Happy 100th Birthday Grandma Marian!

Marian - 1st Communion

Marian - 16 Yrs Old

Today, my grandmother would have been 100 years old.  She lived a long and interesting life.  She saw the best of times during her childhood and some of the worst of times during her teenage years. She experienced the trauma of war as a younger mother and worried sister.  Grandma was a young mother, grandmother and great grandmother and unfortunately, a young widow.  She lived in interesting times!

Marian with Elaine, Norma & Pauline

 Helen Marian Gage Johnson was born in a farmhouse in Mapleton, Monona Co., IA on 10 June 1920 to Ora Silas Gage and Florence Christine Shawver.  By that time, her parents owned the farm they lived on in near Mapleton, IA and she had an older brother, Orland who had been born in 1918.  Her brother John Bernard followed in 1922, then Elaine, Pauline, Norma, Don, Byron, Duane and Gary.  She was the oldest sister amongst a family of ten children and she took that role very much to heart.  Grandma talked often of those younger years.  She often said that she squabbled more with Orland but Bernard or Bun as the family called him was her playmate and there were a lot of wonderful memories of playing around the farm.  Of course, there were chores, but I expect to Grandma Marian, that was merely a part of life.  There was a point as the younger siblings came along that her mother gave her charge of one of the younger ones…for Grandma that was Don.  Grandma told me of her learning to take care of her baby brother and I think that she loved all of her siblings, but she always had an extra soft spot for Don as he did for her.  Grandma talked about those younger years where she talked about having the privileges of parents who had a comfortable life.  She had store bought dresses and pretty things and her childhood was without care.  That changed after the depression hit. By 1932, her parents had to make a hard choice.  They weren’t able to make enough money to make the mortgage payment.  Rather than take the chance of having the property foreclosed on and causing a financial loss for their friends, Ora and Florence signed the land over to Lou Brenner and shipped their things to South Dakota and took the trip north to the unknown in Philip, SD.

Florence with Norma, Elaine, Pauline & Marian

Marian - 1 Yr Old

On paper, I am sure that the rental property looked like a decent opportunity.  There was enough land to raise crops and a house.  However, what looked like good land from Mapleton, Iowa was not good land in Philip, South Dakota.  Philip is located near the Badlands and was probably very poor farmland in the best of times, 1933 was not the best of times.  It was especially important to Grandma Florence that her children continue their schooling.  It was a hardship!   During that winter, Orland and Bun spent time in the cellar cutting seed potatoes for planting and soon after both boys became terribly sick with pneumonia.  While Bun recovered, Orland got much worse.  He ended up with severe pleurisy and abscesses in his lungs.  His parents were told at one point that he would not make it through the night.  Orland had been about 160 pounds and was down to 120 pounds and had lost all his hair.  The younger boys had problems with whooping cough and croup.  Nothing seemed to go well nor was it getting any better.  Once again, the family took off for “greener” pastures.

Loggie that Family lived in up on Hatter Creek

Chicken Coop made into a house in North Dakota

When I think of traveling across Montana in November with six children in a Model T, it boggles my mind.  Grandma Marian remembered it as being one of the happier times of her childhood.  They stopped at her Uncle George’s near Jordan, MT and they spent Thanksgiving there.  I have been to the Shawver ranch in Montana and I am not sure how they made it there.  When I was there, it rained and the trip out to the ranch was almost cancelled because of the road being washed out, and that was in August.  However, Grandma remembered the trip as riding horses with her cousins, going to dances at the neighbors and having fun!  When they left Jordan to head to Idaho, I suspect that Grandma Marian left the last of her childhood behind.  This was the early winter of 1934 and as a 14-year-old and oldest sister, I am sure she felt a lot of responsibility.  As they traveled across Montana, Bernard remembered stopping and building a fire so Grandma Florence could make meals.  The meals always involved eggs…as that is what they had (from Uncle George’s ranch).  They made it to Dover, ID and the family was in a rental while Granddad Gage scoped around with some neighbors (Harve Hespen and Louis Becker) and Orland was finally able to return to the family in early February.  By late spring, Grandad Gage had bought some land on what we know today as Hatter Creek near Princeton, ID.  Within a short time, they built what the family referred to as the “loggie”.  Schooling was still very important and between working for a local family to take care of children and boarding at the Ursaline Academy in Moscow, ID, Grandma Marian wasn’t home too much.  She was trying to do her best to help with expenses in the family.  Because of illness and moving…the oldest three Gage siblings all graduated in 1939 from Potlatch High School.  Bernard was amongst the youngest in the class with Orland and Grandma likely the oldest.  

