Yin and Yang...well, kinda

     If we go to Mom's and Dad's generation, we have the strange juxtaposition of Mom and her siblings all being deceased and Dad and his siblings all being alive.
     Mom's siblings were Lois Catherine (b. 1926); Catherine Marion (born 1927 according to her birth certificate, but Grammy wrote 1928 on the back of her marriage certificate); Marguerite Luella (1930); and James Patrick (1932).
      Dad's siblings are Georgia Ann (1927); Mary Margaret (1929); Patrick Thomas (1930); David Paul (1931); John Gregory (1933) and Mary Alice (1935).
     The other coincidence that must have been a factor in both families is that the father died when the children were young.  George F. Burns died in 1935 and James J. Hogan died in 1934.
     I hope I got the Burns longevity gene.

No Fool...

     Ann Mary O'Connell was born on 1 April 1902 in Derrynane Township, Le Sueur County, Minnesota. She married George F. Burns on September 20, 1923 at St. John's Church, St. Paul, Minnesota.
      George died on January 5, 1935, leaving Ma with 6 kids and one yet to be born! 

      Dad often says he can't believe how smart Ma was.  She ran the store and could stand up to the salesmen who came into the store.  After she closed the store, she worked for the Ramsey County Welfare Department and worked her way to department head. 
     She was a strong, smart, independent woman!  She met her circumstances well.
     "I never murmur!" I wish I got that gene!