~ IN MEMORIAM ~
Clayton Gardner
1920 - 2014
Here are Clayton and Gerry in the early 1980s. Earl and Dixie had just been married and they went
to visit all of Earl's siblings (the Original Gang of Ten).
The newly married Dixie took this snapshot of the Gardners
Here are Clayton and Gerry's grandchildren in 2021. Thank you Cousin Ron for these photos!
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| Ronald Gardner - Age 9 1/2 Years | Wow! All grown up! Tara Gardner, Miss Seattle Teen USA |
Thank you, Cousin Ron Gardner, for the recent pictures of your children, Tara and Ron. Uncle Clayton and Aunt Gerry have two beautiful grandchildren!
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The Seattle Times - May 11, 2014 Clayton Henry Gardner
Clayton Henry Gardner of Edmonds, WA died on April 21, 2014 with his loving wife, Geraldine, at his side. He was born to Olive and William Gardner on December 26, 1920 in East Charleston, VT. He grew up on a farm near Island Pond, VT and attended school in East Charleston and Lyndonville, VT. He served his country in the US Army during WWII working as a topographic draftsman at the rank of Staff Sergeant. Following the war, he returned to Vermont, obtained more schooling and became a math teacher. He met Geraldine and they married in 1948. Thereafter, he obtained his Bachelor's Degree from Boston University, his Masters Degree from the University of Illinois and worked toward a doctor's degree at Columbia University Teachers College. He was Chairman of the Math Department at White Plains High School in NY following which he worked as a math editor for Silver Burdette Publishing Company in NJ. When he retired he moved to Edmonds 27 years ago.
Clayton is survived by: his wife of 65 years, Geraldine; two children, Ronald Clayton Gardner of Seattle and Brenda Jean Gardner of Ledgewood, NJ; two grandchildren, Tara Le Gardner and Ronald Kuan Gardner; two sisters, Beulah Griffes and Lois Cardwell; and brother, Raymond Gardner.
Clayton enjoyed spending time with his family, playing chess and volleyball, reading, working on the computer, and tinkering around the home. A tribute to Clayton's service in the Army will be held May 19, 2014 at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, WA. He will be missed by all who knew him.
- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/seattletimes/obituary.aspx?pid=170987371#sthash.Je5RAAgQ.dpuf
Clayton Gardner's full military memorial service will be on May 19, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the Tahoma National Cemetery.
Tahoma National Cemetery 18600 Southeast 240th Street Kent, WA 98042-9614 (425) 413-9614 |
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Uncle Clayton passed away today (April 21st) around 2:00 p.m. We extend our sympathy to Gerry, Ron, Brenda and to everyone in their family.Here is an e-mail from Cousin Ron Gardner to Cousin Cheryl O'Toole about Uncle Clayton's current health crisis.Sunday, March 16, 2014 Hi Cheryl, Yes, you have the right Ron Gardner. My Dad is not doing very well. He and mom moved into assisted living, which is a good thing for them, but not as bright and cheerful a place to live as their home. It provides them with the help they need. I think he would be very happy about this living arrangement if it were not for his lung cancer. He received that diagnosis just two days before moving in. They moved on March 5. Dad is very depressed and in quite a bit of pain. He will start radiation on Thursday, which will shrink the tumor enough to reduce or eliminate his pain, but it will not cure the cancer. They do not recommend surgery or chemotherapy for him. There is an outside chance that his tumor has some special markers for tumors that sometimes are treatable with drug therapy. We have not yet heard whether those markers are present, but that is not very likely. If they are present, the doctor would consider the drug therapy. Thanks for writing. I really appreciate it. Uncle Raymond can continue to email Dad at the same email address. His new mailing address is 180 2nd Ave S, #147, Edmonds, WA 98020. Love, Ron |
Congratulations to Uncle Clayton and Aunt Gerry! They have a second grandchild, named Ronnie Kuan Gardner! He is a wonderful complement to granddaughter, Tara. Here are some e-mails from Uncle Clayton and Uncle Raymond that talk about the happy event.“On April 15, 2012 a cute and healthy 8+ pound baby boy (named Ronald Quan Gardner, nicknamed Ronnie) was born at Seattle's Children's Hospital to my son, Ronald. Ronnie is the only male in the third generation of Will and Olive Gardner's descendants. As such, he is the only one of their descendants who can pass on and preserve the Gardner name. I say he is the only male in their third generation because:
