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Today's Featured Biography
Candice O’Conner
Dear Friends - I hope you are all Well and Happy!!
This is my Story (and I'm stickin' to it!!). After H.S. graduation, I went to a secretarial school and landed a job with KFWB Radio station-even worked a PBS switch board (like Ernestine on Laugh In) Boy! How old is that! My father bought a new pharmacy in Desert Hot Springs, Calif. (10 miles from Palm Springs.) I ran his old fashion lunch counter, sandwiches, burgers, real sodas, etc. I made everything liked I wanted - thick sodas and thick sandwiches - we broke even most of the time - but we were very popular - people came all the way from Riverside just for the sodas! I met my husband, Victor Cooke, at the counter. He worked at The D.H.S medical & Arthritis Clinic as a physical therapist.
He had been a chief in the English Royal Navy and the physical training instructor for the whole ship. He was in combined operations in the Middle East during WWII, and retired in 1956. He is 30 yrs. older than me. I started working at the clinic as a receptionist/back office person. We went out on Oct. 3, 1970 and married Oct. 29, 1971. I had a son, Christian, from a previous 4mo. marriage, who just turned two. Vic was his first father. We had a daughter, Michelle, in 1972. I worked at the clinic until 1979 when our small car was struck by a truck running a stop sign. I didn't break anything, but it sure hurt! The doctor we worked for was an orthopedic, and he tried everything in his power to alleviate the pain. Finally, in 1982, I had the back surgery we were trying to avoid, and felt really good. With that, we got settlement taken care of, and proceeded to pack up for England. Victor's father (90yrs.) was going blind from diabetes and needed us there. We'd always promised we'd take care of him at the end. He came to visit before we moved. Never out of England except for WWI, and never on a plane. Our small news paper asked him what his first flight was like, he said, "I don't know what the fuss is about, you get on, you sit down, you get off!" He was a great old guy.
We moved to Hastings, England, Sussex in 1982, and fell in love with the villages, shops, drives and overall ambiance of the country. We took many trips to show Dad Cook as much as we could - but especially the Cook family home in Felsham, Suffolk which Dad hadn't even known existed! The Cooks there were wonderful! We went to the church next door and sat in the Cook pew. "Dad died at 96yrs. and we returned to the desert to have the kids finish school.
Vic & I went back to work at the clinic and when Chris & Michelle graduated P.S. High School, they took off for Long Beach, WA. where they both had jobs at a hotel. In 1990 Vic & I moved to Payson, AZ. We bought a house and then of course the kids came to visit. They both got jobs in bronzing. We all seemed destined to be close together. Then, about 1993, Vic & I got a divorce. I bought a 1980 Chevy truck, 4x4 with a camper, packed up 2 black bags of stuff and along with the kids, who both had trucks w/campers, took off for San Felipe, Mexico where I had a won a piece of land. We camped for a few months, and then made our way camping thru all the western states on to Montana, then back to Mexico. We finally landed in Freeland, Whidbey Island, WA. I worked at Linds Pharmacy and rented a hundred year old farm house for $350. My mother came to live with us so I could take care of her. She died in 2003, and then I ended up taking care of Victor!!! The kids moved to Alaska, and when Michelle got married they bought a house with a duplex attached just for Vic & I. So of course we came!! I love Alaska. Beautiful!!!!! We are getting along really well, and are making the best of life. The river is close, and we go an picnics every week. Hope I haven't bored you guys. Wish I could go, but Vic's too ill. I hope to hear from anyone who would like to write...God Bless and Keep You Happy. Love, Candy
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