An Irish-Catholic Tale, Part VII

Feel free to search the archives for the full story. Sorry I don't know how to put them all under one like as some advanced bloggers are able to do! You may look under August '07.


Chet and Rosie married, then began to have children. Despite criticism from Scary Nana with Black Cats, they were mostly happy.




Tragically, Chet suffered from alcoholism and died on his 42nd birthday, leaving Rosie with 5 children and little income. Rosie's sister, Sarah, soon moved in and helped care for home and children. Everyone benefited from this arrangement. Sarah and Rosie would remain roommates until Sara's death in the 1980's.


What became of Chet and Rosie's children?


I would like to focus on the children individually. Naturally, I would like to start with Johnny. Here he's pictured standing next to his mother for a family portrait. In this photo, he's 26 years old and has been married for 6 years!


When Chet died, 12 year old Johnny would have to step up as the man of the house. He immediately went to work at an egg farm and often had to hitchhike to school. He worked several odd jobs to help support the family financially.

As his sisters grew and married, he also stepped into the father's role of giving away the bride!
Here he is with my own MIL, Kathleen, on her wedding day.




One of the things I admire most about this family is their closeness. They are the first to arrive for celebrations, sorrows, tragedies, and joys. Their closeness is something I pray my own children will imitate for the rest of their lives! Siblings are certainly forever, and I have seen this lived out in all of them.
From L to R: Kathleen, Terry, Rita, Johnny, and Mary Ann, 2006


Terry and Johnny, 2007.





Five days after his 20th birthday, Johnny married Martie. In true Irish-Catholic fashion, they began to have lots of children! Johnny wins the prize for having the most children among his siblings with seven.

Aunt Mary Ann already corrected me once when I called Monica by the wrong name! Let's see if I get it right this time: The two boys are Tom and Mike. The girls are Carol, Anne, Donna, Monica, and Lisa.

Johnny raised his family in Los Angeles county. He worked as a firefighter until he retired after a distinguished career, ending as Chief of Los Angeles County. When I met him, he was already retired. I didn't know about his career and had to ask Himself why all of his cousins adressed their father as "Chief." I quickly learned this was a respectful endearment.

Johnny loved to take vacations with his children. Aunt Martie, however, referred to them as "trips." In other words, it was fun for the family but a lot of work for her! Camping, hiking, waterskiing, snowskiing, it all involved a camper, lots of food, and lots of miles. Fortunately, California is blessed with all of those, so they rarely had to travel out of state (maybe to nearby Nevada or Utah).


More clearly identified in this photo: Back row - Monica, Anne, Carol, Donna. Front row- Tom, Martie, Johnny, Mike.


It was either in 1992 or 1996 that we all had to say goodbye to Lisa. I know I had just had a baby, but I can't remember if it was Kelly or Glenna.
Lisa was so excited to be engaged! Here she is at Aunt Mary Ann's, showing off her engagement ring.


Lisa had a beautiful little girl. While she was still nursing her infant, she complained to the doctor about pain. The doctor tried to say it was because of nursing, but the nurses in the practice urged Lisa to get a second opinion. Sure enough, she had breast cancer.

Her prognosis was actually good. Unfortunately, it was while her immunity was at its lowest due to chemotherapy that Lisa contracted Valley Fever. This is what took her life. The loss of Lisa was devistating to all of us.

Lisa posing with (L to R) Anne, Aunt Helen, and Martie.


I remember how excited we were when Lisa had her baby. At a family gathering, I walked up to whom I THOUGHT was Anne and said, "Oh! You're holding Lisa's baby!" Lisa smiled politely and said, "I AM Lisa." [blush] It was honestly hard for me to tell Anne and Lisa apart, especially when they had the same haircut, or when Lisa would grow her hair out and Anne would cut her hair to what Lisa's used to be! I mean, look at them in the above photo!



Johnny and Martie have celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary. In the following photos, they are celebrating their anniversary and Johnny's 75th birthday!





I'm so thankful I was able to spend a short amount of time with them at my BIL's wedding a few years ago. Since we moved to Florida in 1998, I haven't realized until now how much I miss the closeness of these siblings and cousins, or how great it was to see them once or twice per year. I miss catching up and watching their children grow. I hate that the only grandkids of Johnny and Martie, whose names I can remember, are Monica's twins (Zach and Dominic?).



Friends, if your famiy is nearby, celebrate them! Seek them out! Make sure your children know who their cousins are! Life is precious, and your family is precious, too.

Coming up next in the story: The Other Brother.