Meeting Jack

All my life I had been a church-going person. And since music was important to me—as I said before— I often was involved in music in church…..playing/accompanying on piano, singing , etc. So in LosAngeles while participating in an area church choir I met a wonderful handsome young man who was taking his anesthesia residency at the local VA hospital, and going to my church in Inglewood.

I actually had seen him before —he didn’t remember me—because many years before this he had dated one of my classmates in nursing school when I was a student at a 3 year school of nursing in Missouri. But I had never met him or talked to him before this Sunday afternoon when we met in the choir. He had been married before—briefly— divorced just 6 months before this time. We started dating, and had a lot in common….both “older”, both in the medical field, both loved music, both had been raised in the RLDS religion (now Community of Christ). I was happy he wasn’t put off by the fact I had had an illegal abortion—in the medical field they were called “criminal abortions” at that time. (!!!!) We immediately fell in love and after only a month, got engaged, much to the chagrin of the group of capable but opinionated lesbian nurses I worked with. He gave me a beautiful large antique diamond ring and In just another month we got married.

In those days we did not have employee PTO—-you almost had vacation time ASSIGNED to you. So just before Christmas in 1966 we both managed to get a few days off before and after the holiday

My mother and sister drove from northern Montana to Los Angeles for the wedding. My whole family was really delighted I was getting married because at my age —29— they had nearly given up on me. The wedding was planned and attended by almost the entire congregation at the Inglewood church. They made the cake, planned the reception, decorated the church and volunteers planned and did the music.…..they didn’t know Jack that well because he had been a member only a short time. But they LOVED me! We drove to Palm Springs for our short honeymoon and Jack moved his few belongings into my apartment over the garage in the alley.