ENDLESS LOVE

1935 She moved with her parents to a small cottage, by the lake. She was 4, her brother was 8. It was a small town called Harbor View, consisting of mostly summer cottages, but as time went on people wanted to stay there year 'round. The houses had to be insulated and weatherized to withstand the winter.

1941 He moved to the same area, 3 miles down the road, with his parents, he was an only child. His mother was German Lutheran(low deutch) and his father German Catholic( high deutch), their brothers never got along. He was in the 6th grade.

That's really where it began.

She had her friends, and he had his, their school went to the 8th grade back then, and for two years they were in the same class.

9th grade they went on to the same high school. They still hung out in the same groups. He played baseball, and was very athletic.

She was in some girl clubs. They went bowling together, and picnics, but always in guy and girl groups. No single dates, at that time, or era. It just wasn't heard of, to be exclusive with boys till after graduation. They all just had fun being teenagers.

He also liked to go hunting and fishing with his dad, uncles, and cousins. His mom's sister, lived on the same street too, across from the elementary school, she was a school bus driver. He spent a lot of time with her and his cousins, since they only lived a few houses away also. They always had large family gatherings.

After graduation, she went to secretarial school, and he went to college, to be a pharmacist, he played football for the team. He was there a year and decided to enlist in the Navy.

She had met a guy and was engaged. He had dated a girl randomly, but broke it off when he went to the service.

That was during the Korean Conflict, and he was stationed in Guam, still studying to be a pharmacist. He was a Navy nurse( corpsman)

One day while shopping at the neighborhood store, both their mother's were there. They got talking and his mother gave her mother, his address, of where he was stationed, suggesting that she might like to write him. I think perhaps her mother didn't like the current suitor, so there was a bit of match making goin on between them.

Well it worked.

She started writing him, and he'd reply,(they kept each and every one of those letters, to this day)and when he'd be home on leave, they started dating .She broke off her engagement, and when his tour ended, on June 10, 1955. They were married. She was 24. They lived with her parents for awhile, while their house was being built. With the help of a couple of his uncles, they got it done.

In 1957, they had a son, and his nursery was in one of the upstairs bedrooms, well, to some faulty wiring, on the new furnace, they had a fire. Thankfully, it was contained, with minimal damage. But some things needed altered, and not put back to how it was, she was sad, and probably never got over it.

He had many jobs in his career, not able to pursue his dream of being a pharmacist, he worked at Doehler Jarvis, before getting the job at the Post Office. He was also a volunteer fireman for 10 years.

She worked for Willy's Overland, later becoming Jeep, and the Toledo Edison, as a receptionist, later working for the city in the tax dept.

In 1964, they had their first daughter. Still with the loving support to both families surrounding them, they were doing very good. But things were changing. Her parents decided to move to Florida, after her dad retired from the Sun Oil Co. They bought a house, and spent their winters in it, for a couple years. In 1967, they decided to stay their permanently.

Her brother still lived in the area. He had also married a girl from the neighborhood.

1969, they are now 38 and 39, she had her second daughter. She had some complications in the previous years, and gathered a lot of grief, from being too old to conceive. They were very thankful they had another child.

1971 his mother died, at 69, of breast cancer. They had been taking care of her for awhile. Four years later, his dad passed at 77, from a heart attack. The youngest daughter was very close to him. He always had a pocketful of Bit O' Honey candy, and would give it to her for a treat. He smoked a pipe, and the house always smelled of cherry tobacco. For her 5th birthday, he got her a Big Wheel. She rode it everyday.

They were never really very overly affectionately towards one another, publicly, but were very loving and compassionate people. Family meant everything.

She started helping out with the PTA, and was a den mother for her son, and also a Girl Scout leader for her oldest daughter. Later making cheerleading outfits for the girls squads. She was very crafty, like her mother. always sewing, or beading, or ceramics, she taught classes out of the basement, and the girls learned too.

When they had family gatherings, the women would be in one room "crafting" and the men would be in another talking "men" talk.

