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Mom was born in
Ladysmith, Wisconsin in 1939, daughter of dairy farmers and the youngest
child of eight. She graduated from Elmwood High School in 1956 and married soon after. I am her eldest child,
born in 1957 and two others soon followed, my brother in 1958 and a sister
in 1960.
Her first
marriage did not last long and she soon found herself raising three very
young children on her own with no support from our father. But she
never complained, never made us kids feel like a burden even though she
was working two jobs most of the time and barely had time to sleep, let
alone have a life. These were very hard times for her, but I don't
remember it ever affecting how we felt about each other . She had
the ability to carry the load, though I don't know how.
She remarried in
1965 and we moved to Washington State in 1968 where she continued to work
hard to raise her family. Her second husband passed away in 1977 and
she found herself on her own again. She met her partner, Wayne, in
1978 and they have been together ever since. Life has finally become
kind to my mother, something long overdue. She has a nice home, a
man who loves her, her children around her and a grandchild, my daughter,
whom she dotes upon.
Mom is getting
very close to retiring now and she and Wayne plan to travel when she does.
They have already taken trips to the Grand Canyon and elsewhere in the
states, plus one trip to Europe covering Sweden, Germany and a side trip
into Poland. As soon as she does retire they are heading for the New
England states to catch the fall turning of the leaves there.
So here's to you
Mom. You've taught me everything that was important in life, given
me the ability to laugh through the hard times, kept hope alive in my
heart and always made me smile.
With all my
love, Debbie
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