Bestor parents are thankful for their children's successes

Last fall, when the old Orem High School was being torn down, Rollie Bestor got one of the old bricks for each of his four children.

During their tenure at the school, each of the kids had received the Tigerama Award, given to the student that the teachers felt had contributed most to the school that year. When their youngest son, John, got the award in 1980, it was the first time that any family had had every one of their children get the Tigerama Award, Rollie says.

He prepared a little plaque to be attached to each brick, and as he thought about all that the kids had done not only then but ever since, "we fell in love with our kids all over again," Rollie says.

He and his wife, Phyllis, "wanted to say thank you to them, not only for what they have done, but also for giving us the feeling that perhaps some of what we tried to do as parents was successful."

That, he says, is what every parent wants: to know he was successful in guiding his children along the path to adulthood. "I felt like they have rewarded us with the finest compliment a parent could have."

Kurt is probably the best-known of the Bestor offspring. As a musician, he's done everything from score movies to write symphonies. His annual Christmas concerts have been a Salt Lake tradition for more than 20 years.

He was also very athletic in school, Rollie says. "He could have done very well, but he was drawn to music early on. I'm still amazed when I go to his concerts and see everything he puts into them."

Jill, who now lives in Rexburg where her husband, Ron Anderson, teaches at BYU-Idaho, was also a star swimmer and involved in other activities in school. She is now the mother of five and was named Citizen of the Year in Rexburg a few years ago. "She steps out in areas that she feels needs attention," Phyllis says. "She's now head of the Madison School District Foundation, which looks for ways to raise money for the schools."

Carrie and her husband, Lon Henderson, live in St. George and are the parents of six children. "She's also a mover-and-shaker in the community," Rollie says. And she was the one who started Pinnacle Music for Kurt as his music career began to take off. Plus, she's published a cookbook of German recipes, her family heritage.