This is a continuation of my Sept. 17th blog about my sister Madeleine. If you have just joined me, you might like to read my previous post. “I Will Remember You.” It’s been almost 5 months, and I still miss my sister every day.
Post high school
Madeleine and I were close. Once we’d moved to Placerville, California, from Visalia, it was often Mom, Madeleine, and me. Madeleine and I became very protective of Mom.
I had started working at 14 for the county schools library. The rainbow advisor, Mrs. Ellison, called Mom to ask her if I would be interested in a part-time job. I worked for the county schools’ library off and on til I transferred to Cal Poly in 1966. Walking to the other end of Placerville for work.
Neither Madeleine nor I majored in history in college. Upon graduating from El Dorado High, Madeleine commuted to Sierra Community College, about 34 Miles away. She majored in Pre-med and planned to transfer to a four-year school after two years. The following year, I also enrolled at Sierra C.C. We both rode the college bus that took almost an hour. We arrived with time to spare for the first classes of the day, then took the bus back to Placerville at the end of the afternoon classes. We studied in either the library or student union when we didn’t have a class. We both were taking a full load, so we usually went every day during the week. I remember Madeleine talked a lot about her microbiology class. I was a Pre-architecture student. I planned to transfer to Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo after two years. Mom had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and she was having trouble getting around. She was teaching at Mother Lode Elementary and then transferred to Charlie Brown Elementary in Diamond Springs. When Madeleine was at Sierra, Mom decided to retire from teaching. She was on crutches by then.
In 1965, Madeleine transferred to Chico State’s Nursing Program. Was she settling for Chico and nursing because we couldn’t afford UC Davis, or had something or someone inspired her?
The Vietnam War was ramping up. I know Madeleine had considered the military to get her education. In 1964, Madeleine was still at Sierra, we both worked as maids at a Tahoe City hotel over the Christmas break. We lived in a trailer a short walk from the hotel.
We walked everywhere in the cold, snowy winter for two weeks. Dad and our grandmother, “Gay,” came to take us home at the end of our two weeks. They arrived during the “biggest snowstorm of the season.” I remember the snow cleared by the snowplows along the road was about 20 ft. high. It was dark; snow was thick on the roads and windshields. The trip home to Placerville took forever.
The following summer Madeleine worked for the Tahoe City hotel for a month while I worked as a Girl Scout Summer Camp Counselor near Vista, California.
Aunt Blanche paid for some of Madeleine’s expenses at Chico. Aunt Blanche had helped Mom through the years. We could always count on a Christmas package coming from Weinstock’s or the Broadway Dept. Stores in LA, thanks to Aunt Blanche. She taught us to appreciate fine satin undergarments.
When Madeleine went to Chico, she took the family 59 Chevy, leaving me to rely on the college bus, or my own two feet to get out and about. Unfortunately, I had never gotten my driver’s license. After I turned 16, Mom was always busy; Dad wouldn’t let me drive his pickup, and Madeleine wouldn’t let me drive when she had the car.
Madeleine spent one year on campus at Chico and then the program used the Military Hospital at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield for their hospital internship. While working at Travis, she lived in a townhouse in Fairfield with at least two other nursing students.
In May of 1968, we all went to Chico for her graduation and to see her receive her nursing cap and pin.
After graduating, Madeleine worked as a nurse, a labor and delivery nurse, then pursued her certification as a Nurse Midwife. I married in the fall of 1966 while Madeleine was at Chico State pursuing her Nursing degree. Madeleine had boyfriends, but nursing and family played a major part in her life. She made a point of spending time with family. She even made sure that Mom, our sister Barb, Aunt Babe, and me were all invited at one time or another on a trip to Hawaii at her expense. She wanted to share her favorite vacation spots with family.
If someone was graduating- high school or college she was there. If you were celebrating a milestone, she was there. Holidays were family days. We had Thanksgivings in Idaho with our brother’s family or in Placerville with Mom and Dad.
In 1986, Barbara, Madeleine, and I started planning our parents’ 50th wedding anniversary/Family reunion. For that reunion, I started doing genealogy. I wanted to give a little background information on both sides of the family. Madeleine and Jere Melo, who had been dating, became engaged that year. Roy and I were living in Kingman, Arizona. Barbara was living in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Dave lived in Caldwell.
Madeleine & Jere
Madeleine and Jere were married on 16 May 1987. We held our parents’ anniversary/reunion in June to accommodate families with kids in school.
Even though Dad was still alive, Madeleine asked our brother David to do her the honor of walking her down the aisle. It was a lovely family affair in Fort Bragg with the Melo and Putnam families. Roy flew us up in our Cessna for the wedding. We were glad we had the airplane because that summer we needed to make many trips to northern California.
In June we had the reunion. Roy and I flew into Placerville Airport. I had made the table decorations. Barb wrote the script for a little skit, in which Madeleine played our grandmother “Gay,” David played Ike, and cousin Retlaw played Grandpa Dougherty. Mom had a great time with all of her kids, grandkids, brother, sisters-in-law, and other family members and friends.
I remember during that weekend Mom was sitting in her wheelchair in the front yard when I noticed she was having trouble lifting her right arm; she thought that maybe she had had a mini stroke. After everyone left, Madeleine took her to the doctor. That was when she was diagnosed with cancer. After that, things became a blur.
That was the worst summer. Madeleine took Mom home with her. She and Jere had been married only a couple of months. I know Roy flew me back to Fort Bragg in July and then returned to Kingman, while I stayed. Roy then made several more flights to Fort Bragg. Once to bring Clint to Fort Bragg, and then again to get me. Madeleine had worked as a midwife at Fort Bragg since about 1980. She had Hospice coming almost daily to help with Mom. Before Mom passed, she had been talking about her mother’s presence in the room. Mom died on the 24th of August 1987. Madeleine and I were devastated. It went way too fast. I’m not sure how Madeleine handled it all. Thankfully, Jere was very supportive. Family was as important to him as it was to Madeleine.
To be continued…