Stephanie's profileKitty's CattitudePhotosBlogListsMore  |  Tools Help |
|
March 25 My Uncle's ObitI've removed some last names, but I am very proud to be part of his family. This is my Uncle John's Obit.
John Morse B---- was born 26 Oct 1912 in San Jose, California. He was the first of 6 children born to John Manuel B---- and Delphina Oliver. His Grandparents, John Manuel B---- and Maria Joaquina Rose Coelho were natives of the Pico, Azore Islands. The Rose Coelho family were the first to come to the United States and then brought the B---- family over. The families inter-married and became some of the most prominent families in the Milpitas area in the late 1800s and early 1900s. John was raised on a farm in Milpitas where he became well acquainted with horses from the time he was able to toddle around. He had to milk 10 cows each morning before he left for the Milpitas Elementary School. The later-to-be horseman graduated from San Jose High School and attended San Jose State College for a while. In the 1930s, John established a considerable reputation as a dramatic tenor, singing in night clubs, and was a head-liner in the heyday of vaudeville on the movie theater circuit. He was known as the Bing Crosby of Milpitas. From 1947 to 1954, John transported race horses for Hollywood celebrities such as George Brent, Betty Grable, Roy Rogers, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Louis B. Mayer and Harry Warner. He hand-led many top race horses ranked right up with Man-O-War, considered by many as the number one race horse of all time. One of his many experiences when transporting horses was when he was hauling Citation, Coaltown, Bewitched, and two other top horses across the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland. The cops knew about it and stopped him right in the middle of the Bay Bridge just to see the Big Five. It backed up traffic for miles. The San Jose tenor enlisted in the National Guard in 1941, rather than wait to have the peace-time military draft catch up with him. He used his musical talents one more time as the featured artist at a community send off performance for the department National Guard contingent held at the San Jose Municipal Auditorium. His military career was cut short later in 1941 when he was given a medical discharge at Fort Lewis, Washington, for a broken leg. Not one to shirk the war effort, he went to work for the Douglas Aircraft Company in late 1941 and stayed there until after the war ended in 1945. John then landed his first post-war job in 1945 with the Arden Farms Creamery in Beverly Hills, hauling about 1,500 cartons of milk each day to distribution plants in Glendale and Alhambra. This was his first experience with operating big trucks. His truck driving experience led him to a job in 1947 with the Robinson Turf Express, where he had all of his experiences with transporting world-class race horses for motion picture stars and other well known celebraties. On July 8, 1950 John married Catherine Lois Carine in Yuma, Arizona. They were not blessed with children. His work at Robinson trucking led B---- in 1954 to a job as a safety engineer with an insurance company subsidiary of Lloyds of London in it's Fresno office. His responsibilities were to check out drivers and their trucks for person applying for insurance policies. In 1958, B---- established the Blue Ribbon Seed Company in Fresno when Lloyds closed it Fresno office. He operated the seed company for 20 years until his retirement in 1978. After retirement, he and his wife Catherine moved to Arroyo Grande, where they lived until Catherine died April 6, 2004. After Catherine's death, John moved to San Jose to be near his brother's Arnold and Harold B----. During the last 4 years of John's life, he enjoyed a very close relationship with his remaining 3 brother's and sister-in-laws. His brother's have given their time and love, making sure that John was well taken care of. His loving sister-in-laws, Bella and Teresa B---- prepared and took in meals to John almost daily. John was very greatful for those homecooked meals, it meant a lot to him. For the last few weeks of John's life, his brother Manuel from Ontario, Oregon moved in with John to help take care of him. Manuel said that he wanted to pay John back for being such a loving, kind brother to him while he was growing up. John leaves behind his beloved brother's & sister-in-laws, Arnold & Bella B---- of San Jose; Harold & Teresa B---- of San Jose; Manuel & Carol B---- of Ontario, Oregon. He also leaves behind 17 nephews & nieces and many grand nephews and nieces. He also leaves behind many dear cousins with whom he had a very close relationship and his deceased wife Catherine's family. John had many dear, close friends who meant everything to him. He would talk for days about their visits to him and of how much it meant to him to know that they cared. He had a caregiver, P---------- who was with him for the last years of his life. She took good care of John and made it possible for him to remain at home rather than go to a rest home. John's last wish was to live to see his 95th Birthday. His family and friends were there October 26, 2007, to celebrate his special day. It was a wonderful birthday for him. John was a very generous and loving person, who spent his last few years making sure that his remaining brother's would be taken care of after he was gone. John was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Catherine; a brother, Elmer William B----; a sister-in-law Pauline B----; and his only Sister, Irene B----, Babros. John was a special man who made the world a better place just by the life he lived. He will be greatly missed by all who loved him. March 23 Happy EasterHappy Easter!
