Let My Praises Be Heard!
I PRAISE GOD FOR MY SEVERAL LOVED ONES AND DEAR RELATIVES!
Lack of knowledge prevents me from giving detailed profiles of my loved ones, beyond my own immediate family. Nevertheless, it is proper and significant that I should at least recognize some of my loved ones, for the great persons that they are or were. I have enjoyed each one of those persons to one degree or another, and at one time or another, throughout my long life of presently nearly 70 years. I have geographically lived near a few of them. And I am close in age to some of them, and some of them are older or younger than I am. That, of course, is the nature of a ‘family clan’.
I will only mention some of those relatives by name, and attempt to note only very briefly, what they do or what they did in the case of a few of my deceased loved ones.
First, I will start with my nephews and nieces. Starting with the oldest, Bob Gilliland, who built many houses; Rod, was involved in home financing and a broker. Doug, is a land developer and financial investor. They are my sister Margaret sons.
Debbie Farrington, an elementary school teacher; Diana Sobotka, also an elementary school teacher; Mark Lancaster, worked for an airline company; Brian Lancaster works for an insurance company. Those are my sister Bobbie’s children. My sister Bobbie passed away about 3 year ago.
My brother Jerry lost his 15 year old daughter Sharla, as a result of a seizure which happened while riding on a roller coaster in Denver in 1981. Jerry also has a son Greg, who is very much at ease on computers that he has used for many years. Jerry’s daughter Marsha, has for 10 years done lots of record keeping for a company who specializes in expensive registered horses.
Then there are my 2 daughters Darlene and Rhonda. Darlene, who is my eldest, enjoys her oldest son, Lucas, who is talented in the use of modern technology, smart phones, computer knowledge, etc., and he has recently discovered that God has gifted him with amazing writing skills. Darlene’s daughter Megan loves pets, and she has inherited some of her mother’s artistic skills.
My youngest daughter, Rhonda, has a son and a daughter. Madeleine, who can talk fast and can think quickly, similar to her mother, and she makes good grades, and she loves to read. Rhonda’s son William can assemble ‘Legos’ better than anyone that I know. His mechanical skills, since his young childhood, have amazed me! Among his skills, is his skill as a competitive swimmer and excellent diver.
In very brief summary is the above listing of the names of all my nephews and nieces, with a short description of some of their interest and skills, – plus a noting of my two daughters and my four grandchildren.
I wish briefly to note that God gave me, in addition to my wonderful wife, my wife’s two wonderful sisters and respective husbands. Venita’s elder sister of 10 years, is Jean, and she has a degree in music and she has taught piano lessons to many children for several years. Her husband Kay, was a long-time school counsellor in Seattle. They devotedly loved two adopted children, Marianne and Donald, both of whom enjoy living in dwelling places, near Seattle. Venita’s other sister, Myrt, 7 years older than Venita, lived with her husband Bob in Bellevue, Nebraska, nearly all of their married life. Both of them taught elementary children for more than three decades. Because they were not blessed with any children, Bob and Myrt reached out in love to countless children and teenagers, all of their lives. Even though they lived many miles apart from our two daughters, they, nevertheless, kept in close contact by mail with our daughters. They, without fail, attended all of the important events in which our daughters had involvement, such as several graduations, weddings, and even birthdays. Bob and Myrt lavished our daughters with various kinds of gifts. Their letters, especially Bob’s letters, were long and descriptive and most affirming. Bob and Myrt, the closest ones to Darlene and Rhonda, were almost like ‘second parents’ to our daughters. Our daughters spent lots of time talking, listening, and writing to their favorite aunt and uncle.
It is ‘strange’, though not important, to note that Bob Bailey and Kay (my two brother-in-laws) each died when they were the same age – 69 years old! Four years after Bob died, Bob’s widow (Myrt) was united in holy matrimony to a special man (a widower who had lost his wife a year before) – Sam Hamblen, a resident of Fort Collins for about 50 years, and a successful builder and contractor. Sam and Myrt are presently very happily married.
Only God knows the heart of each person, whom I have listed, but from my limited perspective I believe that every one of the above listed persons is a Christian believer! Each one is precious to God, and each one of these above-listed persons has, to one extent or another, been a blessing and encouragement to me! I have not listed the names of the spouses of my nephews and nieces, but I could easily speak very highly of them as well.
Ron G. Christian 
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