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Last updated July 14, 2014|
MAURICE & SHIRLEEN LIFE TOGETHER We met I would guess was called a blind date. Altho I did know who he was- the first time I saw him he was home on leave from the service. He was standing in Lakies Cafe window. I said "Who is that good looking guy". She said " hands off he belong to Rosie". This meant no one wanted to tangle with Rosie. Sometime later I was ask if I would like to have a date with him. I said"NO", but I didn't realize he and Rosie had broken up, so we went out that night. We dated every night till we married. We had a very good marriage, of course all marriages have some rough times through the years. We never went to sleep without a kiss and telling one another "I Love you". As we went our different ways each day there was always a good bye kiss no matter where were were. My mother said we always broke her chairs with two of us sitting on them. The first years I sat on his lap lots, as the years I would sit by his chair and hold his hand. When someone would comment about our holding hands or kissing he would say" it is our business". We never told one another no, we would discuss the situation and decide. Sometimes it was my way or his. Neither of us liked to argue. Our move to Colorado was a good one, although there were many times we were very lonely. We began to get closer and were solving our own problems. He worked very hard for his family over the years. When I got sick and we had to move to Colorado, it must have been a big worry for him to change jobs and the big responsibility he had to care for us. He didn't have the education, so this made it even harder. He never complained or let us know if it was worrying him. He was a very considerate person. He would see that we went to the dentist or doctor before he did, he wouldn't go until he was sure there was enough money. There are still many things we do that he helped us with, that we still feel he is helping us. even when buckling a seat belt he always said 'make sure your belt isn't twisted or it could cut you in two". I think of it each time i get in a car. He was so understanding when I had a migraine headache. He would be so patient, he would see i would relax, this must have been a very boring time for him. In later years they were so frequent. One time when he was coming home from work he saw a billfold in the street when he stopped for a stop sign. He opened the door and picked it up , when he opened it he found about $500. in it. When he went back to work he made some inquiries to find where the person worked. He finally found her. She had with drawn money from the bank for her daughters wedding. He was a great tease. When he had good news to tell me he would make believe he hadn't gotten the news we were waiting for, he would all of a sudden come up with that big smile of his and share the good news. He also had a temper,which didn't show very often, but when it did the big blue eyes would show it and it was time to leave him alone. He didn't know what a real Christmas was until we were married. The first years he would sit by the tree and shake presents. He never felt really loved in the years he was growing up, so the family life my family had was so different and he love it. He would enjoy the coffee time on Sunday morning at my folks, as each Sunday the Uncles would come for coffee while their children were in Sunday school. He was very friendly and enjoyed visiting. He loved children. When Larry was little they were very close, as Larry got older he didn't seem to know how to be as close, but when we started boating and got the horses this brought them closer again. He would care for the foster children in the evening. He would sit in his big chair with his leg up and the baby in a little nest. They would sit there all evening. He would play with them and then they would nap for a while and back to playing again. He was always close to our friends children. One time Karla & Brian came in the store and they were on his lap right away, The customer said" you can see who's children they are". She was surprised to hear they were friends. When Nancy was little he spent many hours on the floor or with her on his lap or on the arm of his chair. He always took Nancy to school when we were both living in Holdrege. Soon David wanted to go with grandpa ,too, so he stopped and got him for lunch one day. They went to feed the horses and then home for lunch. They had cold roast,and David told him" grandpa you forgot to cook the meat". like the minister said at his memorial service, his grandchildren were the apple of his eye. He was very smart, alert and observant. He would have had a very hard time if he had lost his eye sight.. If he would have had the education and a little guidance as he was growing up he could have done great things. As it was he did very well getting things done and everyone that know him were really surprised that he only had a 7th grade education. He loved fixing things and worked till he would get them fixed. It had to be fixed or built just right or he wasn't satisfied. He was a very neat person. He would spend a long time in the bathroom each morning. He always would clean the bathroom after he got done using it . He liked to organize his shed., ever so often every thing would come out and he would work on it. things had to be put in just so. His closet was the same way. He wanted his suits and shirts hanging together. He had to have his quiet time in the morning. He always got up a hour early to be able to sit in his chair listening to the radio. He loved music, he would always sing in the bath room or any time he was alone. He liked country music the best and really enjoyed a good joke. He loved his coffee breaks with his friends. He would make some very good friends each time we would move and he had changed jobs. After he was gone and I would talk to his friends, they would always mention his smile and the jokes. Everyone missed his company, he could make them feel better after they had spent time with him. He was very humble and didn't realize how much they enjoyed his company. He worked very hard for the company he was employed by and was never afraid to do the dirty work. He always felt he would be rewarded for the little extra work he put into the job. It wasn't till the last years he began to wonder if his extra work really was appreciated. He felt like he had been taken for granted and he was-after he got sick they did find out how much he did for them. He loved his cars and would spend many hours cleaning them, We did have lots of new cars and he did have many things he wanted and I am so glad he had the enjoyment, as a child he did have it rough. When we would go shopping he would say" go do your shopping and don't hurry". Off he would go to the auto parts or to the tool section. He loved getting new tools One of his big goals as a child was to have nice things, furniture, etc. He was very quite when he wasn't feeling well. When we were first married he had lots of pain from a fall he had when hauling milk. He would get very quiet and I wouldn't know what was the matter. Finally mother had a talk with him and told him if he didn't feel well he should tell someone. he respected my mother very much. He would get upset with her, but but would go all out to do for her. even when he was sick he loved to tease her. He felt so grateful for the way she helped him when we were first married. We were friends all through our marriage. We went together where ever we went, except for work. He liked to have my attention when we were home in the evening- he felt left out if I would read or Crochet while we were sitting in the evening. SHIRLEEN AFTER MAURICE'S DEATH I went back to work the next week. It was easier then sitting home thinking. There were many adjustments being alone. Maurice has worked at preparing me for what was ahead. This was very helpful, but such a void in ones life. There were the trips to Arkansas once a year and also a trip to Minnesota. I worked full time till I reached the age of 62 then worked part time. It was financially better this way. I continued to work at Red Rooster till it was sold, then not wanting to starting all over in auto parts,began looking for another part time job. At this time the church needed someone to clean, so I got that job. Later the church needed a secretary so I got that job, too. I continued to be very involved at the church. |