Marian & Frank - 1939

It was a short time after graduation when Grandma met Frank Johnson…a friend of a boyfriend who had come up to Idaho after serving in the CCC’s (Civilian Conservation Corps).  One thing led to another and they were engaged in July (at the birth of her youngest brother, Gary) and married in October.  Soon after, the young couple headed to North Dakota which is where Grandpa Frank was from.  My Dad arrived in July of 1940, Shirley in October 1941, and Anne in November 1942.  Life was harder in North Dakota.  As a young wife, she struggled to take care of her father-in-law and sister-in-law.  Grandpa Frank worked whatever job that he could get, sometimes working as many as 4 jobs.  They bought a chicken coop and made a home with two rooms.  When work was tough to get, they were living on $ 17 a month of social security that her father-in-law received.  Grandma found it was cheaper to buy syrup for sugar than actual sugar.

I am not sure if she was just fed up…or missing home terribly but in January of 1943, her parents bought her a train ticket and she went back to Hatter Creek for a visit with her two toddlers and colicky baby.  Knowing my grandmother, she had decided that the family needed to move to Idaho where there were jobs to be had.  It was the first time that my great grandparents saw their oldest three grandchildren.  I am sure it was quite an occasion.  Grandpa Frank could not convince his father to come west, but within a few months, he joined them in Idaho.  

In the next few years, the young couple bought the old Hatter Creek school and made a home out of it and two more daughters arrived in the family, Mary Kay in 1944 and Frances in 1946.  Grandma Marian had 5 children within six years.  In 1952, they bought the old farm up on Mountain Home (north of Potlatch) and raised their family.  Life was never easy and there were always monetary challenges as well as family stress.  After their children were out of the house, they moved to Oregon City, OR for a new start and later moved to Canby, OR.  Grandpa Frank never had very good health and he died in 1975.  Soon after, Grandma Marian’s parents, Ora and Florence moved to Canby, OR.  I am not sure who was helping who at this point, but I know that the support was important.  Between work and taking care of her family, life was busy and fulfilling for Grandma Marian.  After the death of her parents in 1990 and 1991, life began to change.  Grandma Marian helped where she could but the family near her was working and involved in their own busy lives.  By that point, her oldest three were all retired and urging her to move back to Idaho. So in 2001, Grandma Marian moved to Idaho and began another chapter.  

Mother's Day - 2011

Grandma Marian was an intensely curious and intelligent worman.  In her youth, there were few opportunities to further her eduation.  After her move to Lewiston, ID, she embraced learning to use the computer, scanning and emailing relatives and friends.  She joined my Mom and I in our efforts at genealogical research and shared her stories and memories.  Grandma enjoyed being around her brothers and getting to know many of her Shawver cousins who lived nearby.  It was wonderful for us (the families of the Gene, Shirley & Anne) to have the opportunity to spend the time with her.  We had a wonderful 90th birthday party for her and I think she was flabbergasted at the fact that we had 150 people who came.  All of her siblings were there, her children, most of her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Cousins from Montana, neices and nephews as well as her last surviving aunt.  It was a wonderful celebration that she thoroughly enjoyed.  Grandma Marian made it to one last reunion the next year.  It is a fond memory that at the dinner table at our house a few days before, she argued with her brother for almost 30 minutes about the name of some teacher they had back in South Dakota.  I suspect that she is up there arguing with him again as he recently passed away after his 100th birthday.  I miss her but am so glad that I had the opportunity to truly know her and feel as I didn't leave anything unsaid.  We love her and miss her....but am sure she is happy with her family up above and looking over us always!  Here are a few favorite photos!

Marian with siblings - 2010

Marian with children and spouses

Marian

Marian with Ora and Orland

Marian with great grandchildren - 2000

 

Grandpa Frank & Old Cars

During the past year, I have been working on getting some of my grandmother's negatives scanned.  Many of them were from the 1930's and 40's.  There are many great familiar photos but much better quality.    There are two pictures of Grandpa Frank in an old car.  One is the familiar one of ol' 77 and the other one much earlier.