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If Ronnie grows up and has a son, then Will and Olive's fourth generation will have a descendent with last name Gardner. Likewise, if there is fourth generation son, there will be a Gardner in their fifth generation. And, hopefully, this will continue for many genera- tions. Sincerely, Clayton” Uncle Clayton later writes: “Ronald Kuan (note the K not a Q) Gardner was born in Seattle's Swedish Hospital (Not Seattle's Children's Hospital).. Kuan is Ronnie's mother's last name. Her first name is Annie. Ron and Annie no longer live together. Sincerely, Clayton” Later on Uncle Raymond writes: “Hi Paul, I think Clayton sent you a note about continuing the "Gardner name". He forgot about my grandson, Andrew (son of Stephen). Ray” Uncle Raymond sends Paul yet another e- mail about Adele’s son that says “I looked it up in my genealogy. I find that Adele had a son born 18 Mar 1975. I have his name as Richard Brent Gardner. That would make three to carry on the Gardner name. Ray” So, what does this flurry of e-mails mean? It means the “Gardner” name is alive and well because both Uncle Raymond and Uncle Clayton have grandsons that carry the name (Andrew Gardner and Ronnie Gardner) and Adele’s son, Richard, carries the Gardner name as well. Who knows what great things lay in store for future generations of Gardners!? |
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| The picture with all of us gathered
around the 1927 Model T Ford (center picture) was taken by Mama
in 1927. The people in the picture, from left to right, are:
Clayton, Grandma Lang's step-dad (last name Mattinson - see
Gardner Newsletter, Fall 2008, Volume 11, Issue 44), Earl, Adelbert
(in the car window), Nita, Raymond (Grandpa Lang holding
him), Lois, Grandma Lang (Amy Gardner Ripley Lang),
Elizabeth, Papa and Ruth. This may be a reverse image.
Raymond has another picture that was probably taken by Papa. Mama
is in it and the woodpile is on the other side. The other picture (left and right pictures) was probably taken by Ruth around 1930. (Have we all grown three years?) Earl and I built a wagon from parts we found around the farm, and the family gathered around it so Ruth could take a picture. The siblings, from left to right, are: Clayton, Elizabeth, Raymond, Nita (in dark), Adelbert, Lois and Earl. Again, this may be a reverse image since, in another print, I am on the other side. Elinor and Beulah were not born yet! For both pictures, I am not sure which one is Elizabeth or which one is Lois. Perhaps Raymond can tell. (Click on the images to see them full-size.) |
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This is a reverse image of the picture on the far right. See the caption under that picture to identify the people in the photo. |
From left to right: Clayton, Elizabeth?, Raymond?, Nita (hidden), Adelbert, Lois, Earl. Earl and I built a wagon from parts around the farm. The siblings gathered and, I am not sure, Ruth took the picture - probably in 1928. |
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Makers not liable in asbestos cases
State High Court
Manufacturers of products it was applied to didn't have to warn people, judges say.
BY RACHEL LA CORT
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA - In separate cases dealing with asbestos-related illness, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a manufacturer can't be held liable for failing to warn about the hazards of someone else's product.
The cases involve two men who once worked aboard Navy ships, Joseph Simonetta and Vernon Braaten.
Simonetta said his lung cancer was caused by performing maintenance on an evaporator, a device that removes salt from seawater. Braaten, who worked as a pipefitter, developed mesothelioma.
More than a dozen companies were sued, including Griscom Russell, now called Viad.
In Simonetta's case, after the evaporator was shipped from the Griscom Russell plant in 1941 or 1942, it was insulated with asbestos products made by another company.
The asbestos exposure that contributed to Simonetta's lung cancer allegedly occurred in 1958 or 1959, when asbestos insulation had to be removed from the evaporator during maintenance work. Simonetta served in the Navy 1954 to 1974, and was diagnosed in 2000 and 2002.
In Braaten's case, the defendants were manufacturers of valves and pumps sold to the Navy and used aboard ships.
