The Story of CK KIRTON-NINER

Every story has a beginning, but most people begin too late.

Some would begin this story on November 3, 1977, when I was born.

Others would begin it on June 26, 2010, when Corey J. Niner and I were married at the Weatherford Hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Some would begin it with my father, John Kirton.

I begin much earlier.

I begin on May 1, 1900.

On one side of the world, in the Netherlands, a young girl named Audrey was celebrating her mother’s birthday. Perhaps there was cake. Perhaps there were candles. Perhaps there were wishes carried heavenward by the breath of a loving daughter.

On the other side of the world, in Scofield, Utah, the earth thundered.

Kaboom.

The Scofield Mine Disaster forever changed the lives of the families who lived there.

A young Joe Kirton heard the sound and walked into his mother’s room.

“Mother, did you hear that?”

One child celebrated life.

One child witnessed tragedy.

Neither knew the other existed.

Yet I believe the butterfly had already begun its flight.

While Joe carried the memory of Scofield, Audrey’s family journeyed across oceans and continents. They left the Netherlands and traveled through Canada, eventually coming south through Cardston toward the place they called Zion.

Years passed.

Twenty-one years of seasons.

Twenty-one years of choices.

Twenty-one years of prayers, hopes, joys, and sorrows.

Twenty-one years of life unfolding one moment at a time.

Then the paths of Joe and Audrey crossed.

A son of the American West met a daughter of the Netherlands.

A story rooted in Utah met a story carried across an ocean.

Two family histories became one.

To some, this may seem like coincidence.

To me, it is comprehension.

Because life is not made of isolated events.

Life is made of connections.

A birthday candle.

A mine explosion.

A ship crossing an ocean.

A fishing trip.

A painting created in remembrance of a mother.

A young couple finding one another.

The butterfly continues to fly.

Joe and Audrey became the parents of John William Kirton.

John became my father.

He baptized me.

He taught me.

He showed me how to work, how to serve, and how to love my family.

In my life, God has always been my Sun.

My father is my Moon.

He reflects God’s light into my life, especially during the darker moments.

Now I strive to reflect that same light into the lives of my children.

Tyler.

Kyle.

Jay.

The light continues.

The story continues.

And then came June 26.

A date already meaningful within our family.

My Father’s Birthday.

Corey’s Uncle Jerry’s Birthday.

Then, on June 26, 2010, Corey and I were married. (www.coreyandKrysta.com started developing)

That day became more than a wedding anniversary.

It became the beginning of a new chapter.

There was a lunar eclipse.

There was fire.

There was rain.

There was wind.

There was earth beneath our feet.

All the elements seemed present as Corey J. Niner and Krysta Kirton joined their lives together.

That day did not erase who I had been.

It revealed who I was becoming.

The daughter of John Kirton.

The wife of Corey J. Niner.

The mother of three sons.

The steward of stories.

The keeper of memories.

The Boss who would become known as CK KIRTON-NINER.

Some people see a name.

I see a timeline.

I see generations.

I see the butterfly that began flying on May 1, 1900.

I see the paths of Joe and Audrey.

I see my father in the baptismal font.

I see my husband standing beside me.

I see my children growing beneath the same Sun.

This is why I say comprehension comes before conclusion.

Because if we only look at one moment, we miss the story.

And the story of CK KIRTON-NINER is not about one person.

It is about the generations that came before, the family that exists today, and the generations yet to come.

The butterfly is still flying.

And Corey, “You complete me. You are the C to my K.”