Let's Get Acquainted With

Jim was born March 1931 in Cleveland, Ohio and Sarah made her debut in Burbank, CA in October of 1970.  Jim and his sister were raised by their Mom.

He doesn’t remember too much about his sister, who went to be the caretaker for their grandmother when Jim was 5.  Sarah was the oldest of three siblings; she is 4 years older than her brother and 8 years older than her sister.  She is proud that both of her parents are still alive.  Plus this year she found out that she has a new brother –  found on “23&me”.  She is not the oldest anymore.

Both Sarah and Jim are on their third marriages.  They met while Sarah was working for All Creatures Animal  Hospital,  working there for four years.  They believe that “the third time is a charm”.  Jim is the proud father of a son and daughter.  Jim, himself, his daughter and two grandchildren have all graduated from Long Beach State.  Sarah has a 27-year-old son, a Lt. in the Army, Hillary is married to a Marine and ready for their third daughter and Jacob, 23 works locally in White City.  Sarah and Jim have been married for seven years.

Jim worked as a Building Inspector for LA County for 28 years.  He then worked for Yorba Linda for almost 5 years.  Moving to Oregon in 1990.  Sarah was a long haul truck driver for 15 years and then helped build power plants. Oregon became her home in 2010.

When Jim was in the Merchant Marines for five years, a ship he was working on, went aground and for three months he did nothing and received full pay.  Sarah said that marrying Jim was the most interesting thing for her – he’s such a character.

Jim’s biggest obstacle was finishing college while raising two kids.  Sarah is overcoming learning disabilities.  Numerical dyslexia tried to hold her back, but not this gal, she plays Bingo to keep her mind working.  She plays 10 cards at a time.  Not an easy task.

Sarah’s biggest accomplishment is running their property management business, while Jim said his was completing college.

Words of wisdom from Jim are “everyone can solve their problems by work”. Sarah said “don’t trust everyone”.  If you can’t solve a problem, put it on the back of the list – someday it will be solved.

Jim is looking forward to the next house that he can rehabilitate and Sarah looks forward to seeing both families.

Elizabeth was born in Everett, Washington in 1933.  She had 2 brothers and 1 sister.  Jim was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1934.  He had 2 brothers.  Elizabeth took care of her brother that was 5 years younger.

Jim and Elizabeth went steady for 27 years before they married November 24, 2018.  Jim had been divorced with 4 children that he adopted and had two more with his first wife.  Elizabeth was a widow with twin girls and one son.

They came to Bingo as regulars and everyone cheered when they learned that the marriage had taken place.

When Jim was a senior in high school he played football and was voted MVP.  He was offered three scholarships.  The University of Wisconsin offered him a full ride, but he turned it down and enlisted in the Navy.  He thought he wouldn’t be able to go to school and support himself.  After 4 years in the service, he went to school for 6 years and then became an entrepreneur.  He specialized in precision sheet metal, industrial paint design and engineering.  He started a computer company, color monitors, voice module and introduced HD.

Elizabeth spent her career in clerical jobs – mostly Accounts Payable.

Jim has invented many items used in the Silicon Valley and his biggest obstacle was trying to figure out how to market them.  He was known as “Dr. Jim” – the problem solver.  He also holds 7 patents.

Jim says that Elizabeth is the best thing that has ever happened to him.  (She blushed).

Both Elizabeth and Jim said to face life and smooth out the rough spots.  They try to live by the “Golden Rule”.

Marilyn was born in Detroit Lakes, MN in 1936.  After the death of her father, his brother came from Oregon to help her Mother.  They ended up getting married (her Uncle became her stepdad) and they moved to Medford, Oregon with Marilyn and her sister Deloris.  They had another daughter giving Marilyn another sister, Sharon.

Marilyn graduated from Jacksonville High School.  She married Elmer Maloney in June 1955. They had three children (two boys and a girl).  Marilyn had a banking career that lasted for more than 20 years.  While both working at a full time job, she and her husband built their house in Lake Creek, OR in 1979, pay as you go. They never had a mortgage.

Marilyn got into genealogy and has done many family lines.  When they retired they bought a travel trailer and traveled for the winter months for five years to many states going as far as New York.  Marilyn always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty, which they did.   She also visited many court houses and cemeteries trying to locate family history.   They spent a lot of time with Elmer’s aunt and uncle in Texas.

Marilyn volunteered at the Senior Center Sewing Group for 10 years helping make quilts.  She car pooled with Georgia Dover and when Georgia passed away, she decided to do other volunteer work.  She made quilts for Quilt of Valor (quilts for veterans) for three years.  When her husband passed in 2017 and she moved to White City, she came back to the Senior Center Sewing Group that meets on Tuesdays to work on quilts.   She also volunteers for the Lake Creek Historical Society, in Lake Creek, OR as the office volunteer. She goes to the Cascade Community Pool three times a week to exercise.

Marilyn is proud that her three children love the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior. She prays for the 4 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren that they will allow the Lord to lead in their lives too.

She attends the Trail Christian Fellowship with one of her sons and great granddaughter.

Doris told me she was born in Oklahoma City in 1936.  There were eight kids in her family and she was fourth in line.

Married more than once, she had no children.

She worked in the food service industry for 35 to 40 years and then did home health care for a couple years.

