6 years. Dohn was born in his Grandfather Shaw’s home in Venice; Thayne was born in Joseph; and Richard was born soon after they moved to Richfield.

School teaching did not provide the funds needed tocare for a family, especially during the summer months, so he took other side jobs, one being selling Durant cars in Richfield, which started him on another occupation. The family moved from Richfield, to Price, eventually to Logan, where he was in the car agency business. Later, there was an opportunity to sell the business in Logan and open up a Ford dealership, in Richfield, Buchanan Motor Company. Cars in those days sold for $695 to $895, depending on whether it was 60 horsepower or 85 horsepower. A radio or heater included, the only luxuries available then, added a few dollars to the cost. He saw the need for a feed mill in the area, so he sold his automobile agency to Howard Hill and started Richfield Feed and Brain Company, being in business for a number of years, later operating with his sons’ help. when he became involved full time in church responsibilities, he sold to Intermountain Farmers.

He was a member of the Utah National Guard for 8 years and was an officer in the Reserve for 16 years, being discharged just months before the beginning of the 2nd world war. The business of feeding livestock, at that time, was important to the welfare of the country, so he was not recalled to service.

Churchwise, grandfather grew up in a practicing LDS home, advanced through the Aaronic Priesthood, served as ward and stake MIA superintendents, and taught classes in most of the Church organizations. He served a 5 year stake home mission, on two stake high councils, and in the Sevier Stake presidency from 1941 to 1948.

His work with the Lamanites is rooted in his family heritage. His grandfather Buchanan was sent by President Brigham Young to open up the first Indian mission in the Elk Mountains among the Paiute Indians. Later be became an interpreter for President Young in the Sanpete and Sevier areas at the time of the Black Hawk war. Grandfather himself was part Indian, his grandmother on his mother’s side being half Choctaw and Chickasaw. He recalls being with his father who often sat with Indians around a fire, talking to them in broken Ute language.

While in the Sevier Stake Presidency, grandfather became concerned about the plight of Indian young people who came into the area each fall with their parents to work on farms. when one Indian girl, Helen John, requested in 1947 to live with a white family and attend school, grandfather pondered the possibilities of some kind of Church program whereby such youth could be “adopted” by LDS families for a school year. He foresaw that thousands of Lamanites could thereby be taught the gospel and basic economic and social skills they sorely needed. He proposed such a program to Elder Spencer N. Kimball, of the Council of the Twelve. Immediately Elder Kimball visited my grandparents and asked them to experiment with such a program by taking Helen into their home. They did. Other LDS families expressed interest, and other Indian youths requested similar opportunities. That commenced a slowly growing foster parent program which in the 1950’s became the Church’s Indian Student Placement Program. Thus, thousands of Lamanite youngsters have benefited from this program, receiving an education, many even going on to receive college degrees.

That started grandfather’s long career of Church service in behalf of the Lamanites. It led to his being called to promote and supervise special programs in all stakes having Indians residing in their boundaries; from 1943 to 1951 he was Coordinator of the Indian Affairs Committee of the Church. He traveled to many stakes and gradually developed an acquaintance with nearly 70 different Indian Tribes in western United States and western Canada.

In 1951 he was called by President George Albert Smith to preside over the Southwest Indian Mission, where he and my grandmother provided leadership and example to full and part time missionaries and to Indian converts and investigators until 1955. In 1959 he was set-apart as president of the Salt Lake Regional Mission, directing proselyting work among racial and national groups, including Lamanites, residing in the Salt Lake Valley, until his release in 1966.

He was then called to serve on the Melchizedek Priesthood Lamanite and Minority Culture Committee, helping to implement programs and procedures geared to the needs of

Lamanite members and units throughout the church.

In 1968 he was called to be a temple worker and sealer in the Salt Lake Temple. That was a nice experience as my grandmother was also called to be a temple worker. It was something they could share as much of the church work he had been involved in was done, leaving grandmother at home.

Due to ill health in 1978, they moved to Tucson to be near my parents, Dohn and Mavis Buchanan. They were well enough to enjoy a trip to Hawaii with my parents and Thayne and his wife, Betty. About 18 months ago, when my parents moved to Monroe, they came back home to Sevier County.

Grandpa was everything a grandfather should be. He always had time for his grandchildren. He was interested in what we were doing, and encouraged our endeavors. He took his role as patriarch of the family very seriously and suffered with us through our trials, and rejoiced in our successes.

In 1974, my husband and I moved away from Salt Lake City and have lived away from Grandma and Grandpa ever since. During those years, Grandma and I corresponded. I kept all of her letters, and last Friday took the opportunity to reread them. I noted that all of them were filled with news of the family–the comings and goings of all her grandchildren, and the births of her great-grandchildren. Both Grandma and Grandpa were vitally interested and took great pride in all of us.

My Grandfather was very modest about his experiences and the many things accomplished during his lifetime. He seldom talked about himself. In preparing for today, I was reminded of the great energy and enthusiasm he put into his businesses and Church callings. He had a positive influence in many lives, as he had in mine.

My Grandfather’s health failed gradually over a period of many years. His death was not an easy one. My hope and prayer for him now is that he has at last found peace and light and joy.

Some personal pictures below.

[My parents Loa Lee Tueller, and Clyde Wendell Nelson were serving and met each other while on the Southwest Indian Mission, and later I became their second child] Here is a picture of them with President and Sister Buchanan.