In-laws

Wonderful, wonderful folk.

We had such a wonderful time visiting with all of my in-laws. I simply can’t tell you how wonderful they are. There is not a clinker among them.

My Father-in-law, Harold (Hal), was raised by missionaries who taught black youth to read and write (not "right" Guess they should have taught me! LOL) in a mission school in Louisiana until they left for fear of harm to their young son. It was dangerous. They both wound up teaching in a Navaho Christian mission school in New Mexico for most of their career lives. So, my FIL, their son, went to Wheaton academy and college. He wound up with a doctorate from Northwestern university and was a professor at Eastern Illinois University when I met and married Kathy. My mother-in-law, was similarly raised by a couple who spent much of their adult life in full-time Christian work. They lead Bible Summer Camps in Florida. They would go around to churches and if the children there could recite a requisite number of verses they got a discounted price for the camp. Though both graduated college and had partial seminary educations, they spent most of their lives running a restaurant and held several other retail jobs. So, all four of Kathy’s grandparents graduated college in the 1910s and worked substantial periods in full-time Christian work. Her Mother was a school teacher for several years, but blew the whistle on a corrupt embezzling administrator at a little country school and lost her career. He got away with running the school like his personal piggy bank and she got blackballed from teaching in the area as he would not give her a reference to teach anywhere else. She got other jobs and went on with her life. This is just one example of the tough, yet loving way her parents have lived their lives.

Kathy’s brother Steven is 2-3 years younger than she is. He has never married but has lived a very productive life. He studied engineering and biology and currently managed the greenhouse at EIU.

Her sister Janet has the same very bad digestive troubles Kathy has, but has managed a wonderful life in the wilds of Montana. Well, kind of wild. She and her husband live in the state capital. She is a writer with several published books. Her biggest fame is perhaps her appearance on the national news with Dan Rather reciting cowboy poetry she wrote herself. She works for a publisher of mostly Montana specialty books. Her husband does computer tech support for the school system. One of Janet’s many interests is buying up sale items and stock-piling them in her basement against the possibility of a disaster in Helena. She has gallons and gallons of drinking water, hundreds of soup packets, batteries, flashlights, all sorts of bandages and stuff. Just in case. She wants to be able to help others when a disaster strikes.

Kathy’s youngest brother is a brilliant micro-biologist. He has his Doctorate of Science. For 7 years he managed the world’s only profitable laboratory creating custom genetic genes for other companies. Most companies that do custom genetics production do it in-house. His latest job as I understand it is mostly operating a 10 Million dollar electron microscope at the The University of Pennsylvania at Pittsburgh. He commutes to work on foot and by kayak across the Monongahela River that runs through Pittsburgh.

So far as I know none of these people have ever gotten an unemployment check, flunked a class of any kind in school, been divorced, or been arrested for so much as spitting on the sidewalk.

Moreover, I would trust any of them with my life. They all just love people, the world, and life itself. They would do practically anything rather than dishonor their family. They all work 50+ hour weeks as a matter of course.

I can’t tell you what a blessing this family has been to me and to the world.

Here is a picture of nearly all of them.

In back David, Lois (his wife), Jacob, Ben, Jerry (Janet’s husband)

Middle row, Michelle, Allison, and Rachel (3 of David’s 4 daughers), Me, of course, Deborah, and Janet

Seated are Grace, Gabriel, Edie, and Hal.

Missing are Kathy and her brother, Steven, who are taking the picture.