50 Years: Part Three

"First time I saw grandma was in line at the mess hall…and I thought she was hot." March Air Force Base in California at the hospital mess hall.

"What did you think of grandpa, grandma?"

"Oh, I noticed him. They had an ice machine on their floor and we didn't on ours. And so I would have to go up to their floor and then I would go and visit with him. We got close doing that."

One day they sat down at the mess hall together and grandpa said, "Hey, wanna go somewhere and get a REAL breakfast?" And so they did. They went to Denny's and he went over to the Jukebox and picked a song for them. It was called, "Love For Sale". Instrumental by Arthur Lyman.

Wedding gift to my grandma from my grandpa that she has held on to all these years.

After high school my grandma went to Denver, Colorado with a friend and attended a nine month training course to become medical assistants.

"My friend and I used to go out to the Air Force base where they had wall to wall boys."

From there she worked with two oral surgeons for a couple of months. She came back to Orem to live at home to find a job. She went down to the recruiting office and signed up for the Air Force. Went through training and with her background they figured they could use her in the hospital. Went to a training base in Texas and a six week training school in Greenville, Mississippi. Then they sent her to the base in Montgomery, Alabama for three months. She was given a choice to her permanent location and she chose March Air Force base in California because it was closer to home. She lived in the female barracks. She got there in March and they started seeing each other in July. They got engaged in October and got married in December.

They were married five months when she found out that she was pregnant with my dad. She stayed working as a nurse until she was about five months pregnant. She kind of hid it until she couldn't anymore because back then they would discharge you as soon as they knew. She was a nurse at the Air Force base for a little over two years. She spent the last four months of pregnancy at home. They moved from a 78 dollars a month apartment to a shack that was 45 dollars a month to save money for the babies arrival. Stacey came next, and then Randy.

Dale was born while grandpa was in the service in California on the base in 1965. He was in the service for four years. Then he was a deputy sheriff for three years (1965-68) in California. In October 1968, they moved to Washington and he became a patrolman and was then promoted to detective at the Tacoma Police Department. He did some work on the Green River Killer.

After Randy was born my grandma went back to training school in Tacoma to be a nurse for a year. She got her LPN to be a licensed practical nurse. She applied at a nursing home and got the job. She worked there for 3 to 4 years and went and signed up at the Tacoma Community College for their nursing course. There was a waiting list so in the meantime she took courses that were required for your degree for two years and then finally got into the nursing program. After two years of that she got her degree as an RN. (Registered nurse) She went to her work at the nursing home and told them that she would like her status to be moved up to RN and they told her that she was hired as an LPN and that that is what she would be. So she said, "Then I am putting in my two weeks notice."

She went and filled out an application to work at the hospital St. Joes as an RN. She hadn't been home two hours when they called her for an interview and she got the job. She worked there for 20 years.

They moved to Utah 15 years ago. My grandma's brother had a stroke and his wife was suffering from terminal cancer. Her mom then got sick and passed away from cancer. My grandparents then lost their daughter Stacey to cancer. She had planned to continue working as a nurse but after taking care of all her loved ones, she never went back. 

"When we had first met he told me, 'Don't get serious over me because I am never getting married. I'm going to be a musician.' " 

"I thought, Well we'll see about that. And I chased him til he caught me."

"Sneaky little gal." (They both laugh)

My grandpa was in a band called The Night People back home before he got his draft notice and decided he wanted to go to the Air Force.

He still plays his guitar quite often and it is the most soothing, wonderful sound.

My grandma loves to cross-stitch. She entered this one into the fair up in Washington and won the Grand Champion prize.

Another one of their favorite hobbies is Golf. My grandpa has quite the hat collection. He worked at the golf course in Orem for many years before it recently closed down.

They have always had pets. Right now they have a couple of cats and my grandma brought this stray cat in and nursed him back to health after he had been injured badly in what she believes was a cat fight. She named him Jimmy. They had dogs at one point, three parrots and also doves and rabbits for my grandpa's magic shows…

He used to perform in Washington as a magician on the side when he was a cop and still gets together with his buddies and has magic conventions. This magic trick is called the Zig Zag.

They have been through thick and thin and for better or worse they still love each other and are there for each other. I look up to them and treasure them. I have the greatest grandparents anyone could ever ask for. I am blessed to have such a great example in my life.