Memorial Weekend Celebrations, May 26, 2011

Memory is a way of holding onto
the things you love,
the things you are,
the things you never want to lose
~from "The Wonder Years"

Hello Family and Friends,

Greetings to all of you as the Memorial Day holiday approaches.

Congratulations to Brandyn Boyd who turns 18 today, May 26. Brandyn lives in Lakeside, California with his family, including parents Darren and Vicki Boyd and his sisters Courtney and Kori. His mother tells me that Brandyn is working and will graduate from High School next spring. Baseball player Brandyn is the grandson of Terry and Thelma Boyd.

Ruth Styer Russell's birthday is this Saturday, May 28. She shares a birthday with her father-in-law Rex Russell who died earlier this year. Saturday would have been Rex's 75th birthday. Ruth and husband Eric Russell live in Red Rock, Nevada.

The picture on the left from the 1990s was sent to me recently by Ruthie, who said, "Attached is one of my favorite pictures of Dad (Rex), Grandmother (Pauline) and me. I'm not sure of the year but it is one of the last pictures I have of Grandmother and one of the few of Dad and me. I have been so blessed to have had dad in my life. He was such a warm and funny man and it is going to be tough this year without him. We were connected with birthday's 5-28-36 & 5-28-63. How often does that happen? I love reading your letters! Hope all is well."

Best wishes to my cousin Mike Harrell who has a birthday this Sunday, May 29, the day before the Memorial Day holiday. Mike is one of the 12 grandchildren of Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower, and is the son of my aunt Vicki Gower Johnston of Oak Harbor, Washington.

The third picture shows Mike and his wife Carole enjoying themselves at a New Year's celebration.

Mike: Hi Steve, my wife Carole and I have been living in San Jose for 11 years. I left San Diego when I was 18 and have spent the rest of my life trying to get back. Nowadays I am a project manager for an Engineering Software company (Siemens PLM Software). I work on-site at Lockheed Martin Space Systems helping them develop their satellites used for communication and deep space exploration. Life is good, but it will be much better if/when I reach retirement like you.

Setting the Record Straight. Thanks to Brandyn Boyd's grandmother Thelma Boyd for correcting my last post. The sweetest nitpicker I know, she wants it made clear that her brother Elmer's birthday is May 20th (not the 19th), and her Ggranddaughter Ashlyn Ortiz' birthday is May 19 (not the 20th). Thanks to Thelma for setting the record straight.

This weekend of Memorial Day we remember and celebrate family who have meant so much to us over the years, including Rex Russell and Mildred Davis who passed away in recent months.

THIS JUST IN...
From an email yesterday from my cousin Dane Shepard:

"It was quite an afternoon on the Great Plains. It was very warm and humid as we sat in our shelter listening to the news of the approaching storm. Around 5:30 PM it hit with a tornado passing just a few miles to the NW cutting across the town of Newcastle, OK. Just a few blocks from where we had the family reunion a diagonal path cut through the neighborhood. It was a saddening experience to see the loss, especially for those you happened to know. We are grateful to have only lost a shingle and power. The rest of the family here is fine. I called Arbor House and they reported all was well. They probably had to move Dad and others to a safe area for a while. We are thankful for God's care and pray for those in need."

Thanks to Dane for this update, and best wishes to all those who have been affected by the recent tornadoes.
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Steve

Info on Shepard Family Reunion Aug 13, 2011