THANKS

Thanks to those who came before me.

Jack (John) Cooper, my father’s dad: good with horses—drove stage coach and freight wagons, worked in sawmills on the coasts of Washington and Oregon, talented at math and a clever card player, car salesman, plus many other talents—truly a jack of all trades.

 Mary Lucinda Hendricks, my father’s mom:  grew up on farms cultivated out of the sagebrush of Idaho in the early 1900’s. She didn’t have a lot of opportunity for schooling but was a quick learner and hard worker.  She was hired as a cook for wealthy families.  Her baking and pie making were legend.

Ralph Collings, my mom’s dad: carpenter, skilled mechanic, farmer, beekeeper, sheared and raised prize winning sheep.

 Nellie Elida Hunt, my mom’s mother:

School teacher, writer, homemaker and mother.  Raised all but two or her eight children through the deepest part of the Great Depression. Lover of gardens and literature.

 Lindell Cooper, my dad:

Horseman, mechanic, dairyman, farmer.  Started married life with a two-room house and 40 acres and retired owning two hundred acres of prime farm land and a dairy. All four of his children went to college.

Blanche Collings, my mother: Nurse, homemaker, gardener, writer, lover of literature and travel.  Tended to the needs of all the animals on their farm, milked cows and raised four kids.

Thanks also to those who have put their lives on the line to defend the freedoms of the world such as:

My Uncle Ward Collings, U.S. Navy—World War II

 Uncle Ralph W. Collings, U.S. Army—World War II served in Australia

 Uncle Joe—John Josiah Cooper, U.S. Army World War II, Philippines.

 Gordon J. Black, my husband and father of our children—and my brother, John L. Cooper, both served in the U.S. Sixth Army out of Fort Lewis, Washington during the Vietnam War.

To all who have come before us to pave the way, to those we love who have gone too soon and to all those who preserve our liberties—on this Memorial Day—THANK YOU.

Who is on your list of people to honor?