Off they went into the sunset, to start their married life. I had turned 14 years old and it was 1969 or 1970. It seemed that after then, things never went smoothly for them. There were some emotional problems that were genetic that she was trying to figure out. I never knew how B handled it all. I believe that a year later, they were blessed with a lovely baby girl. The new in-laws were excited to see the child, so B asked Mom & Dad how they could get her to the in-laws. Dad had become a successful airplane pilot by then and suggested they rent a smaller plane and fly her there. Since was in the beginning phase of my own lesson, Dad let me be the pilot, and he’d coach me there and back. I was a nervous wreck.

A couple of years later right after Christmas 1972, he had gotten a job with Walgreens cafeteria. Since they had an apartment in the Twin Cities, they were having difficulty getting their things packed for the 7 hour trip south to Iowa, for his new job. Once again more drama. My older sister J had been staying with them for a while.

After New Years, Dad told me to take his 1961 pickup and drive up to get them in the Twin Cities. When I got there, the 3 of them were fighting, and nothing was ready to go. My plan was to get there, quickly load up the truck and head back south to Iowa. It took an extra day to finally get packed up, and head south. We arrived at someone’s house late and headed for bed. Before sleep came, I got a phone call from Dad, asking why I was not home. I promised him that I’d quickly get unloaded and be on my way. It must have been have been about noon before on I got on the road. It was January 3rd, 1973.

I pulled into our driveway around 3:00 or 4:00 that afternoon. We had been having freezing and drifting snow for days, and that Iowa cold….it goes right through you. I had a church youth meeting around 6:00pm at the chapel. Maybe 30 minutes after I arrived, someone gathered everyone up and sent us to our homes. My younger sisters R, E, and I got in the car for the 10 minute drive home. After walking in the back door, Mom told us that Dad had been in a horrible plane crash and he and all his passengers were dead. It was a tragic and silent time for me. I had no one that could comfort me, except for the usual condolences. It took me maybe 4 years to come to some terms with it. Now 50 years later, I am way farther along with my grief.