Let's Get Acquainted With

A true Oregonian Shirley was born in Lakeview in April 1941.  She has one older brother – he works in Alaska as a plumber, but, she says he’s not as cute as she is.

A second marriage brought two children into the world.  A son that sadly passed away in 1988 and a daughter Shelle, that she lives with in Central Point.

Shirley had many job opportunities – cook, waitress, maid at a motel, working in a wood facility tying wood bundles and a care giver.  Her favorite was being a care giver.  She met lots of people and really enjoyed caring for them.  It was also a heartbreaking time when she would lose them and that’s why she eventually left that field.

While she was working at Diamond Lake as a maid she met Charlie Daniels.  She and her husband met Robert Craig Knievel, professionally known as Evil Knievel, the stunt performer and entertainer while in Los Angeles, CA.

She enjoys meeting people and making friends.  She’s made friends since joining the Senior Center. One of her hobbies is crocheting and working with plastic canvas, commonly known as vinyl weave.  She makes awesome items with the canvas and yarn.  She jokes “it keeps me off the streets and out of the bars”.  (I thought that was my line.)

Her words of wisdom are “do unto others as they would do unto you” – sounds like the “Golden Rule” to me.

Shirley says she looks forward to “the good life”

Friday the 13^th isn’t always bad – that’s the day Stephanie joined the world in San Jose, CA in 1984.  In 1986 she moved to Sebastopol, CA and on to Oregon in 2008.  You may notice Stephanie helping Larry in the kitchen working with Food and Friends some days.

She has one older sister.

Married to Shayne, together they own Pizza Schmizza Pub & Grub in Eagle Point.  Together they have five children between them – ages 11 to 21.

Working as a Wellness Consultant for five years to counsel women in weight loss and healthy living, she is now studying to be a Certified Personal Trainer.

When I asked what her biggest obstacle was, she said “I get in my own way – thinking I have more time”.

She told me that nothing interesting has happened to her in her whole life.  That’s hard to believe.  “My whole life has been interesting – just can’t pick one thing” when I pressed her.

My life goal of owning a restaurant she says is her biggest accomplishment.  Hard work, but the rewards are there.

I have learned I can choose my conversations.

Looking forward – Every day is a gift –

Fresno, CA is the birthplace of Susan in May of 1960.  She says nothing spectacular happened when she arrived.

She had an older brother that has passed and a younger brother that lives in Shady Cove.

Susan and her husband, Ed have been married for 42 years.  A friend of theirs introduced them.  Susan was a city girl and Ed was a country boy.  She says it should have been the other way around because she loved horses so much.  She is 11 months older and Ed, being a gentleman, doesn’t rub it in.  Doctors told her that she wouldn’t be able to have children, so she has two miracles, a son and then three years later their daughter arrived.

Susan worked for the school district for many years and drove a school bus for five years.  Then she worked in retail in other places.

When I asked her about her most interesting thing, she recalled standing in line at Disneyland behind THE Michael Jackson.  He seemed so small to her.  At Universal Studios Neil Sedaka sang a song to her up close and sat down between her and her husband when he finished the song.

Asked what her biggest obstacle was, she thought about it for a moment and then said “raising kids”.  That’s a full time job.

Words of wisdom from Susan are “live one day at a time – nothing can change the past and don’t fret over the future”.

She is looking forward to real retirement.  She would like to travel through the United States and maybe someday a trip to see Ireland.  Her Granddaughter’s name is Ireland.

Mondays you may see her with her Mom, Fern, and Aunt Doris playing Bingo.

Before this happens, you’ll see Susan at our meetings as she has accepted the challenge of being Secretary.  Welcome Susan…..

David was born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky in July of 1961.  Being in a military family he lived in many places.  He has one younger brother who is the Sheriff of Oceanside, CA.

Marriage brought him 2 children, a son, and a daughter.  At age 12 his daughter was diagnosed with kidney disease.  One did not work and the other at only 73%.  She had to wait for 13 ½ years to get a new kidney.  Finally, she is healthy.  His son is a loan manager at Rogue Credit Union.

