Happy New Year...From Uncle Ron

Happy New Year

December 7th...Nancy's Birthday

Happy Birthday Nancy

Nancy went into the hospital on Dec. 7th, 1995 and seven days later she returned to Jesus...December 7th was Nancy's birthday...She told me on a few occasions that she wished God had picked another date for her...Growing up in a small town in Ohio, she was always reminded that Dec. 7th was the day the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor...That always took the fun away from having a happy birthday...

 

We met at a fort in the middle of Missouri named Fort Leonard Wood...It was Sept. 17,1958 and I was about to get discharged from the Army at the end of October...We were at a company picnic on the banks of the Big Piney River...There was lots of folks there...Eating and drinking...I enjoyed drinking beer back then...The picnic entertainment was furnished by Special Services...which composed of a band (5 pieces) ...a Magician...and a female singer...Nancy was the singer! She sang beautifully and I admired her looks...She was all of five feet tall...I invited her to play bingo with me and I tried to make her laugh by imitating the magician by making my cigarette lighter disappear...I also invited her to go out with me that night when the picnic was over...She said she would be waiting for me at the WAC detachment at 7 PM...I went back to the barracks and fell asleep...A friend woke me up at 7:30 and reminded me that I had a date...Oh Boy!

I hadn't met her but a few hours earlier and already I was screwing up...So I called her and asked her to wait for me...I borrowed a friend's car and drove over and picked her up...We went out to a café off post and had some coffee...We talked up a storm...We knew we liked each other...

That following Wednesday I knew I was in love with her...The following Saturday...I asked her to marry me...

On December 31st, 1958 we were married in Columbia, SC at 8:00 AM mass...

An old Irish priest, Monsignor Murphy presided... When it came time for me to say those two words "I do"...I said them...Monsignor Murphy said in a harsh Irish voice,"SPEAK UP MAN!" ...and I did...My brother John and his wife Kathleen and their son Joey and my brother Roger were there...Our folks could not make the wedding but sent us their blessing...

We were married 37 years...We were blessed with four children...Mark...Robert...Sandra and Daniel...and four grandchildren...David...Joshua...Cheyenne and Michael...