Sometimes I think that cars become a character in our own history.  My Dad can probably tell you every car he has ever had...come to think of if, so can I.  However, I don't have quite as varied of a history.  One of the best finds in my grandmother's negatives was an old picture that I suspect was taken about 1930.  Dad remembers his father telling him that he worked delivering coal for quite a while.  I believe that the other individual in the photo is a cousin.  Someone else would have to tell my the vintage of the car.  Even my Dad isn't sure.  My Grandpa Frank is in the driver's seat and I am sure that this was taken in Dunn Center, ND

It was a series of happy circumstances that my Grandpa ended up on Hatter Creek.  He was in the CCC's (Civilian Conservation Corps) and traveled from North Dakota to Arkansas with a side trip to New Orleans.  Grandpa ended up coming up north with a friend.  Went out on a double date with his friend and Grandpa ended up with his friend's date, my grandmother.  (No hard feels as they remained friends)  My grandmother was the oldest daughter in a family that was shortly going to be 10.  On the night her youngest brother was born (4 July 1939) - my grandparents got engaged.  As the story goes, Grandma's younger brother, John Bernard Gage (known to family as Bun) fixed up a car to race in the Tin Lizzy Derby in Lewiston, ID.  However, he wasn't old enough to drive the car yet as he was not 18 as yet.  So, he convinced his sister's fiance to race his car.  It is probably one of my favorite pictures of my grandfather.   I love the phone and the one below was also taken by my grandmother in August of 1939. 

My grandparents married a few months later in October.  They began their young married life driving across Montana to my Grandfather's home in Dunn Center,ND.  As my Dad tells the story, the 1927 Chevy through a rod and Grandpa had to try to put it back together out in the middle of nowhere.  

I love this photo of the younger couple...probably just married and getting ready to start their life together.  They had 35 years together and shared five children and 18 grandchildren.  Grandpa died at the age of 60 and Grandma survived him by another 35 years. 

My Aunt Anne!

Sometimes I think that it takes losing someone you love to remember how lucky you are to have had them.  I have always known that I was fortunate, but I am reminded because we lost my Aunt Anne this past week.  She is free from her pain and reunited with all those she loved – but I am sure going to miss her.

Anne - 1944

My Dad was the oldest of 5 and the only boy with 4 sisters.  Dad had an especially close relationship with oldest two of his sisters and I am sure it was a combative one at times.  He used to say that his day was shot if he didn’t make Anne cry before school.  I am not sure if it was Anne or Shirley who put the scissors through his hand…but I am fairly sure that he deserved it.

House in ND where Anne was born

 Dad was born in a hospital in Dickinson, ND in 1940 but both Shirley and Anne were born in the little house that their family lived in back in Dunn Center, ND by the local midwife, Mrs. Bell.  Anne always found it ironic that she married man with the last name of Bell and she was delivered by a midwife with the name of Minnie Bell. Grandma Marian either got fed up or was so homesick (maybe both) that she came back to Idaho on a train in February 1943 with a colicky baby (Anne) and two toddlers aged three and two.  Her father picked her up and brought her down to her folks place on Hatter Creek, ID.  There at the bottom of the road were my grandmother’s two younger brothers waiting with a sled to cart those little ones up to the Loggie (It was a log cabin and the snow was too deep for the car to make it).  It was there that my great grandmother finally got her hands on her three oldest grandchildren whom she had not yet seen in person.  This is a story that Anne and I talked about quite often.  Obviously, she didn’t remember the being placed in her grandmother’s arms that first time but I know she thought about it when she was able to hold her grandchildren for the first time. 

Loggie where the Gage family lived on Hatter Creek, 

Anne spent part of her early years on Hatter Creek in the old schoolhouse that her parents bought.  They lived there until she was about nine years old when they moved up to the Mountain Home area north of Freeze Cemetery near Potlatch, ID.  In Anne’s mind, she had an idyllic childhood.  Anne, Shirley and Dad (Gene) spent their childhood climbing trees, playing together and having a wonderful time.  They were each other’s playmates and while their parents never really had any money, they never thought of themselves as poor.  Although the next two sisters were relatively close in age, I don’t think they ever shared the same memories or perhaps the same joyful childhood.  By the time they were older, Grandma had a job and wasn’t at home as much…so there wasn’t the same carefree childhood for them.

