Chapter 7 of Family Memories tell me about your siblings

Tell me about your siblings

Lorraine:  I had two sisters and a brother. Harold, Beverly Mabel, and Marguerite Winola. I was the youngest.

John: I don’t remember that much about Velna and Arthur. They were 18 and 15 when me and Jim were born. Elva used to take us places when we lived down there in Happy Valley. That’s before she married Lyall. George was in high school and used to play football in that area of the golf course across from the pink house where Joyce and John lived. After they practiced, the team would run back up to the school. The school was where the Rec Center is now.

Marcella: We had a good time growing up. One boy, four girls. All different personalities. As we grew up, we lived distances away from each other.

Joyce: My sister, Janie, was born July 30, 1946. John Leslie (Les) was born July 4, 1947. Dana Gene was born September 15, 1950. We were all born in Port Townsend.

Janie: My sister was smart and liked by everyone. I always wanted to be like her. Les was my buddy until we grew up. Dana just followed us around.

Dale: As a teenager, my eldest brother, Arlie, was likely the least motivated and least constrained by rules and regulations. He achieved the greatest occupational success and likely will experience the greatest enjoyment in retirement. An inveterate story-teller, he can entertain for hours with his sea stories. Second in line, Denny was a bit of a rebel in his teenage years. While having enjoyed successes early in adulthood, the throw of the dice has not favored him in later years. Nonetheless, he resolutely has sustained, in good times and bad, a deep conviction and devotion toward the Christian religion. Susy likely has been rewarded with the greatest satisfaction in parenting, having raised to adulthood three remarkable children.

Sue S: My brother, Arlie, signed up for the Navy, shortly after I started school. Mom and dad were so proud of him and loved listening to his adventures. He is also talented (like dad) with his woodwork and is artistic. He is naturally funny. He is also very compassionate and an all-around good guy. Denny is sensitive, musically artistic and also an all-around good guy. He played the violin and bass fiddle. As a kid I would love to see him invite his friends over for a jam session. He is so good at playing the piano that he plays for his church. He has a strong faith and relies on it through all times. Dale is also artistic and an all-around good guy. He is smart and I always thought he would have made a good lawyer. He is clever and could trick me into believing he had the last of the chocolate ice cream. I didn’t know until years later that he would put cocoa or food coloring into the vanilla ice cream.

Lill: There are 7 siblings and I am the only female. The eldest twins are a year older than me. They are developmentally delayed. Next is my brother who is two years younger. The 5^th sibling (also developmentally delayed) was adopted but the adoption failed. I have done some bio family searching within the past few years. The youngest two brothers were born 9 and 11 years after me. They live in Seattle. I also have a foster sister I am very close with. She is 6 years older and lives in Everett, WA. She had a twin brother who died in his mid 20’s.

Bill: I have two older brothers. Bruce is 48 and Brian is 42. Both are truck drivers for Walmart, just like dad. They live in Douglas, GA. Bruce Is married to Belinda and has two daughters, Keri and Brooke. Brian is married to Laura with two kids, Kristina and Brian, Jr.

Sue W: I have three successful ones. One brother and two sisters.

Mary: My oldest sister’s calling appears to be gardening. Her daughter is a gift from God. My younger brother has a heart of gold. He was a terror growing up but has provided me with some humorous memories as a child. He’s bright, witty, and very funny. My younger sister is a sensitive soul. Her personality mirrors my mother’s in some respects as she puts strangers at ease immediately. She had the most unruly hair as a child. You could never comb it. She’s got the most beautiful legs. She has an apparent knack for motherhood as she got two beautiful personable twins.

Tiffany: There is a total of 4 original Blankenship kids and I’m the youngest. Sheldon is 37 and is currently married and has three children. He owns his own landscaping business in Tacoma and is very good at that type of work. Andrea is my oldest sister. She is a part-time dental assistant and part-time real estate agent. She loves both careers. She is married to Joe Ballard. Janelle is 33 and has recently lost 90 pounds. She looks awesome. She has two children, Maxton and Dalton. She babysits so that she can be with her children more often.

Cindy: My oldest sister, Cheryl, is 8 years older than me and she was kind of like my second mother. She carried me around in a doll blanket the first three years of my life. She played house with Marlee and I, but also babysat us. We minded her real good. She’d threaten to tell on us when mom and dad got home but she never did. She took Marlee and I lots of places. Movies, shopping, even out to Carney Lake. When she moved out, I was ten. Going to spend the night at her apartment was the highlight of my preteen days. She’d come home and spend the night with me sometimes. I loved being with her. Bobby was 7 years older than I. He was a good brother to me. He’d piggyback me. I always marveled at his drawing abilities and I think I may have picked up some of my talent from him. He was always doodling. He had a stuffed dog named Buttons. Marlee was my playmate and I adored her. When we were small, our age difference wasn’t’ so bad but because she is three years older than me, she kind of out grew me before I was ready for it. We had great times playing dolls. Until she didn’t want to anymore. We had good times playing in our tree house and on the tire swing. We fished together and waded as our whole front yard was a beach. I think I am the one who probably got the bullheads off the hook for her. Marlee always loved to read.

Marlee: There are four of us. Cheryl, Bobby, me and Cindy. When we were young, I remember it being a real thrill if Cheryl let me go into her bedroom. I wasn’t allowed to touch anything, though. She had a Thumbelina doll that you could wind up with a key. Cindy always wanted to play Barbie dolls. I didn’t. Sometimes I’d get irritated and make the dolls be mean to each other and she’d get mad and quit. When we lived in Tacoma, Cheryl would take us to the movies on the bus. When we lived in the harbor, she’d drive us places in her little blue Volkswagen bug. Bobby ended up being a rebellious kid. He got into drinking and drugs. He never graduated high school but I hear he’s doing fine, living with my uncle Wes and building houses with him. I haven’t seen him in years. We played a lot of card games. When I dated my Jeff in high school, Cindy wanted to go on a lot of our dates with us. Mom and daddy went out a lot and she was afraid to stay home by herself. She gave Jeff someone to use his sense of humor on. Even today when he thinks he is being funny and I don’t, I tell him to save it for Cindy – write her an email. Cheryl is married and mother of two, Christopher and Haylee. Bobby is divorced and the father of two. Cheryl has a cleaning business and Cindy is a dental assistant.