They were kinda old fashioned with their values and rules, they tried to instill them to the kids. They had established respect and responsibility.

When he was 55, he had the choice to retire early from the post office. They had a package offer to either 35(yrs) and out or 55 and out. He took it. He was a stay at home "mom" for a couple years. He started cooking meals, for when she got home from work, and taking over as a room parent for his youngest daughter's elementary school class. He was at the parties, bringing treats and even going on some field trips. They were very involved parents. They knew everyone, and everyone knew them.

They even made it possible for their youngest daughter to go to France, in 1985, with her French class. They weren't rich, but they weren't poor either. They saved their money, and made good investments.

He eventually did go back to work part time, and stayed on the auditing committee with the post office.

He would take the girls asparagus hunting, in the fields, behind the elementary school, or perch fishing, out of his little row boat, in the fall afternoons when they got home from school. In the winter he'd take them sledding, and they even went ice skating as a family. Something they both liked to do growing up.

After the kids were grown, and on their own, they started traveling. They had some life-time friends that liked to go to Las Vegs for the slot tournaments. Sometimes they would go to Windsor on a bus trip, to their casinos. This rejuvenated their marriage and they would come back all giddy, like newlyweds.

As a family, they went on vacations too, but not so much with the age span of the kids. Prior to 1969 they took the older kids to the family cottage in Black Lake.

Holidays were always a special time, as well. Sometimes they would go to Florida for Christmas, and the girls went during the summer. Her brother had moved next door to her parents, so they could help out.

Her father died in 1980.

Then the grandchildren came. They were so proud. They really enjoyed each and every one of them. The oldest daughter had her son first. That child was a mess. He was so spoiled. Two years later the youngest had a son, they were having some trouble, and had to move back in. That grandson became like a second son. The daughter worked, and had a babysitter, but in the evenings, the daycare was closed and they would pick him up and watch him till his mom got home. As he grew older, he started playing soccer, t-ball, baseball, and wrestling, and yep, gpa was his biggest fan. Never missing a game, and even took him to overnight, out of state wrestling tournaments, when his mom couldn't.

Their oldest daughter lived in his parents house, next door, she had another child, and so did the youngest daughter, making the count, three grandsons and a granddaughter. He was the proudest poppa there ever was. He loved playing with the kids. He'd shoot them with water guns, or Nerf arrows. He was like a kid himself.

Her mother passed in 1995,in Florida.

She never wanted to retire. She loved working, and had gotten a job at a private company, and had worked there for 15 years, as a bookkeeper. In 2013 she was 82, she finally gave it up, and retired.

2015, they celebrated their 60th anniversary. Totally amazing, that they were together for so long. Almost a record, I think.

They did have minor spats, occasionally, but nothing they couldn't work through, but they cherished the vows they had taken, and held them close. He was a stubborn German and she was a steadfast Englishmen.

They seemed invincible, but when she was around 87, she started getting dementia, and had undiagnosed rectal cancer, resulting in surgery. She recovered pretty well, from it.

July of 2019, they went to Minnesota with their oldest daughter, for two weeks, to see the birth of their third great grandchild. The youngest daughter and her fiance' was there too they had a wonderful time.

He started to become a fall risk, and in Nov, he went to the hospital. He got stronger, and was home for Christmas, the family got together, missing a few members, but it was good. Then in February he got some kind of infection, and had a reaction to the antibiotic, he was back in the hospital. March 11, 2020, he passed. He was 7 months shy of being 90.

She was devastated, and since he was being cremated, there wasn't any funeral, or service, due to the world's pandemic. Her dementia got the best of her, and she always would ask where he was, she was very lonely. The months passed and she was just existing, she started sleeping more, and finally 10 months, from his passing, Jan 13, 2021, she went to be with her true love. She was 5 months shy of being 90.

These people I write about were my parents. I chose not to add their names, to give it a little more meaning, and suspense.

She was also cremated, and we plan on having a combined celebration of life service, in June on their Anniversary, 66 years. Wow!