Eagle Point Senior Center

Lorrie tells us she was born in Salinas, CA in November of 1956 and was raised in there.

She is the oldest of four children.  Two brothers and one sister follow her in the family tree.

Lorrie worked in the medical field all her career.  Cancer Therapy for six years, a fertility clinic for a year and in mammograms for five years.

She’s been married, and now divorced.  She has a son in Paso Robles with four children and a daughter living in Yreka that just got engaged.

She is extremely proud of both her children.

Disabilities have slowed her down a bit, but she keeps a smile on her face.

Asked what her biggest accomplishment was, she stated she went to college and graduated in 2016 with an AA in Liberal Art and Social Science.  Shortly after she graduated she moved to southern Oregon and settled in White City.

“Don’t Ever Give Up” is the motto she lives by.

She looks forward to visits from her oldest grandson, Keagon, who spends the night.

Bingo is a favorite of hers – says “it makes me feel good” – the people are so friendly and helpful.

The Camp Fire that ravaged northern California brought us one of our newest members.  She lost everything in that fire – only the ground where her house remained.  She fled with the clothes on her back and her dog, Reggie.  She now lives with her family here in Eagle Point.

Kathryn was born in San Francisco in May 1946.  She was raised in Sausalito, CA.

She has one older brother who lives in central California and a cousin in Pennsylvania.

Married twice, and widowed twice, she has two daughters and two grandsons.

In 1970 she graduated from Sonoma State University with a BA in Art and Liberal Studies.  She went back to school after her daughters were grown to get her teaching credentials.  Juggling a work schedule and going to school was a challenge that she accomplished.

Being a teacher for 10 years at a high school in Salinas, CA with “at risk” students proved to be another challenge.  Currently, she volunteers at Eagle Rock Elementary through the Foster Grandparents program.

Kathryn’s words of wisdom go something like this – “Take time to stop and smell the roses and feel the rain on your face.  The best recipe for a happy life is to do an act of kindness every day.”

An animal lover she has cats and a dog along with a goat and a miniature donkey to mow the lawn (just kidding about the goat and donkey)  Rain or shine, she loves spending time “puttering” outside in the yard and discovering the beauty of the Oregon coast.

Alan was born in Elmira, New York in 1946.  Barbara was born on the other side of the US in Salinas, California in 1950.  They met, fell in love and have been married 51 years this coming June.

Alan has 1 sister and one brother (he’s passed away).  Barbara had 3 brothers and one sister.  Two brothers and her sister have passed away.

Together they have four kids – 3 girls and 1 boy – they are all good kids.

Barbara had a fascinating job – helping score SAT tests.  Alan worked for McCormick Spices for 29 years and 11 months.  They gave him a retirement for 30 years.  He then went on to work for Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority as Recycling Coordinator.  He retired from there in 2012 and they moved to Oregon.

Alan’s Navy experience was 1964 to 1968 as Aviation Ordinanceman in VP47.  He did spend some of his military time in Viet Nam.

Both Alan and Barbara chimed in saying that the most interesting thing that has happened to them was meeting Bill and Hillary Clinton.  Alan was the Mayor of Salinas and the Clinton’s came to San Francisco for a fundraiser.  While he was the Mayor, he’s proud to say that the City rebuilt the rodeo grounds and the Steinbeck Center.  They opened a Community Center for kids called the “Bread Box”.  The community was very involved and wanted to make sure the kids had a place to call their own.

Alan stated that he had a fear of public speaking and Barbara worries about her health.  She’s recently had a knee replacement and faces a hip replacement on March 5^th.

Alan is proud of being elected Mayor of Salina, CA and served for eight years.  Barbara is proud of raising their own kids and foster kids, 8 of them including a family of 3.  She beams when she says – “they all graduated from high school”

Words of wisdom – Alan says “Always look forward” and Barbara says “try to push yourself out of your comfort zone”.

Barbara is looking forward to getting back in her garden after her hip surgery and Alan is looking for better days – after Barbara’s surgery to seeing more of our beautiful Oregon.