Spouse:

I married Brian in 1967 and he was stationed at Larson Air Force Base but was soon to be discharged three months after we met. We have been married 47 years and look forward to that many more years together.

Family Life:

We have three boys, Shane, Richard and Kirk. Each of our boys have four children each which makes 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. One surprise we had was that Shane and Halli gave us a set of triplets which was fun. The triplets are going to be 13 this next February. We no longer have any babies in the family, with the youngest grandchild being 10 years old.

Education:

I attended beauty school in Moses Lake but I have never worked in the beauty business. Most of my time I was fortunate to be able to stay home and be a mom. When the kids left home for college, I went to work and worked for a property management company in commercial real estate. I loved that job and got a lot of good experience there.

Military Service:

My husband served six years in the US Air Force and did his four active years at Larson AFB. He so wanted to get off of the base, he actually volunteered to go to Viet Nam but luckily for me, they kept him at Larson. When we lived in Salem, Oregon, he went into the reserves and got to work on Mohawk airplanes and he loved doing that. One summer they took the planes up to Canada and did whatever they do on these missions but on the way back to Salem, they buzzed Crater Lake and about shattered all of the windows. The Salem brass heard about it immediately and tried to roll a few heads, but as I recall, it became legend. Brian has always enjoyed giving his time and he became a Silver Beaver in the Boy Scouts of America which a very high honor. He helped all three of our boys get their Eagle rank all before they turned 16 (they couldn't get their drivers license until they got their Eagle) and sat on many an eagle scout board.

Residences:

I just recently moved back to Ephrata and live in my parents old home on the farm. We have renovated the mobile home which was very rewarding and I am very glad to be back in a slower paced environment and to get to see old school friends. Brian is still working and living part time in Kirkland, Washington, and will probably retire in a couple of years. He loves what he does as he gets to go into surgeries with surgeons as an implant representative so I may never quite get him to retire. Most of our married life was spent on the Coast.

Travel:

Brian and I have been to Hawaii, Canada and Mexico with numerous trips here in the US. We enjoyed going to Missouri to visit Shane and Halli when Shane was in Chiropractic school and went to Branson which we thoroughly enjoyed. We got to St. Louis and into Illinois. We have been to Washington, DC, numerous times and Chicago twice. Of the most appreciated places we have visited, we enjoyed Utah and its wonderful scenic parks.

Hobbies/Interests:

Since moving back to Ephrata, I have been busy trying to get the yards and plants back in order. I love to read, sew, make cards and about any arts and craft.

Retirement:

For the past five years, my mother lived with us before her death and I cared for her full time. This was an amazing experience and one that I will always cherish. I consider myself retired but am waiting for Brian to retire so we can do some of the things we have on our bucket list. I would love to see Europe especially Italy and Brian would love to take me to Australia as he has been there numerous times and loves going down under.

EHS Influence:

Of all of my classes and teachers, Truman Youngberg had the most influence on me. I appreciate that not only did he teach music and give us experiences outside the classroom, he took time to teach us life lessons. Music is still a great love of mine and I would love to be active in some way giving back to others musically.

Final Words:

I feel I have been very blessed having a wonderful spouse and family. I can truly count true friends that I know are with me no matter what and I feel with these things, life has been very successful.