Kathy Pinna
A valentine story:
After loss of their spouses, they found second love
Not only did a second marriage bring two people together, but the union also brought two large families together. When Kevin Miyasaki and Cindy Fullmer were married 4 1/2 years ago, they also were merging their families — Kevin with his six children and Cindy with her seven. Today, with a growing family now numbering 42 grandchildren between them, they feel blessed to have found each other after both had lost spouses to early deaths.
As for Kevin, he feels that he was led to Cindy. Kevin said, “The Spirit told me” that he should marry Cindy. The same goes for Cindy, who had remained unmarried for 12 years after her husband had died.
“He was so genuine and warm and easy to talk to,” she said of Kevin. “We felt like we had known each other our whole lives.”
The marriage was well received by the two families and today the families often get together for family gatherings. Having grown up in the neighboring cities of Rexburg and Sugar City, some of the children already knew each other. Kevin also had known Cindy’s late husband, Reid, as a teenager and later when they were employees at the Youth Services Center in St. Anthony.
Each summer they have held the “FullaMiya” reunion. Last year it was held in a large rented house in Mapleton, Utah, with 66 family members attending.
“They have a good time together,” Cindy said of the annual gathering.
Members of the family who live in the local area get together once a month for a Family Home Evening activity.
It’s also become a tradition of Valentine’s Day for the married children to gather in their Sugar City home for a special “Benihana” Japanese dinner cooked by Kevin.
When possible, the couple also likes to take their grandchildren out on special activities.
After receiving counsel that he should consider remarrying, Kevin began thinking about the prospect. A mutual friend had told Kevin that when he was ready, she knew of someone he ought to meet. After learning of Cindy’s name but before they actually met, Kevin happened to see a woman working in the Rexburg Temple one day in December 2011.
“The Spirit told me to date that woman,” Kevin said. So when he got a chance, he got close enough to read her name tag, which said “Cindy Fullmer.”
It was that same woman he was thinking about asking out on a date.
In January Kevin finally got up the nerve to ask Cindy out. He took her to the Sandpiper, a restaurant along the river in Idaho Falls. “It was just so natural,” Cindy recalled. “We were just so comfortable.” The next day, Kevin called and asked if she would help him edit a devotional talk he was scheduled to give the following month at BYU-Hawaii. This time he made dinner for the two.
By June they were talking about marriage.
With some help from friends at the Playmill Theatre in West Yellowstone, Mont., he surprised Cindy with a proposal during the preshow of a theatrical production. The cast had Kevin come down front and then sang “Will You Marry Me Cindy?” to the tune of “Happy Birthday” to Cindy, who was sitting in the audience. He then kneeled down, drew out an engagement ring they had already picked out and formally proposed. “I was totally shocked,” Cindy said. “But I loved it.” Because both were already sealed to their first spouses in temple ceremonies, they were married in an outdoor ceremony at the end of July.
Cindy had been married to her first husband, Reid, for 27 years before he died in 2000 of a blood clot in his lungs. Cindy, who grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Reid, who was from Teton Valley, had met at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. After Reid’s death, she continued teaching at Lincoln Elementary School in Rexburg until retiring in 2009 and then serving a mission in the Philippines.
Kevin, a native of Sugar City, also met his wife, Darla, at BYU. They were married for 30 years before she died of a heart attack and stroke in 2008. Kevin’s sudden stroke on March 3 of last year caused an unexpected change in the couple’s lives. For the past year, he has been slowly recovering, and today he is keeps busy with speech and occupational therapy. In November Kevin retired from BYU-Idaho, where he was serving as student services and activities vice president.
- Rexburg Standard Journal online by Don Sparhawk [contact link] on February 17, 2017
Not only did a second marriage bring two people together, but the union also brought two large families together. When Kevin Miyasaki and Cindy Fullmer were married 4 1/2 years ago, they also were merging their families — Kevin with his six children and Cindy with her seven. Today, with a growing family now numbering 42 grandchildren between them, they feel blessed to have found each other after both had lost spouses to early deaths.
As for Kevin, he feels that he was led to Cindy. Kevin said, “The Spirit told me” that he should marry Cindy. The same goes for Cindy, who had remained unmarried for 12 years after her husband had died.
“He was so genuine and warm and easy to talk to,” she said of Kevin. “We felt like we had known each other our whole lives.”
The marriage was well received by the two families and today the families often get together for family gatherings. Having grown up in the neighboring cities of Rexburg and Sugar City, some of the children already knew each other. Kevin also had known Cindy’s late husband, Reid, as a teenager and later when they were employees at the Youth Services Center in St. Anthony.
Each summer they have held the “FullaMiya” reunion. Last year it was held in a large rented house in Mapleton, Utah, with 66 family members attending.
“They have a good time together,” Cindy said of the annual gathering.
Members of the family who live in the local area get together once a month for a Family Home Evening activity.
It’s also become a tradition of Valentine’s Day for the married children to gather in their Sugar City home for a special “Benihana” Japanese dinner cooked by Kevin.
When possible, the couple also likes to take their grandchildren out on special activities.
After receiving counsel that he should consider remarrying, Kevin began thinking about the prospect. A mutual friend had told Kevin that when he was ready, she knew of someone he ought to meet. After learning of Cindy’s name but before they actually met, Kevin happened to see a woman working in the Rexburg Temple one day in December 2011.
“The Spirit told me to date that woman,” Kevin said. So when he got a chance, he got close enough to read her name tag, which said “Cindy Fullmer.”
It was that same woman he was thinking about asking out on a date.
In January Kevin finally got up the nerve to ask Cindy out. He took her to the Sandpiper, a restaurant along the river in Idaho Falls. “It was just so natural,” Cindy recalled. “We were just so comfortable.” The next day, Kevin called and asked if she would help him edit a devotional talk he was scheduled to give the following month at BYU-Hawaii. This time he made dinner for the two.
By June they were talking about marriage.
With some help from friends at the Playmill Theatre in West Yellowstone, Mont., he surprised Cindy with a proposal during the preshow of a theatrical production. The cast had Kevin come down front and then sang “Will You Marry Me Cindy?” to the tune of “Happy Birthday” to Cindy, who was sitting in the audience. He then kneeled down, drew out an engagement ring they had already picked out and formally proposed. “I was totally shocked,” Cindy said. “But I loved it.” Because both were already sealed to their first spouses in temple ceremonies, they were married in an outdoor ceremony at the end of July.
Cindy had been married to her first husband, Reid, for 27 years before he died in 2000 of a blood clot in his lungs. Cindy, who grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Reid, who was from Teton Valley, had met at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. After Reid’s death, she continued teaching at Lincoln Elementary School in Rexburg until retiring in 2009 and then serving a mission in the Philippines.
Kevin, a native of Sugar City, also met his wife, Darla, at BYU. They were married for 30 years before she died of a heart attack and stroke in 2008. Kevin’s sudden stroke on March 3 of last year caused an unexpected change in the couple’s lives. For the past year, he has been slowly recovering, and today he is keeps busy with speech and occupational therapy. In November Kevin retired from BYU-Idaho, where he was serving as student services and activities vice president.
- Rexburg Standard Journal online by Don Sparhawk [contact link] on February 17, 2017
