I am an only child and Larry has one brother so we have a small immediate family.
Larry's father passed away February 25, 1997 at the age of 81. He was one of the nicest men I have ever known. He retired from working at the coal mines after 29 years. He was hard working, honest, family oriented and treated everyone the same no matter who they were. We all miss him very much. He could tell the funniest stories of long ago. Click here for a tribute to Byford.
Larry's mother passed away May 1, 2000 at the age of 80. She was in very bad health for a good many years. I was principal caregiver for her the last 3 years. It was a very difficult time for both of us, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I don't regret any of the time I spent with my mother-in-law. I am one of the few fortunate daughters-in-law who had a best friend for a mother-in-law. She was like my second mother. I miss her very much. Click here for a tribute to Cuma.
Larry has one older brother who lives near Chicago. He is married and has two sons, ages 18 and 12. They are just the cutest kids. They are both going to be breaking some lucky girls' hearts someday. Of course, I'm not a prejudiced aunt in the least!!
My mother passed away on May 3, 1990. She was only 57 years old at the time of her death. She died of colon cancer. That was a very hard time for me. It is hard to describe my mother. She was the funniest, friendliest, nicest person I have ever known. She could make you laugh until your side hurt at her funny stories. She never met a stranger, always had a kind word for everybody, no matter who they were. She spoke her mind no matter what and was honest to the core. Here is one of my favorite stories:
Many years ago I had a jewelry party in my home. This was for a relative of a friend who was just trying to earn a living, so I had it for her. Of course I invited my mother. The jewelry was not that nice, but it was very expensive. My mother picked up a pair of earrings and said loudly enough for everyone to hear, "I saw a pair just like this at Woolworth's for $2." That was my mother! She was the life of every party and the best person in the world to go shopping for clothes with.
Click here for a tribute to my mother.
My father passed away September 24, 2004. He was 74 years old. He lived in the same home he and mom moved into when I was 3 years old until his death. He retired from General Radiator after 25 years which used to have a manufacturing plant in town. Dad had one older brother who is now deceased and twin brothers and a sister who all died in infancy.
Click here for a tribute to my father.
I am an only child. I always thought I would have liked to have an older brother who would take care of me and send me money all the time. But now that I am older, I know that I would be wrong about that and that doesn't happen to any girls I know who have older brothers. Maybe an older sister would have been a better idea, but then I would have had hand-me-downs. Maybe I am better off just the way things are.
Well, that's it for our families. Larry and I both have aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., but it would take too much space to list them all. Counting all of them, we have a large family. We are blessed with all that we have.
Be sure and check out our family pix pages!