After the valves and pumps were installed, the Navy applied asbestos-containing insulation. Braaten changed packing on the pumps and valves, which required moving the exterior asbestos insulation, removing the old packing, replacing the packing and reapplying asbestos insulation.
Braaten worked as a pipefitter aboard navy ships from 1967 until 2002. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a form of cancer, in 2003.
In separate 6-3 rulings in both cases, the court said the defendants couldn't be held liable because they didn't make, sell or distribute the asbestos - only the products it was applied to.
"The manufacturer has the duty to warn of the hazards involved in the use of the product that are or should be known to the manufacturer," the court wrote. "But Washington case law does not support extending the duty to warn of another manufacturer's product."
Signing the majority opinion in both cases were Chief Justice Gerry Alexander and Justices Charles Johnson, Susan Owens, Mary Fairhurst, Barbara Madsen and James Johnson.
An attorney for Buffalo Pumps, one of the companies being sued in the cases, said it was an important ruling.
"Maybe the biggest significance of this case is that we avoided what could have been a very shaky extension of products-liability laws that would have had an impact on all sorts of things," said Seattle-based attorney Michael King.
Dissenting justices argued that the companies should be liable because asbestos was key to the use of the equipment.
The majority's decision that a company had "no duty to warn of a serious hazard it knew or should have known was involved in the use of its product ignores logic, common sense, and justice," wrote Justice Debra Stephens, joined by Justices Richard Sanders and Tom Chambers.
Attorneys for Simonetta and Braaten did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
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This URL, if it still works, will show Ron speaking before the Washington State Supreme Court. http://www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?EvId=2008030024B Here is just a bit about the case: In the early 1940s a company built an evaporator that converted sea water to fresh water. The evaporator was installed on a navy ship and the navy covered it with asbestos insulation. In the late 1950s,a worker had to remove the insulation to repair the evaporator. Later the worker came down with cancer caused by asbestos and died. The worker's estate sued the manufacturer of the evaporator rather than the manufacturer of the asbestos perhaps because the manufacturer of the asbestos had no assets. They lost in superior court but the appeals court reversed that decision. Ron argues that the appeals court was wrong. It will be a while before we know how the supreme court rules but at least one of the judges seems to agree with Ron as he asked Ron's opposing counsel, " if a bolt is covered with asbestos should the manufacturer of the bolt be held accountable for any damage caused by the asbestos?'" Another judge asked something like this: If a starter is installed on a defective car and the car causes death, should the manufacturer of the starter be held accountable. It took Ron a bit to see what the judge was driving at but then Ron said, with a smile, since the car would not run without a starter, there would have been no accident with that car if it did not have a starter.
To read and/or download the complete transcript of the proceedings, click here.
To visit Ron Gardner's law firm of Gardner Bond Trabolsi, PLLC, click here. |
Edmonds, WA, April 21, 2007
Dear Round Robins,
It was great hearing from all of you. It sure took the Round Robin a long time to get around.
Ron has been looking to buy a house. It appears to me that sellers price their house low to get lots of offers from which they can select the highest. They get lots of offers greater than their offering price. Unfortunately for Ron, the offerors do not automatically get a second chance when their offer is not the highest. It seems to be a silly way, as the seller might get even more if he/she gave buyers a chance to rebid. Ron has bid on two houses and lost. If he had been given a second chance, he would have bid higher. Today he is bidding on one; and if he doesn't get it, he will bid on another. We went with him yesterday to look at these two houses. Either one would make him a nice house. They will cost close to $600,000. House prices have gone up dramatically here. Our house cost us about $160,000 in 1987. Now it appraises for $860,000. We have to pay property taxes on the increased value which hurts. So we now have a reverse mortgage, which will pay the increased property tax and leave lots left over. When we die or move out of this house, the mortgage will be due, but it cannot exceed the selling price of the house no matter how much we draw on it. There is, of course, a limit on how much we can withdraw. The big drawback to a reverse mortgage is the great up-front cost which, in our case, was $17,000. But we do have access of more than $160,000 and the accessment increases each year along with the increase in our house value.
I got a new computer with Microsoft Vista on it. It has been difficult learning all the new stuff and I am not sure it is worth it.
