Sue (Wilson) McKinley

I just heard that the Jerusalem Center was open again, and the next day Barbara Cramer called to say we’re having a Jerusalem Reunion, so Jerusalem has been on my mind, and how fun we get to gather together again; I’m so excited to see everyone and hear the details of their lives since our last reunion.!

Well, the last 35 years…where do I start? After returning from our Study Abroad, I continued my studies at BYU. I married Steve McKinley in 1974, had our first baby girl in March of 1975, and graduated from BYU with a BA in Marketing the next month!! We stayed in Provo another year for Steve to finish his degree; a Bachelor of Fine Arts, then in April of 1976 moved to the San Francisco Bay Area for an internship, and a year later he started his own business, which he still has today. We settled in Fremont, (about 40 minutes east from San Francisco) where Steve grew up. We lived in Fremont for 10 years, had 2 more daughters; moved across the hill to Pleasanton California, and have lived here ever since. We love it here; great weather, eclectic smaller downtown, lots of young families and members of the Church, good schools, and everything close by; beach, skiing, San Francisco, etc.

10 years after our last daughter was born, we added another daughter, and a year later, finally a son! We currently have a 16 and 14 year old, Jessica and Michael, so we’re still raising a family, but too much fun; they are really outstanding kids, and are great examples to us. They are an aunt and uncle to 9 nieces and nephews, which means I’m the Granny to all those little ones! We are lucky to have a 3 of our married daughters close by; El Dorado Hills, San Jose, and Sacramento, and we get to see them often. All three of them graduated from College, married great young men in the Temple, and are living wonderful lives.

I am a Realtor and work most of the Bay Area, so if you ever decide to locate here, please do let me show you around! Real Estate has kept me very busy, through the years, along with raising (two families…seems like it!) and life in general. We’ve had a healthy, prosperous life, and are very blessed. We’ve been able to travel, cruise, and visit family and friends through the years.

I watched the video that Earl Fairbanks was kind enough to make for all of us. I too had a Movie Camera, and watched those as well. The tears welled up in my eyes, as I listened to the Hebrew songs, and saw those sacred places we visited. I reflect on the days I studied abroad, with such warm memories of the wonderful sites we saw, as well as the great group of students that were with us. A great memory, one that will always be vivid in my mind, was when we were illegally climbing the pyramids, and the police were at the bottom yelling for us to get down!! Brother Berrett, I loved how you always tried to give us the “full effect” of the sites we were visiting!! You sure did that at the pyramids!! Also, I so remember the Sacrament/ Testimony meetings we had on the Mount of Olives; over-looking the Old City, and what a strong spirit was there, where Christ walked. My testimony definitely grew so much stronger while we were in the Holy Land, and I cherish the lessons we were taught on-site.

The whole Semester Abroad was one of the highlights of my life, and it has so been my dream to be able to return to many of the places we visited. Our daughter Brooke, was able to study in Jerusalem at the Jerusalem Center and I re-lived my trip through hers! Now that the Center is open again, why don’t we all plan our next trip there?? My bags are packed, ready to go!

I’d just like to thank our great Tour Directors, Lamar Berrett, and Keith Meservy, for their great knowledge, love and direction on our trip. They truly added such a wonderful spirit and excitement to our studies. I appreciate the sacrifices they both made and their time and effort on my behalf. They made sure we had a safe, successful learning experience. They forever touched my life.