This year my parents, Ron & Pam Voth, celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary. It’s really quite an accomplishment when you think about it...FIFTY YEARS! To celebrate, I created a Legacy Portrait Painting for them that tells the story of their marriage and our family. It will serve as a reminder of how much we love them, what a privilege it was to grow up there, and fill our hearts with joy every time we see it. Watch the video and you’ll see why.
Ron Voth and Pam Ledbetter met at Oklahoma State University in the late 60’s through Campus Crusade for Christ (now CRU) when Mom smashed Daddy’s finger in a table at Denny’s. He convinced the city girl to join him on the family farm near Fairview in Northwest Oklahoma, and they were married in 1969.
Our farm was homesteaded in the Oklahoma Land Run. My Great-Grandfather was the first generation, Grandmother the second, my Dad the third, and me and my two sisters were all raised right there on the farm. Daddy called it home his whole life. I’m guessing there were about 23 children raised on our farm, not counting the many grandchildren who visited!
In Oklahoma agriculture is a way of life. I watched my parents experience the “joys and discomforts of agricultural life” just as the FFA Creed says. You learn to trust the Lord with the weather, the markets, the health of your livestock, and so much more. You also learn the value of hard work, faith, community and patience, among so many others.
I am so grateful that our family has the legacy of farming & ranching, of hard work while trusting the Lord, and of family, especially since my parents chose to retire and sell the farm last year. The true legacy isn’t the land or the buildings or our home but our faith and family that we carry with us into the future. This portrait from a few years ago helps tell that story.
It’s truly such an honor to be able to use my gifts to help tell the story of my family. I could retire now — the painting of my parents feels like the pinnacle of my journey as an artist — but I won’t because it is so much fun to create these Legacy Portraits for other families to tell their stories too.
Happy Anniversary, Mom & Daddy! I’m sure thankful for you!
2 Comments
Jun 25, 2019, 11:43:57 AM
Pam Voth - And we are so thankful for you! Thank you for the surprise large portrait. We will always cherish it and the love you put into creating it.
Jun 20, 2019, 6:33:51 PM
Gwen Carpenter - Love the pics