She moved back to Oregon in 2007.  Spending Mondays with her sister playing Bingo is the highlight of her week.  She has the nickname of “Matilda” and her sister is “Gertrude”.  They call Suzi “Pruney”.  They sit at the same table every week to listen to the music and then play cards till it’s time for Bingo.

When she started going to church – she knew she’d come home.

Asked what her biggest accomplishment was, she stated being married for 35 years.

She’s learned that her family and her church family are important to her.

As I finished this interview she was in a hurry to leave for a family reunion the end of June, saying she would be back by July 7^th.  Save her place at Bingo – she will return.

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.

Let’s get acquainted with Marilyn Arnold – Marilyn was a weekly Bingo player and decided to join the Senior Center.

She was born in The Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles, CA on November 26, 1950.  She is the oldest of four children, with 1 brother and two sisters.

Marilyn and her husband Cris will be married 35 years in June.  They have a son, Seth, 32 and a daughter Sarah, 31.  Seth has a BA in computer forensics and works for Disney Studios, and thinking about working for Princess Cruises; Sarah is a medical assistant and is married to a medical assistant.  Sarah has blessed the family with a Granddaughter, Abagayle (Abby) and that is the reason for the move from O’Brien to Eagle Point in May so they could be close to Abby.

Marilyn started working for “Ma Bell” when she was 17 and worked for them for 18 years.  She’s also had several home-based businesses.

When asked what her most interesting thing that has happened – she recounted that her husband, who worked for several major studios as a Teamster driver, made it possible for her to go to Browning, Montana for four days over the 4^th of July.  There she met Robin Williams.  He’s a lot smaller than I thought, she said but was so very gracious and nice.  He made everyone feel welcome.  They had a huge 4^th of July BBQ with fireworks everywhere.

She says her biggest accomplishment was raising their two children mostly on her own.  Cris’s job as a driver meant that he had to be first on a job site and the last to leave.  They were both very happy when he was able to retire and reunite their family in 2009.

In February 2018 Marilyn fell, hurt her back, broke her left shin, right arm and had quite a few facial bruises.  She’s working on getting back to how she felt before the fall.

Words of Wisdom – “the grass is not always greener” in many situations in life.

I’m looking forward to getting my health back.  My daughter has challenged me to walk around the golf course without my cane.  My goal!

Let’s get acquainted with Doug Wills – Doug joined our Center in December.

He was born in Oklahoma City, OK in November of 1941.  He was raised in Dallas, TX.  He liked it then, but later when he returned, it was so congested and grown to the point where you couldn’t tell one city from another.  Not for him.

Doug has been married three times.  He had two children with his first wife.  His third wife, Nancy brought two boys (1 & 8) to their marriage.  Together they had 2 girls and much later a “surprise” son.  Nancy was 3 days from being wed to Doug for 52 years when she passed.

A finish carpenter was his trade.  Worked in Michigan for a time.  He never lacked work – as soon as he finished a barn, another farmer would hire him.  He helped build the Medford Mall here in Oregon – working there for about 2 ½ years.  Taking great pride in his work always brought work to him.

Doug was in the recon unit of the 101^st Airborne.  He just missed being shipped out to Viet Nam.  Only two of his unit returned, and he wondered if he had gone, if more would have come back or maybe he wouldn’t have returned.

Doug belongs to the “Buckskiners”.  The group dresses in buckskins and they do reenactment of pre 1840 fur trade era.

His biggest obstacle is – head on learning to live without his beloved wife.

Biggest accomplishment for Doug has been his work ethic.  He’s always had more work than he could handle.  I’m proud of what I’ve done.

Words of Wisdom from Doug – “Treat people like you want to be treated”

He looks forward to his kids being “OK” when he’s gone.

Our Senior of the Month is Sharyn Close for December, 2018.  Sharyn was born in 1943 in Hayward, CA.  She has one daughter, Sheri, who lives in New York with her three children who are grown now.   All three were home-schooled and the youngest, who is 18, is an Eagle Scout, no small accomplishment!  Sharyn paid Sheri the highest compliment from a Mother to a Daughter.  She said, “Sheri is a wonderful person and I would like to be like her one day!”  Pretty high praise!

Sharyn has been married to Jerry for 55 years and they love it in Eagle Point!  Both Sharyn and Jerry were in the real estate business.  He as a mortgage banker and she as a manager in the escrow department of a real estate firm.  They were 7 years in upstate New York and moved to Eagle Point in 2003!  When they moved to New York, Sharyn was the first one in her family to ever leave California!

Sharyn is the President of the Eagle Point Women’s Club which is a social club 190 members strong. She loves being this position and working with such wonderful women.  The Club is a means for women who reside with an Eagle Point address to find friends and activities! She loves when she is able to find a woman who is lonely and point her in the direction of the EPWC.  These women many times become members of our group and find companionship and activities.   It has worked and the EPWC has branched out to be an integral part of the community.   Last year the EPWC formed a “Kazoo Band” and, while they won first prize two years ago in the Fourth of July parade, they had to take second place to the Blue Knights who came in from Colorado and are quite famous!  The EPWC, under Sharyn’s leadership, hopes to take first prize from the Blue Knights this year!  Blue Knights be warned!!

Sharyn is also a Neighborhood coordinator for the Eagle Point Food Project.

Sharyn has gained some insight in her years on this earth.  She says her advice is to “Treat others like you want to be treated.  Be kind.  Have more love in your life!”She takes every day as a blessing   Good advice

for anyone.  Sharyn also is a big fan of having fun!!