David joined the Navy right out of high school and stayed for eight years.

Their family enjoyed going to sporting events all over the country.

His wife fell mysteriously ill.  Doctors from all over the country could not give them a diagnosis.  It was finally found that she had a rare disease called CJD – no known reason and no known cure.  This is a disease from Germany.  How she contracted it is a mystery to all the doctors.  62 days after they gave the tragic news, his wife passed away.

PTSD has been David’s biggest obstacle.  Counseling has taught him how to deal with it.

His biggest accomplishment was collecting bottles and cans that people donated when they learned about his daughter’s fight for life.  Trips to Portland, motels, and medical expenses were very high.  Checks even came in to help.

“Trust your God” is the motto that David lives by.

He strives to make other lives better than they were before.  His goal is to bring others to Christ.

You will find David helping at Food & Friends with Larry whenever he is needed.

Lila tells us she was born in North Bend in June of 1947.  She has a brother,  two half- brothers, and one half- sister.  Her brother worked for the Secret Service and couldn’t tell much of what his work entailed, but told her that he guarded John F. Kennedy when he was in New York. She is the youngest of the children.  Her Mom was a waitress and at six years old she would stand on a stool and wash dishes where Mom worked and she also sold newspapers.

After 30 years of marriage Lila became a widow.  She married her best friend and states they had a good marriage for those years.  When she met her future husband they got into an argument.  They must have worked that one out…..

She is proud of her two sons, ages 52 and 50.  They are very good men.

Being a Certified Pharmacy Technician for 30 years, Lila stated that she worked with some very nice people during those years.  A highlight of her job was that she mixed chemo therapy drugs for IV’s.  She owned a restaurant in Chinook from 1999 to 2003 and this gave her the experience took to run a Senior Center in Chinook.  She now helps Larry once a week and may volunteer more hours after she settles into her home.

Lila has learned to trust God to take care of you.  He is in control – for your good in the long run.

Asking what Lila looked forward to, she didn’t hesitate – going to heaven to see her husband.

Welcome to Eagle Point Lila, we’re glad you chose to join us.

Ruthie was born a tiny preemie at 4# 3 oz in April of 1969 in Redwood City, CA. She spent the first month of her life in the hospital. She has one older brother.

Kenny was born in March of 1968 in Martinez, CA. He has one older brother and one younger.

Ruthie’s Dad was in law enforcement for 15 years and then went to school at California Culinary Academy to become a Master Chef. Later he taught at the Academy and was pictured in their cookbook. Her Mom was a teacher.

Kenny was raised by his grandparents. He barely passed high school. Went into the Army in ’88 thru ’92. Went back to school after the service.

Ruthie was married and had 2 sons. Widowed, she raised the boys by herself. Kenny was married and had 2 sons of his own.

Kenny worked in the Sheriff’s Department in Contra Costa 1992 – 1999, and lots of odd jobs after that. Ruthie worked at Costco demonstrating products and then spent the next 23 years as Direct Support Professional at Living Opps.

When I asked Ruthie what the most interesting thing that has happened to her, she smiled and said reconnecting with Kenny after 25 years.

They met on a blind date when she was 17 and he 18. They dated for about a year and then he dumped her for another girl. After her boys were grown she started thinking about her first love and began her quest to find him. She did, and they started talking and one thing led to another and he moved to Eagle Point from California and they got married and have been living “happily ever after” since then.

Kenny recalls his serving in Desert Storm as his most interesting event.

Raising a disabled child by herself was her biggest obstacle and Kenny’s is overcoming health issues.

Ruthie is very proud of raising 2 sons that are both contributing to society, and Kenny’s is the fact he earned his BA in Criminal Psychology (law enforcement).

Both of them say that people should be polite and respectful. Live by the Golden Rule.

