Mom is the "Matriarch" of our family. She was born in 1924, and she's in better health than a lot of 50 year olds grandmas! She drives all over town in her new Toyota and she can shop til you drop. She was born in Gotebo, OK and came from a family of hard workers. They were country folk and never went without necessities because they all did their part in keeping the family together, clothed and fed.

Mom is exceptionally smart and made honor grades in school. She has a memory that rivals a young person too. She has so many neat recollections of the days gone by, her childhood, the depression, the WWII era, and she still enjoys family reunions when she can make it back to Oklahoma. One of her sisters, Peggy Genelle, died of Whooping Cough when she was an infant, and I got the name Genelle after her.

She stayed home while we were growing up and then went to work after the youngest of us was in high school. She made almost all of our clothes, and they were nicer than anything you could buy because she was and still is a wonderful seamstress. Her life while we were growing up was that of housewife and mother, and now that I know what a big job that is, I appreciate the care she gave us! She was also famous for her great cooking (still is!)

And to my great benefit, she's the one who took me to the old Columbia Street Baptist Church, where I first heard about Jesus. That is one of my greatest gifts from her, and I appreciate that so much now that I've accepted Christ as my own Savior. A few years ago, a local Tucson newspaper did a feature story about that church since it's now practically a "landmark" and my mom was one of the feature story subjects. I did a special concert for that anniversary celebration at the old church, which by the way, my Mom still attends to this day! We love you Mom and still appreciate all the years of giving and serving your family!