Mom started life in Depression Era Missouri. She was a small town girl, who moved to a tiny town by the time she was twelve. Many aunts and uncles lived close by, but she still had responsibilities as the oldest child to look out for her younger sister and brothers.
Her love of music and history had her considering careers in singing or teaching, but she finally chose to become a nurse. She earned her RN after three years at a teaching hospital in Southern Missouri, before moving West with her friend Eva Lou to work in a VA hospital in Oregon. It was there that she met Dad, who had moved from Minnesota, and was working at the same hospital. It was a psych hospital, and the family joke was that they both carried keys.
Mom and Dad were married three months after they met, and would have celebrated their golden anniversary if Dad hadn't died before their forty-sixth anniversary. Nevertheless, it was a good marriage, spent in California, where they moved before I was born. Mom's various nursing jobs were sandwiched between kids, and viewed as secondary to raising her family. She began attending church with her young family, and saw her husband and kids grow as Christians, to her great joy.
She loved traveling--moreso after the kids were grown. Visiting relatives around the country also provided opportunities to see much of the country. There were also trips to British Columbia, Great Britain, Europe and the Holy Land over the years. Medical issues have curtailed her travels in recent years, but she still lives vicariously through the travels of her kids and grandkids.
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