My wonderful mother, Bonnie Russ, was born in 1915. She married my terrific dad, Frederick Wright in 1935. They moved from Shreveport, La. to Center, TX in the spring of 1963. Mom died in 1974 in Shreveport where she was transported following a stroke. Her mother was Velma Annette T. who married F. E. Russ, Sr. in 1908. Mom had an older sister and a younger brother. They are all deceased and buried in Louisiana.

As for Mom's personality and accomplishments, she was truly an outstanding woman, very happy, talented in leadership. She loved homemaking, was a good cook and enjoyed giving parties, reading novels, traveling, and being a member of the Garden Club. Her favorite color was blue and her favorite food was chicken and dumplings. She made wonderful biscuits and was well-known for her delicious chocolate pies. She enjoyed beautiful "easy listening" music. We were very close.

Mom was a 2nd generation member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood and she organized Chapter X, P.E.O. in Shreveport, La. I was initiated into that chapter on Jan. 9, 1959 as a 3rd generation member. I am now a 50-year "Golden Girl" member. In Nov. 2009 my daughter, Bonnie, was initiated into my chapter (Chapter IM, P.E.O. in Lufkin, Texas) as a 4th generation member. I was so proud!!! P.E.O. is a Philanthropic Educational Organization that owns and operates Cottey College, a junior college for girls in Nevada, MO. You can read about it here:

The P.E.O. Sisterhood
http://www.peointernational.org

I was born in 1935. I married Eddie in December 1955. We divorced in 1996 after 40 years of marriage but remained friends. He died of cancer in 2003 and is buried in Louisiana. Dad also died of cancer exactly 2 months before Eddie in 2003 and he is buried next to Mom. Thankfully, I was with Dad and Eddie when they died.

I live in East Texas. My brother, Richard, was born a few years after me but he died in 1957. Brother Bill was born a few years after Richard and now lives in California. Sisters Carol and Dianne were born a few years later, respectively, and live in Texas. Dianne and her husband Ray had one son, Jason, and he passed away in 2011. Carol never married and is in a nursing home near Dianne. She is doing fine.

My children:
Twin sons, Roger and Russ, were born in 1956. They were born totally helpless and bedridden due to Fragile X Syndrome. Russ passed away from pneumonia in 1961 and Roger had a seizure and passed away in 1976.

My daughter, Cynthia, is married to Kevin and they live in Tennessee. They have three grown daughters, Miranda, Bridgette and Natalie. Bridgette's twin brother Andrew is in Heaven. Miranda has a son Kevin, and Natalie and her husband, Brad, have a daughter, Lilly.

My daughter, Bonnie and her husband Sam live in Texas and have 3 grown children, Ginny, Holly, and Jacob. They also have 4 grandchildren as Ginny has 3 little boys, Ethan, Aiden, and Mason. and Holly has 5-year-old daughter, Lexie.

My son Edward Jr. (Ret. M/Sgt. USAF of 24 yrs.) has 2 daughters, Courtney and Ashley. He is divorced and lives in Indiana.

My son Frederick lives in Delaware (Ret. M/Sgt. USAF of 24 yrs.), is married to Patty and they have one son, Jonathan. Patty also has 2 daughters Heather and Jackie, and another son, C.J. Heather has 3 children, Hailea, Matthew, and Cheyenne.

Due to my many losses, I have done Christian Grief Support for over 20 years. I have been a member of The Compassionate Friends Child Loss support group since the early 1980's. I am not a "professional counselor", but I have lived through it many times and would like to help others, so if you have lost a loved one, especially a child, and would like to talk to me, please email me.

Mother and Dad were wonderful parents and grandparents and I miss them so much. They were so proud of their family. I am too!

Author: Annette M. a.k.a. "Monette922"
TXLady922@yahoo.com

P.S. Many thanks to Inez "Angel" for all her time and work in creating this page for my mom and letting me tell my story.