Member 55 years

[genbug2k]

I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on July 5th 1958. My oldest child was baptised the same night. I was fortunate to have a husband who, though he didn't join at that time, did support my decision fully, with only the comment, "Just be true to your decision...don't be a hypocrit...if you are sure, live it completely." Thirteen years later, he joined me and our three daughters and two sons in the Church. For our 25th anniversary we drove to Utah to be sealed in the Salt Lake Temple.

Today, we have 6 children (5 living), 25 grandchildren (two waiting for us to join them) and 27 great grandchildren.

At 83 and 79, Charlie and I are feeling the aches and pains of age, but we are still grateful for the joy of the Gospel in our lives.

During most of our lives, Charlie was a donut maker, owning our own shops from 1963 on. In 1982 I was finally able to complete a B A in education and worked as a classroom teacher until I retired a few years ago. For our 50th anniversary, our family had a great celebration at a lodge in Oklahoma. These yearly reunions became a tradition that continues today. This year we are meeting in Galveston. We expect about 65 people.

In addition to family events, our oldest daughter and I began researching, abstracting and publishing County/Parish deed records of slaves throughout the Ark-La-Tex. This has led to 18 volumes so far under the name "No Land...Only Slaves", with at least 5 in the process. These volumes are indexed by names of all slaves mentioned, and a separate index includes all other names in the record.

Wow....I guess that is TMI. Sorry, I have alway been a talkative person.

[pam]

Not too talkative at all. It was interesting to learn about you. Tell us more any time. :)