Remembering my Mom on her 75th Birthday

 

November 23, 1949 my mom was born in Emporia, Kansas. She was the youngest of four children; the oldest child my Aunt Bonnie, then two brothers, then mom. 

I haven't found any childhood pictures of mom - there's one here of her in High School, one with Grandpa at Basehor house around 1975, Old West Portrait with me when I was around 10, and one of her and her Corgi Jo for a couple years ago. 

These are various picture of me and mom and mom and Kenny

A picture of mom with Great Grandma Dillion and Uncle Gene, and then her with each of my cousin Teri's children, Rylee, Kasey, and Kristopher. 

Mom and Teri with horses Aspen (black) and Molly (buckskin), Mom with her cat Wrigley, and two pictures of mom with her dog Beth when they came to visit in 2015. 

Beth - mom's service dog, Mom driving her Miniature Horse William, Mom and Wrigley sleeping, and two pictures of mom and her friend Pat Sorrels. 

Mom after her bi-lateral knee replacements, me with mom and Beth, Mom with Beth, Mom tracking with Tony and me and mom with me on Aspen and Mom on Robin

Me and Mom, This is the only childhood picture I found of her with her dog, Mom with a model horse shower at the show she judged the dog group and then mom on Robin. 

She loved showing dogs. She started in Shelties and went to Pembroke Welsh Corgis, Australian Cattle Dogs, and English Setters, with a whippet or two here and there, a chihuahua or two, chinese cresteds, smooth fox terriers, and a husky. 

She raised Appaloosa horses, Quarter Horses, and Miniature Horses. 

And she raised cattle, chickens, cats, and goats. She loved animals and often said it was sad that people weren't more like the four leggeds. 

She taught 4-H dog show and obedience for years in Basehor, Tonganoxie, and Valley Falls. She was a vet tech, bank coder, and worked in the tech industry when computers took up whole rooms. 

She showed dogs and horses and she loved her home in Valley Falls. 

She traveled the US a lot when she was younger and I was very little showing dogs at various shows, and vacations. Some of her favorite trips were Colorado, California, and being an Elvis fan, she went to Graceland multiple times. 

She was a cancer survivor. She had Stage 4 Cervical cancer and beat it. She had a bi-lateral knee replacement, and kidney disease that she fought the hard fight for several years before succumbing to renal failure and a stroke in July, 2024. 

She was a fierce friend and loved her family. She will be greatly missed. Happy 75th mama. I miss you so much.