Anne & Bill

I am not sure if Bill chased Anne or allowed himself to be caught.  He was her devoted boyfriend much to my father’s chagrin.  Bill was a year older than Dad…and perhaps Dad wasn’t quite ready to see his little sister go out with an older guy.  Bill and Anne always pushed the limits of her curfew and there was many a time that they spent so much time staying goodbye on the porch that Dad had to get up and dig Bill’s car out of the driveway because he had gotten stuck because of the snow or mud.  There was even a time when the two lovebirds were showered with snow – they didn’t know until years later that Dad helped it along.  After all it was too cold to walk out to the outhouse!

Anne & Bill's Wedding

My grandparents allowed Anne & Bill to get married when she was 15 – Grandma said that she knew if she didn’t then Anne would have presented her a grandchild in short order.  So in June 1958, Anne and Bill were married at St Mary’s church in Potlatch, ID and just over a year later that first grandchild arrived (Billy) then the following year, Rod, and the next year Kenny.  She took 1962 off and then had Alan in 1963 and Ronny in 1964.  Anne loved nothing more than being a mother and a wife. 

Anne & Bill's boys about 1965

Bill, Rod, Kenny, Ronny - 2008

She adored her husband’s parents and treated them with the same love and affection as she did her own parents.  Bill was an only child and his parents embraced Anne as a beloved daughter and they adored their grandsons.  Anne always wanted a little girl – but she wouldn’t have traded her boys for anything in the world.  Life couldn’t remain that idyllic for long.  In 1982, when the boys were all home celebrating their parents and grandparents wedding anniversary, a fire swept through the house.  The only one who didn’t make it out of the house was Alan.  Bill almost destroyed  himself trying to get in the house and get him out but to no avail.  Alan died of smoke inhalation.    I am not sure that was a loss that Anne and Bill ever recovered from.  I know that Anne told me on many occasions that you never get over it, you just learn to live with it.  Anne also had to be the rock for Bill and her boys – they remained the center of her life.  Nothing was ever more important to her than her family.

Bell Family - 2000 - Grandma Marian's 80th Birthday

Anne never had that girl she always wanted.  She did try to live a little vicariously with her nieces.  I am sure all of us have memories of her wanting to play with our hair while we wanted to be out playing with the boys.  I think Anne got her own back though…out of the twelve  grandchildren, eight of them are girls.  You can tell that Anne has left her stamp on all of them because I can see bits of her in every one of them. 

Bell Family 2012

As I sit here and think about Anne…there are a wealth of memories to sift through.  Anne has always been a part of my life.  I was always close to her…but we became especially close during my college years to the present.  I loved to go over and visit her at the cafeteria at the University of Idaho where she worked as a cook.  There were many family reunions that included picnics, weddings and funerals where Anne and Bill were always there.  I don’t think Anne and Bill missed one family gathering if they could help it.  When Mom and I got involved in genealogy, Anne became our compadre.  We spent many hours discussing and analyzing anything and everything that we found. Mom, Dad, Anne & Bill as well as their  granddaughter Angela, my niece Ashlie traveled back to North Dakota in 1999 or so.  We hit some of the important spots along the way like Yellowstone, Devil’s Tower and Mount Rushmore, but our real goal was to meet some cousins in Washburn, ND and see if we could figure out where Grandma was buried.   I will never forget our adventures.  I can still picture Bill walking his granddaughter’s cat on a leash.  In my mind’s eye, I can see  our cousin Sheryll, my Mom, Betty, and Anne sitting in the living room pouring through pictures.

Then my grandmother joined our little group (she moved to Idaho in 2001).  There were untold hours spent on family stories and family histories.  Unlike many families, we spent a lot of time talking about what our family had experienced during the last several hundred years.  Anne always figured that I had our family figured out so she was working on figuring out what she could about Bill’s family.  We never stopped our family search.  We shared our frustrations and triumphs.  We also shared our sorrows when my Mom died in 2005, Grandma Marian in 2011, her Bill a few months later in 2012  and Shirley in 2015.Perhaps the hardest cross she had to bear was the loss of her beloved Kenny this past January.  No one should ever have to face the loss of child and Anne had lost two of them.  The last time Anne and I had time alone we talked about her facing death.  As expected, she was rather matter of fact about it.  Anne liked to say that she slept with two angels every night, Bill at the head of her bed and Alan at the foot.  She smiled and said that Kenny had squeezed in there.  Anne’s pain is over and now she is reunited with her angels and all those that she has loved and missed.  If I know Anne, after she has greeted everyone – she has some questions and she will finally be where she will get her answers.  Next time I find something interesting…I will have to wonder if Anne found something out and is letting me know.  Just wish it was in person. 