Gerry and I spend much time going to doctors. Fortunately, most of our problems are alleviated with pills, of which we each take over a dozen. We subscribe to AARP's prescription drug plan which saves us a lot money. I have heart problems. Gerry has diabetes, sleep apnea and has to take medicines for her breast cancer. She is cured of the cancer, but must take Femara to keep it from coming back. Femara is very expensive.
I hear from Raymond most every day. I just won two chess games form him. We are probably tied for wins over the long haul. He keeps me informed abut you people back there. We were very concerned about your fall, Lois. Hope you are back in your house now.
Love to all, Gerry and Clayton
The lost
Round Robin returns home!
Edmonds, WA, June 26, 2006
Dear Round Robins,
As usual, your letters were most interesting and welcome!
Lois, my knee replacement went well. However, I can't walk very well s my other knee needs replacement. I hate to go through the pain and inconvenience of another knee replacement, so I may not have it done. At least my heart seems OK. But I can't do much. Fortunately, I do not have much to do.
I spend lots of time doing sudoku (Gerry thinks too much). I have written a computer program that lets me do even the most complicated sudoku puzzles in a short time. The computer program involved writing 729 macros - one macro for each of the nine possible numbers in each of the nine squares in each of the nine regions. That is 9 cubed, or 729 macros. Each macro deletes the number associated with that macro from each column, each row, and each region leaving just what I call "candidate" numbers. I am trying to put that on a CD that can be sent to other people, but I have not found a way to do that. If anyone reading this letter knows how to do that, please let me know. Copying and pasting (or dragging and dropping) into a CD lets me put the program there, but then the macros do not work. Why - I do not know. I am enclosing a copy of one sudoku puzzle from which all the numbers that cannot be a "candidate" have been deleted, leaving just the possible numbers for each square; that is, just leaving the "candidate" numbers.
It is great to hear from nieces and nephews. Can we get Teresa to write?
Gerry has had a bad year and a half, - her knee replacement, her breast cancer and radiation, gout, and a long siege of bronchitis. Once I had to sleep in the next room as her cough was keeping me awake. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic that seems to have greatly helped the cough. She is very appreciative of what little help I can give her.
Lots of love to all,
Gerry and Clayton
December 12, 2005 - Edmonds, Washington
Dear Round Robins,
Tara is with us for a couple of days while Ron goes on a business trip to Columbus, Ohio. It is quite a change for us, but Tara is usually very easy to care care of. However, this morning in the restaurant where we go for breakfast, she put up an awful fuss and disturbed the whole restaurant. We had the server pack our food in plastic containers and left. Then we found out her problem -- her diapers were full of poop. Now she is as happy as can be. She hates to have us brush her teeth. The dentist says many of her baby teeth have cavities and they must be brushed and then a special substance put on them. Fortunately, she likes the special stuff.
Gerry had a breast cancer removed on November 7th. She has to go for radiation for six and a half weeks. She is very worried, but I think needlessly. The cancer was very small and it was caught early. I go for a knee replacement on January 16th. We put it off until we were sure Gerry would be able to help me while I am incapacitated. Otherwise, we are doing fine.
Love to all, Clayton and Gerry
June 29, 2005 - Edmonds, Washington
Dear Round Robins,
I think this will be a medical report. I sent the following message to Raymond and to Brenda. It summarizes some of my problems.
"I was in the emergency room all afternoon, yesterday, June 11th. One of the medications, amioderone, that was just prescribed last, made me extremely fatigued and unstable. It is a long-lasting medication and I am still feeling its effects. Last Wednesday, June 8th, in the Swedish Providence Hospital in Seattle, Dr. Broudy did an electrophysiology study of my heart. He went into the heart with catheters and ablated (I think that means 'made inoperative') the electrical circuit that was causing atrial fibrillation. He was successful and my heart now beats normally. The reason I went by ambulance to the hospital here in Edmonds a week ago Friday, June 3rd, was that I fell unconscious Friday morning and scared Gerry half to death. Apparently, I fell because my heart rate went sky high. My cardiologist diagnosed this on Monday when he just happened to be watching a monitor just outside my hospital room door and saw my heart rate soar to over 200, and I felt just as I did before falling on Friday. He prescribed the amioderone, which did its job until my heart rate became normal because of the ablation.
