Spouse:

Dan Dazell stopped me in the hall on my way to Mrs. Thompson's speech class. "Do you know Jack White?" he asked.

"No" I responded.

"He's the guitar player for the Pageboys. We're playing at the Page Club (Grannies Pad - old Roller Rink) this weekend, if you go, check him out. He digs you."

I did. Fast forward, 51 years of being together. In January 2016 we will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary on the island of Hawaii with our family.

Family Life:

I think my friend Gena Wikstrom said it best when she heard we were expecting another grandbaby. "Oh great! one more child that walks on water." That was said before she experienced the Grandma phenomena, now that she has two calling her Grandma, she gets it!

Jack and I are truly blessed with a loving, kind, talented, fun, interesting family. Family life comes first for us and we are seen frequently burning up and down the freeway to join one family or more either north of us in Sumner or Puyallup or south in Corvallis Or. or Sun River. Our three children, Angela, John and Cami have given us the pleasure of meeting, loving and observing 9 super, smart, funny, talented & loving grandchildren. The oldest 28, the youngest is 7. Our three children also drew into our family 3 of the BEST in-laws. How very smart they were by being attracted to people with character. Of course we had our share of bleeps in our "Walton Family" (as Kathy affectionately refers to us) experience. The D's...divorce....death. We lost our grandson Zack in 2002, 13 days before his 13th birthday. The pain of that loss is always in my heart, I welcome it now and think of it as Zack's way of saying hello from his place in the afterlife.

Education:

I did not have the privilege to attend college but did take art classes at Bellevue Community College. Spirituality classes thru our Catholic Church. I have read countless self help books on child development, dyslexia, parenting, marriage, relationships, personal growth etc. Our goal as parents was for our children to go to college, all went, 2 completed college, both at WSU. It is my intention to continue to learn until the day I die. And don't we all love the internet! What a great aid in the pursue of learning.

Military Service:

Jack was in the U S Army from 10/1965 - 10/1968. Communication Specialist.

Currently our oldest grandchild Brittany is serving in the Navy. Nuclear Tech.

Career:

First and foremost Wife to Jack and it ant easy. (I'm sure some of you with long term relationships can attest to that.) Mother, Grandmother, Great-grandmother. (The 'great' happened this April when Brittany married Rusty Davidson which added a grandson-in-law and a great-grandson-in-law.

I did volunteer work at my children and grandchildren's schools. I taught Sunday School at Holy Family Church in Kirkland and a few years later was appointed coordinator of the Sunday School. I coached soccer as well as refereed.

I worked outside of the home for 17 years at a small business, 5 years in the flower business with my daughter Cami, 2 years for my daughter-in-law.

Both Jack and I are now retired and loving it!

Residences:

Beyond Ephrata = KIRKLAND WA, where I had my first baby. Back to EPHRATA, waiting for Jack to finish school and get a permanent location, which turned out to be one of my favorite places. COLORADO SPRINGS CO. We lived at the foot of Pikes Peak, near the Garden of the Gods. Our son was born on base, Fort Carson. Back to EPHRATA with my Mom until Jack found a job at Lakeside Industries in Bellevue Wa.(After 42 years with this company, he retired.) We found an apartment in REDMOND WA and lived there until we purchased our first home in KIRKLAND WA. One year later our third baby arrived. We lived in this house for 40 years. SCOTTSDALE AZ, the location of our sunshine condo. Jack and I enjoyed living 'small' which got us thinking downsizing might be a good idea. In 2012 we moved to LACEY WA the house fits with our preference of smaller and one level.

Travel:

Newfoundland, for Jack to revisit his birth place, we've been there 3x, one with our oldest and her family. Her husband loves to fish and found Newfoundland a great place to enjoy that sport. Prince Edward Island, beautiful place, great beaches, delicious lobster. Montana, many times, the last was a mini reunion for my Mom, (age 96) to spend a few days with her last remaining sibling. Maui, Oahu, Kauai. We do love the Hawaiian islands. Germany, the best steak I ever tasted was served in an Italian restaurant in Munich, Germany. Las Vegas, not a place I'm drawn to. Chicago often, to visit my sister Judy, brother-in-law and Mom. Palm Springs to visit Kathy. The Washington coast and Oregon coast often with family and friends. Sun River in both winter and summer. Family reunions in Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon. Pasco to visit my brother Leon and his family. Washington DC with the Wikstroms. If you haven't been there - GO! It's worth the time and money. Florida, Caribbean cruise, I was very nervous because of motion sickness but I had a ball and NO sickness! The countries we visited were, Honduras, Belize, Mexico. On our way back to port between Cuba and Florida, we were experiencing a wind storm, the ship was rocking, there was a sudden shift in our speed and we came to a stop. A helicopter hovered above our ship. We discovered there was a raft full of Cubans clinging to their meager vessel, while the ocean swirled wildly around them. The Coast Guard instructed the captain to rescue these individuals and wait for the Coast Guard ship to arrive. Exciting but sad. When in Arizona we explore the area, visiting the old western towns, missionaries and breath-taking landscape. Pictures do not do the Grand Canyon justice. That place should be on everyone's bucket list.

Hobbies/Interests:

Art in many forms, such as oil or acrylic painting, home decor, decorating for holidays, sewing and gardening. I create stories for my grandchildren, like to cook and golf.

Love to swim and do so every day when in AZ. My fitbit, given to me by my oldest keeps me walking daily.

Retirement:

As stated above we love it. Jack's favorite saying is, "My biggest decision today is to decide when factor of sunscreen to put on."

EHS Influence:

Elementary school is just a blur for me with the exception of my friendship with Kathy, which is a life long friendship I deeply appreciate. Running a foot race with Gary at the end of the school year party, in my mind I won. In Junior High, I feel very grateful to Mrs. Thompson and her guide to teach sentence structure. I kept mine and shared it's principles with my son.

In High School like many of you, Mrs. Thompson will always receive high praise from me. It was a joy to learn from someone who was positive, encouraging and accepting. Her attitude actually made me WANT to go to school and I'm sure some of you remember I did my fair share and more of skipping school. Skipping school, now that's some fodder for story telling but I think it's best unwritten. I haven't shared time with many of my fellow skippers and would not want to tell something they would prefer never to think about!