Frank with Gene, Shirley & Anne in front

Here are some pictures of Anne with her siblings!

Mother's day 2011 - Left to right - Fran, Anne, Marian, Gene, MaryKay & Shirley

Left to Right - Shirley, Fran, Marian, Gene, MaryKay & Anne - 1975

MaryKay, Anne, Fran & Shirley

This is a particular favorite of mine.  You can see the pride in all of their faces.  

Anne with son, Kenny, granddaughter Rikki, grandson Brayden and mother Marian

 

The Brother I Never Wanted

I have had an argument with my cousin, Kenny for about 30 years.  He made a beautiful dollhouse for his daughter.  It was constructed piece by piece by Kenny’s patient hands.  It was an incredibly detailed Victorian themed house with a beautiful turret in the corner.  According to Kenny – that was a tower because a turret was something that came out of tank.  I told Kenny that it was called a turret when it was cone shaped feature  on a Victorian house.  Kenny told me to “Go lay down by my dish!”  Only Kenny could get away with saying something so insulting and making it sound almost like an endearment.

The 5 Bell Boys - Billy, Rodney, Kenny, Alan & Ron

I am sure that I was a "pain in the ass" younger cousin.  I can remember going up to my Aunt Anne and Uncle Bill's place and being stuck inside while my Aunt played with an actual female child.  I really can't blame her - she was likely in testosterone "hell!"  The only thing female oriented in the that house other than Anne was the doll on her bed that she had hoped to give to a daughter.  Anne tried 5 times (maybe not on purpose), and ended up with five boys in 6 years.  There were wonderful memories of sledding down the hillside by their home in Potlatch, ID.

Kenny was my parent's godson.  His mischievous nature, twinkling eyes, charming personality and humor especially endeared him to my mother.  He held a special spot in my Mom's heart.  In the late 1980's, Kenny worked a few summers doing yard work for my folks.  It was at that time that Kenny and I learned a few things about each other.  Kenny told me that he always felt a little sorry for me because he thought I was picked on.  I thought of him as yet another male cousin.  Kenny then informed me that after watching me in action, he was pretty sure I wasn't picked on and that I gave as good as I got.  He then decided that I was the sister he never wanted.  I was more than happy to provide Kenny with some feedback on some of his idiotic male notions.  It was good-natured on both sides and always remained so.  A few years later, Kenny decided that he was going to go to college.  By that point, I was a Senior at the University of Idaho and Kenny was an incoming Freshman.  You might say it was a reversal of circumstances...I was the Senior at the University of Idaho and he was the incoming Freshman.  Kenny was going through registration and he was still there when I showed up 2 hours later.  My registration process took 10 minutes...as a Freshman, his was much more complicated.  I helped him through and we left several minutes later.  Kenny showed up to my apartment many times during the following months.  He might have been helping me with something, or I was helping him.  I cooked more than a few meals for him and he did several jobs fixing one thing or another.  I conned him into going to see "Les Miserables" with me.  Broadway musicals really weren't his thing...he was was much more fond of 70's rock.

It seemed that almost every time we saw each other at family reunions or gatherings during the next few decades we renewed our argument about the turret or tower.  There was also a lot of hugs, joking and conversation.  There were also more than a few phone calls that lasted over an hour.  Both of us reminiscing about the past and talking about our families.  We had that cousinly bond…but it was much more.  I always got off the phone reminded at how deeply Kenny loved his wife, his children and grandchildren.  The bond with his brothers was always there as well as that with his nieces and nephews.  

Johnson's at Dad's 50th birthday - 1990

Tommy, David, Kenny & KC - Cousins

Kenny with Chris Johnson

Left to Right - Billy, Rod, Kenny & Ron

When my mother died, one of the first phone calls I got was from Kenny.  I can’t remember exactly…but I think he couldn’t make it to the service.  It just about broke his heart because he adored my Mom – and it was definitely reciprocated.  I remember seeing Kenny during the next several years and he was almost always taking care of someone.  Sometimes it was his Dad or Mom or our Grandmother.  Despite Kenny being such a jokester, he had a caring heart and he used humor to offset tension.  There is no question that at times, it was inappropriate…but there was an expression used in our family – “it was just Kenny!”  When Kenny’s Dad died, he asked me to read something for he and his brothers.  He knew that he was asking me to do something that would be hard for me to do – but he asked me because he trusted me to do it the way he wanted. 