I still cannot do much of anything without getting fatigued. My legs ache because of severe spinal problems (spinal stenosis) and my knees hurt because of arthritis. The doctors won't operate on my knees or back because of my heart problems. Perhaps after August 11th (nine months after stents were put in one of my coronary arteries) they may be able to operate. At that time, I can go off plavix and coumadon."
Ron's Vietnamese wife, Monique, was verbally abusive to him to the point he began to not believe in himself. He filed for divorce and it was granted on June 3rd (the day I fell) and he got complete custody of Tara and makes all the decisions about her health, schooling, day care, etc. It is a tremendous responsibility and he will have to make many life adjustments. He is doing a great job of it so far, and I believe he will make a great father.
Love to all, Clayton & Gerry
April 3, 2005 - Edmonds, Washington
Dear Robins,
As always, it is good to hear from all of you. I could take half a page to tell all that is wrong with Gerry and me. Wednesday, April 6th, I will see Dr. Remington, a knee replacement expert. He has the most recent methods for knee replacement. I hope he can do both knees at the same time. I will have to wait until after the 11th because he won't operate while I am on plavix and coumadin, and I have to stay on them until after that date. The plavix and coumadin thin the blood to prevent blood clots and stroke and to protect the three stents that were put in one of my coronary arteries. I had a nosebleed that three cauterizations could not stop. The nose, ear and throat doctor finally put lots of gauze into my nose and it had to stay there for five days. The biggest problem was that I had to chew with my mouth open which bothered me a lot. However, I am lucky, compared to Nita's problem, and the problems of many others.
Gerry has a sore foot that bothers her greatly. She will see a foot doctor this week. Also, she has a weight problem that causes diabetes. She is trying hard to lose weight; but since she has difficulty walking, she cannot exercise as much as she should. We bought an exercise bike. I can use it without it hurting my knees, but Gerry finds it difficult to use.
We had a very mild winter with very little rain or snow. It looks like we may have water rationing this summer because there is very little snow in the mountains. That is where our water comes from during the summer.
Love to all,
Gerry & Clayton
Edmonds, Washington - October 9, 2004
Dear Round Robins,
We got the sad news of Nita's passing away. We will miss her awfully. We so enjoyed our stays at her place and the great reunions she always hosted so graciously.
There is not much news here. I am hobbling around on arthritic knees and have to take 14 different prescriptions to keep my heart pumping and to avoid blood clots. Gerry has been having back pains lately. However, her knee replacement has worked out great.
Zac's sister, Kim, gave us a kitten last May. He has grown to be a great big cat. We keep him inside all the time to avoid a nasty neighbor cat. That nasty cat has injured several cats in this neighborhood. We named our cat Nero. He loves to play and does not know how sharp his teeth are. Once in awhile he has accidentally drawn blood on my arm. Since I am on coumadin, it is sometimes difficult to stop the bleeding.
Zac's dad, Brian, took me and his two boys to the the University of Washington's girls' volleyball game last evening. I wish I could play volleyball like those girls. They have won 13 straight three-game sets and are undefeated. They will likely win the Pac 10 Conference.
I usually send this to Nita. But now that Nita is gone, I will send it to Rod and Irene who should send it to Lilla.
Love to all,
Clayton and Gerry
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Here is our new grandchild, Tara Le Gardner, at six months! Tara Le's parents are, of course, Ron and Monique Gardner. Tara Le has her own page on The Gardner Family web site. We will be posting pictures periodically, so check back often. See Tara Le's page by clicking here. |
Edmonds, Washington - March 21, 2004
Dear Round Robins,
Our big news is that we finally have a grandchild - Tara Le Gardner - born November 6, 2003. She is beautiful and growing fast. Ron brings her up here about once a week. We don't visit her at Ron's place because it would be in the evening and I don't like to drive after dark.
Our other big news is Gerry's knee replacement. It is nearly four weeks since her operation. Her physical therapist (Brian Clute, Zac's dad) says she is doing better than most patients are. I will be glad when she can begin doing our housework again. It has been almost a year that I have had to do most of the housework. I have learned to cook quite a few different meals, mostly soups. Gerry does not like mot soups, but she does like some of mine.
We have been on the South Beach diet for a couple of months. I have lost 18 pounds and can now wear pants that were way too small. Gerry has lost pounds also. She still has a way to go, but she sticks to the diet better than I do.
