My Other Half

Before you can really know me, you need to know a little about my wife, Jana. Jana grew up in the small Idaho town of Buhl, located to the southeast of Twin Falls. Jana is the fifth of six children to Jay and Eve Cole. Her parents own and operate a dry cleaning business. After high school, Jana attended Ricks College in Rexburg, ID where she majored in Home Economics Education. After obtaining her associates degree, she served an LDS mission to Porto Alegre, Brazil (with a stopover in Tennessee to wait for her visa). Upon return from her mission, she moved to Utah and lived with her aunt and uncle in east Layton while attending Weber State. It was during this time that we met. Our courtship was out of the ordinary since I had started construction on a house (the same one we live in today) because I had obtained employment and was tired of paying rent. She became my biggest cheerleader and my best friend. We were married shortly after and have since been blessed with five wonderful children.

Jana is a very outgoing, service-oriented and friendly person. There is rarely a time that she doesn’t remember a face or a name. I am constantly asking her for help with who people are, especially those we may not have seen for a while. Jana is always willing to serve our community. She volunteers at the elementary school and is a member of the Community Council. I would guess that she has read with almost every student in that school at some point in time. She currently serves as the Young Women’s president in our LDS ward and has a great love for the youth of our community.

Jana is also a fantastic mother. She reads with our children often and ensures they are doing their daily reading. There is no educational opportunity that we stress as more important than the ability to read--it is the key to whatever career or lifestyle you may choose. Jana helps our children with their schoolwork and teaches them about the importance of work, family and the home. As our oldest daughter is now eleven, she has started on the subject of growing up (which is going to be interesting). Jana helped me decide that a position on the school board would be an important opportunity to serve our community and children and that I should become a candidate for the election. She supports me completely in this effort and I am happy to have her standing by my side in this adventure and in everything that I do.