Mis Padres

My mom’s name is Bilynda Elrey Drews—she goes by Lyndi. Her name is a combination of her parents’ names, Bill & Lyn Elrey—clever, no? She was born August 15, 1951 in Monterey Park, California. She is the oldest of 4 siblings: Lyndi, Sam (11/28/52), Marti (9/24/54), and Matt (4/2/57). It’s easy for me to remember the birth years of my mom, aunt, and uncles because they are all exactly 20 years earlier than the first 5 kids in my family. In fact, Addie’s birth made four generations of first-born girls born in years ending with a “1” (Grandma Elrey-1931, Mom-1951, Me-1971, Addie- 2001…of course I broke the 20-year pattern and waited until I was 30 to have my first baby!). She only lived in California for a little while; her parents relocated to Phoenix, then Tucson, back to Phoenix, and finally settled in Tucson—they still live in the same house—in 1965.

My dad’s name is James Arthur Layton (Jim). He was born November 13, 1944 in Thatcher, Arizona. He is a direct descendant of Christopher Layton (“The Great Colonizer’) and his 8th wife, Hannah Maria Septima Sims. Dad is the middle child and only son of Max Thorwald Layton and Muriel Webster. He has an older sister, Maxine, and a younger sister, Gwen, who died in 1996. Dad grew up in Thatcher, then attended the University of Arizona, where he met my mother. They lived in Tucson, then moved back to the Gila Valley briefly (Pima, AZ, near Thatcher), then to Pocatello, Idaho. Dad has lived in Pocatello for the past 30 years and has worked for Simplot most of that time in the chemical lab.


My “other” dad and legal father is James Ernest Post. He was born February 21, 1950 in Tucson, Arizona. His parents are Ernest Eugene Post and Sine Olive Scharling. He married my mom in August 1978, just before I turned 7, in the Arizona Temple. He is the third of seven children—two older sisters, Barbara and Iva, and a younger sister Dorothy, twin sisters, Jeanne and Jayne, and a baby brother, Matthew. He lived in Tucson all his life, and grew up in a house my Grandpa Post built in the Binghampton area of Tucson. He has a rich pioneer heritage, as does my Dad Layton, so I never missed out on the feeling of having something to live up to.

My stepdad, Mark Drews, was born August 26, 1952 in Akron, Ohio, to Betty and Jack Drews. He is the oldest of four children—Marty, Marsha, and Mike. He was raised Lutheran and joined the LDS church after he married my mom in 1989.

My stepmom, Becky Tew, was bornn May 16, 1954 in Firth, Idaho. (I need more info about my step parents! Leave comments and fill me in!)