We go out to the Family Pancake House for breakfast nearly every morning. Usually we share a cheese omelet without toast or hash browns and also have an order of bacon or link sausage. That fits our diet nicely. We know the personnel well and they know us and remember what we usually order. Yesterday, a gruffy looking character sat across the aisle from us. He had long, unruly hair, long unkempt facial hair, dirty hands and clothes, and was wearing a hospital band on his wrist. He left without paying, so the manager (a 23-year old pleasant and friendly young lady) ran after him, but did not catch him. She called the police and they caught him at a nearby Denny's Restaurant where he was trying to pull the same stunt. I don't know what the police did to him, but we will probably read it in the papers.
On February 26th, the day Gerry got out of the hospital, Ron picked up Ruth Anne Metcalf in Seattle and brought her up here. I prepared a meal for the five of us. We, of course, were glad to see Ruth Anne. We always have a good time when she comes. However, Gerry was not quite over her anesthesia and could not visit much and had to go to bed early.
Love to all, Clayton & Gerry
August, 2003
Dear Folks,
We just got the Round Robin yesterday, and we hope to get it on its way soon.
There is not much news here, but perhaps a health report will be of some interest. WE are reasonably healthy for our ages. I have sore knees and can't do much without getting out of breath. However, I still play volleyball and my play has improved recently. The other players have noticed it and asked if I was feel better. My play was pretty bad for awhile. Gerry has had one thing after another. Right now her knee is so bad that she can hardly walk She is taking prednisone for polymyalgia rheumatica. Before the prednisone, many of her muscles ached. She is trying to lose weight, but the prednisone counteracts her efforts. She had sleep apnea and has to sleep with an air pump blowing air into her nose. Before that, she was awakened many times during the night because she stopped breathing. The pump makes a soft buzzing sound, but does not bother me.
We are having our usual dry summer - almost no rain in June and July, and so far this month. Our water bill probably will be astronomical as I have had to turn on the sprinkler system for long periods of time. I guess we should just let the lawn go brown. We have a lot shrubs behind our house and they would die if we did not water them. The grass would grow back.
I just picked two quarts of blackberries. The lot behind our hedge is loaded with great big juicy berries. The owner never picks any of them and lets me know whey they are ready. A few years ago, he cut out all the blackberry bushes, but they grew back thicker than ever.
Ron and Monique are in Ireland. His soccer team is playing a match there. We have to pick them up at the airport on Monday, August 11th.
I am changing my internet service from Comcast to Verizon, so my Comcast e-mail address (claygard@comcast.net) will no longer be valid. I hope my new address will be (claygard@verizon.net), but I'm not sure "claygard" is available on Verizon. My e-mail address at (da2@da2.com) is still valid, but I get so much spam (several hundred a day) at that address that I just send it all to trash without looking at it.
Love to all, Clayton and Gerry
Edmonds, WA - November 2, 2002
Dear Folks,
There is not much news except for various medical troubles, all of which have been taken care of, so I won't bother you with them.
However, Ron getting married is new. He has found a very nice, very intelligent, very young Vietnamese girl. We may have grandchildren yet. Brenda has just recovered from breast cancer. Also, she has changed jobs. She is now nursing in a larger hospital and likes it very much.
Gerry is using a cane now. She probably won't have to use it for long. She sprained a knee and is hoping it will get better with a little medicine and a bit of care.
I have given up working on our grounds. It took lots of time and I had rather play volleyball, play chess, and watch sports and movies on TV. We have hired Edmonds Landscaping to do all our grounds work and so far (three weeks) they have done an excellent job. Our grounds look better than they ever did before. The total cost is not much more than when I did it because we no longer have to buy fertilizer, weed controls, insecticides, and we no longer have to pay to have lawn waste hauled off.
Nic accidentally hit Zac in the head with a golf club. Poor Zac had a piece of his skull pushed in, but he did not pass out. He cried awfully. Carol called 911 and the medics came and took him to the hospital. There they cut a big flap of his scalp, rolled it down, and moved the piece of skull out. He could not run, ride his bicycle, or play hard all summer. He is all better now, but still wears a hat whenever he is outdoors. Before the medics came, Carol sent Nic to us. He was very upset. He rang our doorbell and said, "Something bad happened and Mummy sent me here." Nic is inclined to tell big stories and Carol knew that Gerry was not feeling well that day, so I did not believe that she would send him to us. Then Carol called to see if Nic had arrived, and I had to believe him.