Kenny passed away on Sunday, January 6.  When I heard the news from his mother, I had to sit there for a while with tears rolling down my face.  I was never going to get that big bear hug again or hear his teasing.  Kenny left a wonderful legacy!  There is not one person who will ever forget him who knew him.  His brothers will always tell stories about the trouble they got into…his nieces and nephews will always have a story about something stupid that Kenny taught them to do.  Kenny leaves behind a loving wife and adoring children and grandchildren, a mother and brothers and their families who will do their best to continue to keep Kenny present.  There is also is his extended family.  We have been blessed with a large family, but it is so hard to lose someone who was so beloved.  For as long as anyone is alive who knew Kenny – there will be a funny story and knowing Kenny that is exactly what he would have wanted. 

Cousin Lowell

I received word last night that a cousin had passed away January 8, 2018.  I first “met” Lowell Johnson on the phone almost 20 years ago.  Back then we were using Family Tree Maker for our genealogy program and they had CD’s that what they called “World Family Tree” which was a collection of family trees that were shared by other members.  I found Lowell’s tree and was quite pleased to find a lot of similar information to my own.  This might seem shocking today, but they these files had the users’s name, address, and phone number on them.  I waited until after five o’clock (we did that then; long distance rates were cheaper) and called Lowell.  I still remember his deep voice as he answered the phone.  I explained who I was and who my parents and grandparents were.  We had quite a close connection as my great grandfather and his grandfather were brothers. 

My mother had gotten most of our information on the Johnson family on a long-ago conversation with my grandfather.  He had been pleased to share what he knew of his famly history.  I am not sure he thought there wasn’t anything terribly interesting about his family and he relayed much of the information that Lowell had, including an “unknown Johnson” who had married Nancy Mayfield.  It was just a few months before I made that phone call that a fellow researcher had sent to my mother the name of that “Unknown Johnson” …Moses Johnson.  I was delighted to spring that little piece of information on him and he was very happy to have that name.

Grace & Marian holding their sons
Lowell and Eugene - 1940.

During the next several years, emails and many phone conversations, we got a chance to know Lowell and his wife, Bonnie very well as fellow researchers.  We also found out that we had a lovely picture of my Dad and Lowell as babies being held by their mothers.  Lowell was three weeks older than Dad and was the closest in age to Dad of any of his cousins.  We also found out that Lowell had a bad heart.

In 2004, we decided that we wanted to go to North Dakota and meet a few of these cousins that we had met through phone and email.  We met up with some cousins from my Dad’s mother’s family (Pope) in Washburn, ND and then we traveled to the small town of Wahpeton to meet Lowell and Bonnie.  This was a big trip for my Mom.  She had had a lobe of her lung removed the previous year for lung cancer and was still on Oxygen.  Going over the continental divide was a bit hard on her as they had to turn up her Oxygen and Mom and Dad had to make arrangements along the way to fill her Oxygen tank.  Mom was determined to make the trip, and I am so glad she did.  Since they had to take more time than I did, I drove over a few days later to meet them.  The whole trip was so much fun for us as we were learning so much about Dad’s family and I am sure my Grandpa Frank was smiling down.  We then went over to Wahpeton and we finally got to meet Lowell and Bonnie.  Lowell had been outfitted with an LVAD (left-ventricular assist device).  Essentially Lowell was walking around with battery pack on his back to keep his heart going while waiting for a heart transplant.  For several hours, we set there sharing pictures and stories.  Mom with her Oxygen tank and Lowell with his battery pack.  We then went to dinner and shared a lovely meal. There was a bond between my Dad and Lowell and a definite family likeness. 

Dad and Lowell - 2004

Dad & Lowell - 2012

Several months later around Christmas, we learned that Lowell had gotten his heart transplant.  What wonderful news!  We lost Mom the next year (26 Dec 2005) to lung cancer.  Dad made another trip back to North Dakota on his own and he and I went back in 2012.  Dad and his girlfriend also saw them a few years ago.  In all this time, Lowell did very well.  His new heart had given him the gift of years.  Lowell still had health problems…but he and Bonnie were able to enjoy a little over 13 more years together.  Lowell was able to enjoy his children and his grandchildren.  He had been living on borrowed time for so many years, and when he received the gift of a new heart, he went about living to the best he could.

I will always be grateful to the family who donated their loved one’s organs.  They gave Lowell and his family the gift of life and time which is priceless.  I am so grateful that I and my parents had a chance to get to know the lovely man that was my cousin.