Day 4: Parents

Time to introduce my parents.

First up is my dad, Jim, and my step-mom, Joanne. My dad is a former navy/army reservist who has worked for a natural gas pipeline company for almost 30 years now. He is like a big bear, but is really a huge softie. He was a single dad for years until he married Jo in 1994, and they had nearly 16 years of life together. She passed away on July 24th, 2010 from stage IV ovarian cancer, and we miss her so very much. Jo was so much more than a step mom to me. Although we had our ups and downs, she became closer to me than my biological mother, and was always there if I needed to talk to cry. We didn't always agree, but we always loved each other. She has left a lasting impression in my life and on my heart, and I hope that I can impart what she was to my children.


This next picture is of my mother, Sue, my brother, and myself in 2005. For all that I resemble my dad the most, I can really see the Noeske (maternal side) when I'm next to my mom. I also share her love for reading and being right, outspoken opinions (I'm tempered a little by shyness), and good food and wine. I seem to have missed out on her selfishness, alcoholism, addictive personality, and inability to commit to a relationship or be faithful. We are not really all that close, but we do get along, and I love her because she is my mother, after all.


I cannot talk about parents naming my grandmothers. My paternal grandmother, Leone, played a large part in raising me. I spent countless hours at her home on 32 acres, and loved every minute. I have so many great memories of her, and she taught me so much that has helped me become who I am. Grandma was a 4th grade teacher, who had worked as a librarian for years before going to school. She got her bachelor's in teaching, and then went on to get her master's while working and raising two children, something nearly unheard of in the 1960's. She worked as a volunteer with family courts in her 70's, and loved nature, music, and animals. She and my grandfather feed deer and turkeys on their land, and irritated hunters all around (including her son) by refusing to let hunters on her property. She died in 1996, after suffering a debilitating stroke the year before, and I can't believe it has been 15 years since she went on. I don't have a picture of her on the computer, but I hope to rectify that so I can share her face.

My maternal grandmother, Joyce, is my last living grandparent, and she is currently battling cancer. I have been blessed with strong female role models, and grandma continues to amaze me with her strength as she faces cancer. Grandma is also an excellent example on why you should never give up on a goal. She was born in 1928, and in her late teens she became an RN. She went to school at a Lutheran hospital in Wisconsin where you went to classes part of the day and worked on the hospital floors the other half. The teachers there were strict, but she kept with the program, and went to work for the Red Cross after graduating. She ended up working in Public Health nursing in the Detroit area during the 50's/60's, and then decided to go back to school. She got her bachelor's in nursing, then went on for her master's in clinical psychology. She then went to work on her doctorate, and although it took her 10 years to complete her thesis, she did it. At the age of 72, she became Dr. Joyce. And then promptly retired. :) Grandma went on her first mission trip to provide eyeglass clinics in Cambodia at the age of 80, and was diagnosed with cancer shortly after.


I also want to mention my husband's parents, Gary and Nancy. I am lucky to have such wonderful in laws as I am hundreds of miles away from my family. Although we certainly do not see eye-to-eye on many things (Sara Palin, cloth diapering, and housekeeping to name a few subjects), when it comes down to it, we are family. I could not have asked for better parents when Ben nearly died, they were my rocks in that terrible storm, and have helped in innumerable ways over the years. I am thankful for them, and thankful Lala has such wonderful and silly grandparents near by.


That is the parents, hope you enjoyed meeting them. :)