I have been running to the hardware store today. We found water on the garage floor near our hot water heater and was afraid the hot water heater had sprung a leak. We purchased that hot water heater a bit over five years ago and the warranty has just run out. Fortunately, it was not the heater, but the cold water flexible hose to our set tub faucet. Also, a couple of our recessed light bulbs burned out and I have been unsuccessfully trying to find a fluorescent replacement. A year or so ago, I found such replacements, but those seem not to be made anymore.
Love to all, Clayton & Gerry
Edmonds, WA - April 13, 2002
Dear Round Robins,
Again I have waited for Gerry to answer this letter, but she won't do it. Gerry has had a bad year, one thing after another. First a sore knee which arthroscopy fixed; then her sleep apnea, which was greatly helped by using a mask and pump all night. They she got a film over her right eye and was legally blind in that eye. Dr. Lam, a very intelligent Asian doctor, removed the film; and after a cataract operation, her sight is much improved. Then she fell and sprained something in her foot. She hobbled around for some time and it still bothers her. Now she is suffering from diverticulitis and the medicine for that has caused her stomach problems.
Fortunately, I have had very few problems. I did have a torn minicus in my right knee, the same that Gerry had. Arthroscopic surgery helped some; but the doctor said that there was lots of arthritis in the knee, so the pain would still be there. He also said that when pain pills did not relieve the pain to come back to him and he will replace the knee. So far, I take the pain pills and play volleyball very badly, but my team mates are almost as bad, so they do not complain. My word processor tells me that most of the medical terms above are misspelled, but I think you know what I mean even if the terms are not spelled correctly.
We are planning a cross country trip beginning May 12. We will visit a former neighbor in Grand Junction, Colorado on or about May 14 and continue from there to Brenda's in New Jersey, hoping to arrive by her birthday, May 19. On or about May 23rd, we will leave for Nita's in Vermont. After a few days with our Vermont relatives, we plan to return via Canada and possibly return to the states in Michigan and see Ruth and Henry. These plans may change. I found that there are chess players at the senior center. So, every Wednesday afternoon I play chess there from 1:00 until 4:00. Those senior players are not chess masters, so I win my share of the games.
Raymond and I sell books on www.half.com. I also buy books from there and then after reading them, I resell them.
Love to all, Clayton and Gerry
Edmonds WA, September 25, 2001
Dear RR,
The round robin when around fast this time - probably a record.
Gerry and I did not take a trip this year. She has had a bad summer with a disease called sleep apnea. During the night her breathing stopped for ten seconds or so; and when her body recognized a lack of oxygen, she partially awoke and breathed properly. This happened about 17 times a minute preventing proper sleeping. During the day she was awfully tired and slept much of the time, but still remained tired.
After being diagnosed with the disease, it took a long time to get an appointment with a sleep specialist; and after that, it took a long time to get an appointment with a technician who could run a test to see how much pressure a special machine should produce. Then the doctor who was supposed to prescribe the machine went on vacation. His replacement refused to prescribe the machine.
Our regular doctor intervened, and finally she got the machine; and now, while sleeping, Gerry wears a mask over her nose. Air is pumped into her nose, which keeps the air passages open so that she breathes naturally. It is a nuisance to keep the machine clean and to wear it, but it helps greatly. She is no longer tired all the time.
I have spent a lot of time hunting up pictures of all the cars I have owned and then printing the pictures along with a description of how the cars were used and how they performed. Seems that I have owned about 22 different cars. I use my scanner to scan the pictures into Word (a Microsoft word processor). When printing on glossy photo paper, the pictures look almost as good as the originals. Many of the pictures were on transparencies, which I had sent to a photo lab for prints. I have a transparency copier, but when using it, the pictures came out fuzzy. Probably I did not use it correctly.
Hope everyone is well.
