What was your courtship like? Describe your marriage day.

I guess I will cover both of my husbands.

I met Kerry Lynch as a blind date.  I was working with his sister, Mickey, at Hanford.  I was single and she set me up with her brother.  We went out and "Liked" each other.  I was living in Richland with Darlene Swanson in a prefab home.  Kerry and I dated for about 9 months.  I became pregnant (oops) and we were married at Christ the King church on September 1, 1972.  Our reception was at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Richland.  Great party.  Our honeymoon was a week of camping in the Seattle Area and Victoria, BC.

I met Mark Johnson at Hanford in the 308 bldg.  He asked me out on a date for the long weekend, July 1.  We went out boating in the beechcraft.  He had two more dates over that long weekend but cancelled them both after our date.  We saw each other every day after that because first of all we were working in the same bldg. (308 bldg.)  Mark moved in with me at 2538 West Entiat in September and we have now been together for 37 years and counting.  We did get married four years after moving in together.  We had bought our house at 415 Green Place and had our first child together so I told him that if he wanted to continue our relationship he had to marry me. We were married at the hitching post in Coer de Laine, Idaho (didn't spell that correctly) on our way to Priest Lake.  Jason and Lindsey were with us.  Our honeymoon was another week at the lake.

How did you meet your spouse?

I met my first spouse through work.  I was working with Mickey Rose, Kerry Lynch's sister.  She set me up with a blind date with Kerry.  Our courtship followed, I got pregnant (oops!) and we were married about a year and a half after meeting.

I met Mark Johnson at work.  I had been watching him.  It was late on a Thursday, before a four day 4th of July weekend in 1978 when he came into my lab and asked if I would like to go out boating with him on Friday.  I said yes and after that date, we were together every day after that.  We lived together starting that September, marrying four years later after buying a house and having Lindsey Erin.  Somehow I always did the wedding ceremony after having the kids.  Those were the days of free love I guess.

Were there two or three food dishes your mother or father made that were especially memorable?

I loved the Spanish Rice that Mom made.  I loved the cabbage rolls (Holubets, in Ukranian) that Mom made.  In later years, Mom made really good chicken enchiladas.  Having such a large family, mom made the typical stuff.  Nothing fancy, but good.  Meat Loaf, Fried Chicken, fish sticks, roasted beef or pork roast with potatoes.
I loved the fried shredded potatoes that dad would make on Sunday mornings.  That was the only day of the week that we had a hot breakfast.  Cereal the rest of the time, mostly.

What foods do you like and dislike? Describe any food allergies you or other family members had.

I like most all food.  My favorites are shrimp, lobster and pizza.  I don't have any strong dislikes.  I don't particularly care for lamb but I would eat it if served.

I have no food allergies.  Katie, my granddaughter has a peanut allergy.  She is the only person in the family that has a food allergy that I am aware of.

Was religion an important for you and your family? If so, explain what religion your family practiced and what it meant to you. Explain if it is or is not an important part of your life today.

I was raised a Catholic.  Both my parents and their entire families were Catholic.  I attended mass weekly and went to Catechism every week till the age of 18.  When I was married, to Kerry Lynch, it was in the Catholic Church.  When I married Mark we eventually had our marriage blessed in the Catholic Church.  The kids were raised going to mass.  We occasionally missed mass but tried to attend weekly.

My weekly attendance slowly petered out after the kids left home.  My husband, Mark attended when we went with the kids but would not attend when I went by myself.  After my Mother passed away in 2005 I completely stopped going to mass.  Maybe I went all those years because I felt guilty about not going and if my Mom asked if I attended mass I had to be able to say yes.  After she passed I knew that Mom would never ask about mass so I was comfortable not going.  Apparently I didn't get enough out of mass to continue attending after I got the kids through their religious training.

What medical issues have you had to deal with throughout your life?

My health until age 47 was very good.  Had three pregnancies and delivered three children.

At age 47 I was diagnosed with a non cancerous brain tumor.  It was a meningioma.  It was removed during a nine hour operation at Harbourview Medical Center in Seattle.  Dr. Winn.  The result of that operation was that my vocal chords and the right side of my throat were permanently paralyzed.  I learned to speak again and after six months of eating through a feeding tube, I learned to eat again.  I have problems with coughing because of the paralysis but I am doing much better at age 63.

At age 59 I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Left breast.  Stage One.  Had a lumpectomy, radiation and chemo. The chemo was because of an OncoDX test on breast tissue which was medium risk and doctor said it was up to me as to chemo and if I had it I would decrease my recurrence chance by three percent.  Not too much but I went through it anyway.

 As of December of 19, 2015, two more of my sisters have been diagnosed with breast cancer, stage one, and all four of the other sisters are Chek 2 positive, which is a gene mutation that is a marker for increased chance of breast and colon cancer.  I tested negative for it so I cannot pass it on to my children.