This is one in four of Utah Valley Magazine’s “Happy Couples” series.
Once Upon a Time
She was 14. He was 20. Newly married, Doyle and Linda Hatfield didn’t have a home yet.
“We were living in a motel, had $10 to our name and debated whether or not to spend $3 on a frying pan,” Linda says.
After finding a small place to live, Doyle opened a masonry business while Linda traded in Coke bottles for nickels and dimes so they could feed themselves and their brand new baby. In those early years, the Hatfields survived on peaches that Linda canned, venison that Doyle brought home and love for each other as they worked toward happier days ahead.
[pullquote]From Doyle to Linda Hatfield on their 56th wedding anniversary: “When I look at us now and the family we’ve made, it makes me realize that sometimes the reality turns out even better than the dream.”[/pullquote]
“We weren’t able to rely on our families to help us start our life,” Doyle says. “But Linda and I have been able to help our kids and grandkids go through college and start off right.”
Happy Home
Fifty-six years later, they are joyfully living their dream. Pictures of their four children, 18 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren line the walls of their Mapleton haven, with extra space reserved for their ever-growing family tree.
Doyle still runs his award-winning masonry business, and Linda spends her days with close friends. When they’re not traveling across the United States together, they are content at home, catching up with nearby relatives and watching the little ones race through the house they built together 45 years ago.