I hope you all have a wonderful day.
We had our annual family Easter Egg Hunt and Potluck, yesterday. There's usually about a 100 of us there, mostly family and some friends. It's fun to see the new additions to the family. Lots of babies born this year.
Dekeon had a ball. I had to practically rope and tie him when it was time for his age group to hunt for eggs. He was more interested in all the kids, toys and cupcakes! The first photo is him showing how unhappy he is that I haven't let him run out to get the eggs (it hadn't started yet.) LOL
Ready to go... impatiently waiting....
Part of the crowd...
Lisa and I are leaving tomorrow for our annual "Spring Break" road trip. I'm not a huge fan of long drives. I'd much rather fly, but, my father is in San Jose, CA, and is planning on driving back with us at the end of the week.
I resent how easy it is for guys to just pick up and go. Since it's me that's leaving I have tons of laundry to make sure gets done, shelves, fridge and freezer to stock with food... a list of what they can actually do/make with said food, and a list to make sure the fish, turtle, cats, rabbit and dog get fed everyday, are inside at night, and to remind them that Alli needs to be let outside or they are going to mess up her house training.... Oh the car needs to be cleaned out... Have I packed yet?
No matter how much I do, I still get the phone calls... "Mom, Dad didn't make dinner and he says there's no food in the house..."
Me, "That's because he's looking for something already made in a can or box." "There is, such and such in the freezer, stuff to make these meals in the fridge... etc, etc."
Or, I love the ones that go... "Um, where are my black socks?" (I could tell him where I think they should be...)
SHEESH!
Have a great Spring Break! BIG HUGS, Steph March 18 Summer MoviesI'm a huge movie fan. Always have been. I love when they start showing trailers for the coming summer movies. I know they all won't live up to their hype but, I'm looking forward to seeing them anyway.
First, there's, "Iron Man." Yes I'm a comic geek. lol It stars, Robert Downey Jr... looking better than I have ever seen him... and yes I have always had a huge crush on him. It's those eyes! He's in fantastic shape, and it's almost unfair that he just gets better with age. They had me at... "Tell you what, throw a little hot rod red in there."
The movie trailer looks great, and has some kick-azz music for the score.
Another one that looks good, is, "Mama Mia." I'm not sure about Meryl Streep as the role of the Mom, but, I guess they know something I don't. It's about a young woman who's getting married and wants to know who her father is. She reads her mother's diary and has 3 choices... she invites all 3 to the wedding.
"Wall-E", is a film about a little robot who's on Earth, by himself. Left by humans to clean it up, after they abandoned it. He's lonely, and finds love. Looks like a very cute family film.
"Tropic Thunder" stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. (yep again) and is one of the films that I hope lives up to it's hype. I loved Zoolander, but some of Ben Stiller's movies just miss the mark... so we'll see. Go watch the theatrical trailer.
"The Fall", part fantasy fairy tale, which is beautiful, part tale of a young man, bedridden, and a little girl with a broken collar bone, who become friends. (In a hospital a little girl with a broken collar bone meets a bedridden man who starts telling her a fantastical story which reflects his state of mind. As time goes by fiction and reality start to intertwine in this uplifting epic fantasy.) Gorgeous visuals!
"Nim's Island", another one for the family. (coming in April) Nim is a little girl who lives on an island with her Dad, and animal friends. Her father gets lost at sea and she, with the help of her favorite author, and animal friends, try to find and rescue him.
I know there are more, and I'm excited to see them all. I hope some of you get to take in a movie or two. Let me know what you think of them.
Next week is Spring Break... I'll be visiting my son and Lil Man, Gauge. You all have fun! BIG HUGS, Steph
March 14 Introducing, AlliOur newest family member. She's 8 weeks old, a Golden Retriever.
We still have to register her name with AKC, and so far it's, Alli Gingersnap. (Her Mom's name is Gingersnap, her Dad is Riley of Windswept)
I keep trying to get my daughter to decide on something like, Lisa's Alli of Gingersnap, or Lisa's Alli Heart's Desire, Alli Gingersnap Queen of Hearts... Lisa's Alli Gingersnap Baby... etc. etc.
Once you name a dog with AKC you can't change the name, so, she's being very particular.
Here's a photo of Alli with her siblings.... she's second from the left. The biggest and fattest of the litter. I have more photos that I took coming soon.
She's a sweetheart, but loves to chew on you, and boy those baby teeth are sharp! She's starting "Puppy Preschool" in April.
She has already learned which cats she can intimidate and which ones she needs to avoid at all costs.
House training is going really well. Now if she would just quit being an ankle biter! lol
Don't tell Lisa, but, as soon as she leaves for school, Alli comes into my room where I help her get up on the bed and we sleep in together. lol BIG HUGS, Steph
|
|
|
