"I'm very proud to be able to tell people they have been married for 67 years." -- Janice Holcomb

"My mom raised seven kids, and washed and ironed church linens. She was a wonderful 'Church Lady.' My dad was at Normandy Beach, earned several awards and medals." -- Charlotte Applegate

"My mom was the first female building manager in Portland, managing a 15-story high rise. This was in the early 70s. Her motto was 'Don't wait for your ship to come in...swim out after it.'" -- Nancy Kiehn

"What did I tell people about my mother? She won $1,000 in a fundraising raffle for the little hospital in her small town. When they handed her the check she said, 'Thank you very much. Now here's a donation for the fund,' and she handed it back to the president of the group." -- Susie Schmidt

"I didn't thank them enough for their love, concern, and sacrifices in helping me grow up." -- Bill Dropko

"My father served with the Marines during the war. He and another Marine became good freinds. They made a pact that if one of them didn't make it home, the survivor would look up his family. Well, his friend, Frank, didn't make it. When my father was released from the hospital from injuries he had sustained, he made the trip from his home in Ohio to Frank's in Philadelphia. And that is how he met my mother." -- Mary Shelly

"I tell people my mother and her siblings were orphaned. Mom was 12, and the oldest, and sent to a Lutheran childrens home in Twin Valley, Minnesota. My dad rode the rails and played pool for pocket money." -- Patsy Wood

"My mother always looked for the good in everyone, My dad always expected everyone to like him. And you know, they were seldom, if ever, disappointed." -- Joan Gemmrig

"My dad married my mom when she had three kids, me and my two brothers. Circumstances were that he had to quit his job and move us all to another state. From the first day we were HIS kids, he adopted us as quickly as possible and never received a cent in child support though he had to start a new job. No wonder I loved him and am so grateful for making my life wonderful." -- Wendy Pemberton

"Re: What do you tell people about your parents? It is not their fault." -- Gary Polser

"We always get a kick out of letting medical personnel know that my 80-year-old mother, Lasca, who lived on Mingo Mountain above Kettle Falls until recently, is a great whitetail deer hunter. She has bagged a big buck most of the past 30 years and has five trophy neck or shoulder mounts to prove it. We take pictures to the doctors. She has been 'enjoying' poor health for a number of years, and everyone is impressed by her story." -- Susan Johnson

"My mom just turned 89 and is doing well. When I took her for her yearly physical last month, she said, 'What am I going to tell the doctor? I don't even have a hangnail.'

"She's pretty slow these days, but still walks her dog every day in Manito Park They toddle along very slowly, Duffy stopping frequently to check 'pee mail' and Mom stopping to admire the trees. She blesses them and those who planted them.

"Our family used to have summer reunion campouts at Lake Roosevelt. On our last day there the year my mom was 75, we were assembled at the shore so the boys could knee board one more time before we all piled into our cars and headed out.

"My mom, watching the kids having so much fun, announced she'd like to give that knee board thing a try. So she did! My brother-in-law pulled her out onto the lake in a wide arc as all of us on the shore hooted and hollered at her pluck. It's one of my fondest memories because it shows her amazing spirit of fun, and willingness to throw herself into life without thinking twice." -- Ann Fennessy

"Both of my parents are dead but I still talk about my dad to people. I sometimes say. 'They named a huge sports complex after him because he championed physical fitness before anyone else did.'

"Every now and then I hear some TV college basketball commentators say '...And here we are at the Stephen C. O'Connell Complex at the University of Florida...', accompanied by the appropriate fly-over view so one can appreciate its huge footprint on the campus. I put my sewing down for a moment and say, 'Hi, Dad.'" -- Denise Marcum

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