On Tuesday January 29th Jerry and I celebrated our 36th anniversary together. In some ways, it’s hard to believe it’s been that long. In other ways it feels as if we’ve always been together.
Jerry and I dated for 2 1/2 years before we got married, starting when I was just 15 years old. We got married when I was 18, and 6 days
after I had my 19th birthday we had our first child, James. During Jimmy’s first years Jerry continued his college education from Northrop Institute of Technology, Inglewood, CA. He worked 2 jobs, 1 for a local gas station and the other for a small tools machine shop named PEC. He eventually left both jobs and went to work for Garrett AiResearch tackling a physically hard job making turbochragers while we lived in Inglewood. Soon after Jimmy was born we learned heartbreaking news, he had been born mentally retarded. After almost 2 1/2 years and much struggle Jerry and I decided to put Jimmy in a skilled nursing home for handicapped children. That had to be one of the hardest times in my life.
Time marched on, Jerry graduated from Northrop and changed jobs, this time working for AiResearch Manufacturing as a Development Engineer. I’ve always been so proud of him for keeping his goal in sight and finishing school despite all the obstacles we had on the way. I had been yearning to have another child; so after working several jobs off and on and having been married for 7 years, Jason entered our lives. He was such a beautiful healthy baby and we considered ourselves lucky for that very miracle for which many people take for granted. We eventually moved to Torrance and Jerry switched jobs from AiResearch to Teledyne Controls, this time working as a Senior Member of the Technical Staff.
Jerry was still working at Teledyne in 1981 when our Jimmy passed away from pneumonia at the age of 8. We scattered his ashes out of Kings Harbor in Redondo Beach, this was the hardest time in my life. He was loved so dearly and will always have a solid place in our hearts.
In 1982 our 3rd child Matthew was born. He was a happy baby and completed our family. Jerry had gone back to work for AiResearch Manufacturing as a Senior Development Engineer. We continued to live Torrance where I stayed home with our 2 sons.
Time passed, Jerry changed jobs, worked for JPL for a while starting in 1983 where we lived in Glendale, then we moved south to Mission Viejo while he worked for San Bar and eventually Ericsson Inc. The kids continued to grow………
and grow…………
……and before you know it they had grown up and moved out. Jason has a love of the beach, and all things physical. He writes and plays beautiful music which can be found on Jerry’s web site. Feel free to leave him a donation which Jerry has set up for him on his music page. He lives in Northern California, is independent and we couldn’t be more proud of him!
Matt graduated from UCI with a degree in Studio Arts, a minor in Digital Arts, has a passion and a gift for photography and lives in Newport Beach. He works as a photographer and welcomes clients with a passion for sharing their life in beautiful pictures.
The boys get along great now, and with the wonderful world of the Internet everyone keeps in touch via email as well as phone. Holidays and special events are an even better excuse for spending time together.
Jerry and I are alone again, but doing alright with that. It’s been a long ride these 36 years, but a really good one which I would do all over again in a heart beat. Jerry’s retired after working for Ericsson Inc. for 18 years. He writes a blog, has a great website and is working on web design and writing a life story about his childhood. And most importantly, I love him dearly. Still. Happy Anniversary sweetheart.