Love to all, Clayton and Gerry
Edmonds WA, June 30, 2001
Dear RR,
I don't have much to say, so this will be short. The boys, Zac and Nic, we take care of occasionally are now out of school, so we don't see them very often. Zac is very much intrigued with a winch that pulls their boat out of Puget Sound waters. So he made what he calls a "winder" with scrap materials that he found in our garage. I refined it quite a bit and he uses my drill as a power source, hitches a rope to what he calls a boat (actually, it is a child's picnic table), and pulls his boat up our driveway. He has more fun with that than he does with very expensive toys, of which he has plenty.
Gerry just came back from cutting branches off our camper from the downed elm tree. She fell while doing this, but did not get hurt seriously. So she's now resting in a chair in the rec room. I can't do much work without getting out of breath and without angina pains, so Gerry has to do most of the outdoor work. We hire a landscaper to do most of the yard work, but that is expensive and it is never done on time. I am trying to persuade her to sell this house and move into a condo. That way, we would not have all this yard work.
I hear from Raymond most every day. Our chess games are interesting. He wins some and I win some. We are about even.
Love to all, Clayton and Gerry
Edmonds, Washington - March 17, 2001
Dear Folks,
I tried again to get Gerry to write this letter, but she won't. So here goes.
We are doing OK, except that I sometimes have angina and have to take nitro. Gerry had a bad knee. She had arthroscopic surgery on it; and after six weeks or so her knee was all better for which we are thankful.
Ron visits us most every Monday evening for supper. That way, once a week, I get a good meal. Other times we do not fuss with meals. Ron's divorce is final and he seems to be doing quite nicely. He plays soccer, skies, swims, hikes, and wind surfs. His law firm seems to be doing great.
Brenda lost her job with Flex and is now back nursing. She loves nursing, but says she is having a hard time to pay her bills. She is real active in her church and does lots of volunteer work for Noah's Shelter. Brenda has three cats and a dog in her condo.
Lois, how can you like Canadian geese? Here in the Seattle area they are putting away thousands of them as they pollute the playgrounds, swimming areas, lawns, etc.
Gerry and I found a fitness club. Three times a week we go there and work out on the treadmill and exercise machines. These workouts have increased my upper body strength to the point that my volleyball play is better than it used to be. My play is better than some of the group but worse than others. At 80, I am the oldest member of this senior citizens group. I have been playing with the group for about 13 years now. The group has changed. Some have died, some have been incapacitated, some have moved away, but there are five of the original group still playing.
We go to Canada about every three months to get prescription drugs. At the local pharmacy these drugs would cost about $1,250. In Canada, after including all expenses, they cost about $600. It is a little over a two-hour drive to Surrey, BC where we get the drugs so that is no big problem and it makes a nice day trip. We get a good meal at a nice restaurant in Surrey. The drugs I take are for my angina and other heart problems and for heartburn. They seem to be doing the job. Gerry takes drugs for high blood pressure, for depression, and because part of her thyroid had to be removed.
Guess I have rambled on long enough. So I'll say goodbye.
Clayton and Gerry
August 25, 2000
Edmonds, Washington
Dear Folks,
I just finished reading all your interesting letters. Most of your news was old to us since we were back there in June. We had a great trip across the country and may do it again next year if our money and health hold up
I have spent the last week trying to get a microphone to work in conjunction with my digital camera. I want to be able to record a verbal description of each picture and put it all on video tape. I think I made about ten trips to Magnolia Hi-Fi with questions about how to do it. The microphones I had were scratchy, distorted, full of clicks, noisy, and completely unsatisfactory. I tried several devices and ways before I found one that worked. Now all I need is to find the time to do the recording.
The digital camera is great. I can put out pictures on a compact disk and view them through the computer. Then using a commercial photo program (one that came with the camera), I can crop, enlarge, fix defects, print, and do many other things to the pictures. I have not yet learned all the features. Also, as I learn new tricks, I forget the old ones. I guess that is part of growing old.
I have trouble typing. My fingers hit a key that my mind tells me is needed to be hit later. So then I type “the”, it comes out with the “e” before the “h”. This word program immediately corrects that mistake so I can’t show you what it looks like. However this program does not correct all such mistakes. Fortunately, this program wont let me misspell a word. If a word is misspelled, it is underlined in red.
Enough for now.
Love to all, Clayton and Gerry
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