Both are looking forward to retirement so they can travel. Ruthie wants to go back to Europe, and Kenny would like to revisit the places he saw while in the military.

Michael was born at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, California in December of 1953.  Currently, he is seen every Tuesday and Thursday at the front desk of our center logging in people for lunch.

He has 3 brothers and 2 sisters and they are scattered in Oregon, Arizona, California, and Oklahoma.

Michael enjoys volunteering.  He was the Volunteer Director for a food pantry in Redondo Beach, CA for 8 ½ years.  This “Circle of Life” served food on two Saturdays and two Wednesdays a month.  They had acupressure, yoga and massage therapy on Tuesdays.  They also had “Circle of Friends with games, birthdays and home-cooked meals.

Asked what was his most interesting time was he answered that he did therapeutic massages for a dermatologist friend.  This friend practiced his dermatology on Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor.

His biggest obstacle is keeping things “on par” (even keel).

Proud of the fact that he sent a letter to ABC news to nominate a young lady to receive a $1,000 scholarship – Kool Kids.  She got it.

Words of Wisdom from Michael are “keep the faith”.  His Grandmother taught him this.

Warm weather is what Michael is looking forward to.

A cabbage patch in San Francisco in 1945 found a tiny little girl with 18 letters in her name.  That’s what her Grandmother told her. She was raised by her grandparents.

She has three children, Eric, Cassandra, and Desirae.

When you see her smiling face at the Senior Center, you can’t help but smile back.  What a pleasant volunteer in the Thrift Store.  She’s the one that has organized all those shelves after they were painted.  She looks forward to coming to the Senior Center every day and can find a bright spot there, no matter how dreary the day might be.  Jeannette thinks our Center is pretty cool.

When she was 32, she went back to college for two years for Early Childhood Development and then taught in pre-school.

Her biggest obstacle was self-doubt and has found that she can face them with a smile along with walking with her Lord.

Wisdom from Jeannette is “be helpful, peace in your being and a joy in your heart”.

 

Debbie was born in Portland in 1960.

She’s been married for almost 40 years and has a daughter,

Stacey, who is 35, married, and has three children of her own.  They range in age from 5, 3 and 1.  She lives in Washington.  Her son, Cooper is 30 and recently moved to Beaverton.

Her career outside the home spanned a few fields.  Seven years saw her in YMCA membership, then her family moved to Alaska where she did demos in stores.  They came back to Oregon and she worked at Cascade Pharmacy for 13 years in the Gift Shop.  When that was sold, she did home care for several years.  Now she is with us.

She recalls driving on the Alcan Highway and being hit by drunk Alaskan natives and being pulled out of the ditch by truckers they had met having breakfast with a short time earlier.

Debbie says her biggest obstacle is her shyness.  That’s hard to believe because she is so friendly and outgoing.

Biggest accomplishment?  Well, that’s got to be her children.

Her word of wisdom are – “don’t sweat the small stuff”

She looks forward to having good health and spending time with her grand kids.

Welcome Debbie to our Thrift Store!

Kathie was born in Torrance, California in 1952.  In 2013 she and her husband moved to Oregon so that he could get a liver transplant.  Sorry to say he has passed.

She has a sister that lives in Clear Lake, California and a brother that passed.

Only one marriage gave her three sons.  They are all normal men.  So glad of that.

Data processing in the school system kept her busy for 28 years.  At the same time she operated a day care from infant to five years for 27 years.

She met her husband at Knotts Berry Farm in 1971 while at a country-western concert.  They met “Chicago” at a concert at Lake Tahoe in the 80’s.  Her husband collected every album they ever made.

Losing her vision in both eyes from a disease that went untreated, she underwent cornea transplants and thankfully has her sight back.

She considers her biggest accomplishment in raising her sons – keeping them on the straight and narrow.  Very proud of them.

Words of Wisdom from Kathie are “Always think before you act”

Kathie looks forward to her three grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.  Loves seeing them.

She loves to play cards and would like to join the Games group when she can find the time.