20	Summer	03
Linda White Box 311 Cheyenne, OK 73628	Virginia's Family | Monta's Family | Garland's Family Ed's Family | Dale's Family | Richard's Family Elmeda’s Family | Bill and Mary Watts | Announcements	Joe Elder 813 SW 63 Oklahoma City, OK 73139
Volume 12	of the family, by the family, for the family	Issue 1

The Newsletter The cost is $2.00 per year (mailed). If you have an e-mail address, Joe can send you a newsletter via e-mail for free. So send him your e-mail address and save money. The news needs to come to Joe or me, Linda White. If you have any suggestions let us know. We will publish the newsletter four times a year. The deadline for your news to reach either Joe or me will be the 1st day of each new season i.e. June 21, September 22, December 21, March 21. The newsletter should be out a week later, give or take a day or so. We won’t send out reminders, so be sure to mark your calendars now. If we don’t have to send out reminders, we can keep the prices lower. Linda White Editor Virginia’s Family We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the family reunion on the 22nd. Barbara, Dennis and I are driving to Texas on June 13th and will attend the Patterson-Pendleton-Bradshaw on the 15th. All of our family are doing well. I stay busy with activities of daily living, sewing, knitting, embroidering dish towels for the church bazaar later on this year, helping qualified senior citizens apply for prescription drugs, taking care of the flower beds at church and my own lawn and garden. Barbara and Dennis stay busy with all their projects at home and grand parenting. Dennis retired May 1st. He is going into the excavation business and has bought a water truck, equipment trailer and backhoe and will contract with the Forest Service. Barbara works at the optometrist office 3 days a week. As grievance chairman for his union, Roger is and is extremely busy with that and an occasional trip. United Airlines has cut back a lot in order to survive during these troubled times due to 9-11, the war in Iraq, the economy and SARS. He is selling his house and moving to a town house to keep up, a big lawn to mow in the summer and snow removal in the winter. Shannon, Kenneth, T.J. and Jordyn are fine. Jordyn was 2 years old on May 18th, a beautiful little curly haired girl. T.J. is 5, will start kindergarten this fall, plays T-ball and is just adorable. Shannon has competed the 90 day probationary period at her new job and is now eligible for benefits, which is the reason she changed jobs. Kenneth still drives the milk truck - picks up milk at dairies and delivers to a manufacturing plant. Long hours and lots of driving. Love to all, Virginia Patterson Editor's note: Virginia sent me an e-mail saying that they got home after a long two days on the road. They got home okay on Tuesday night about 9:30 PM. Monta’s Family No submissions. Did see Monta at the get together at Mobetee and enjoyed eating the food the she brought. A strange observation though, she seems obsessed with collecting old newspapers. Garland’s Family Could I get you to include the following URL to the next newsletter? It is the pictures I took at the family reunion. A link is also available on the Watts News index where it says Reunion Photos down at the bottom! I can add more to this group if anyone else has any they want to share! Reunion Photos Thanks, puzzler Ed's Family RHETT AND ASHLEY'S WEDDING On the evening of Saturday, June 14, 2003, at the First United Methodist Church in Irving, TX, Ashley Grimes became the bride of Rhett Lynn Patterson. The Reverend J.D. Frazier of Dallas, friend of the couple, officiated at the double-ring ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Larry and Debbie Grimes of Irving. Grandparents of the bride include Maurine Grimes and the late Jay Grimes and Winn Stocker and the late Robert Cardwell, all of Tyler. Ashley graduated from Irving High School in 1995, and then, in 1999, she graduated from Texas A & M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in education. She teaches kindergarten for the Irving Independent School District. The groom's parents are Randal and Nancy Patterson of Groom, TX. Rhett's grandparents are Nile and Lois Patterson of Claude and the late Edwin and Luella Watts of Wheeler. The groom is a 1993 graduate of Groom High School and a 1998 graduate of West Texas A & M University where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Then, in 2000, Rhett received a MBA degree in Management from WTAMU. He is an account representative for Clark Consulting Firm in Dallas. Serving as Matron of Honor was Ginny Parker of Lawton, OK. Bridal attendants were Piper Lockett of Dallas, cousin of the bride, Becky Alaniz of Irving, Maegan Minkel of Irving, cousin of the bride, and Heather Patterson of Plano, sister of the groom. Randal Patterson of Groom was honored to serve his son as Best Man. The groomsmen were Ben Avidas of Oklahoma City, OK, cousin of the groom, Doug Hull of Bedford, Damien Cates of Waco, and Jon Grimes of Grand Prairie, brother of the bride. Taylor Arispe of Irving, a former student of the bride, was the flower girl. She was escorted by the ring bearer, Austin Fife, of Argyle, TX. The guests were ushered to their seats by Mark Schwiening of Dallas, Paul Starnes of Plano, Jimmy Walker of Hurst, and Steve Babineaux of Grapevine. The house party included Amy Larson, Stephanie Roach and Shannon Parker, all of the Dallas area. The bride chose a gown of white delustered satin with a tulle overlay. A band of bridal tulle enhanced the strapless fitted bodice, and the snug drop waist accentuated the bouffant-ball gown skirt. The long flowing veil of white tulle was held in place by a comb of tiny crystals. Her bouquet was created by using fresh red roses. The bridal attendants were dressed in gowns featuring strapless, fitted botices and A-line skirts made of black delustered satin. Each one carried a bouquet of white roses, and they wore matching jewelry--a gift from the bride. The men in the wedding party wore black tuxedoes with white accents. A red rose boutonniere completed the groom's wedding attire. Prior to the ceremony, instrumentalists, Nick Beckham, Micah Blalock, and Dusty Craig played various hymns and worship songs. After the minister's words of greeting and prayer, Micah sang, "The Love of My Life," by Michael W. Smith. Following the declaration of marriage and exchanging of rings, the bride and groom knelt for a private Communion service---recommitting not only their lives, but committing their marriage to the Lord. During this special time, the song, "In Remembrance of Me" by Cheri Keaggy played in the background. The wedding reception and dance was then held at the La Cima Club in Las Colinas. Dave and Buster's in Dallas was the setting for the rehearsal dinner that was hosted by the groom's parents on Friday evening prior to the special day. When the couple returns from their wedding trip to Hawaii, they will make their home in Irving. Dale’s Family Spoke with Dale at Mobeete and we all hope that Francis feels better quickly. Richard's Family Louada is recovering nicely from an injured right ankle. She was in the back yard of Sharon's house (in Altus that still hasn't sold), and stepped in a hole that she didn't see due to tall grass. She ended up with a bad sprain and ligaments torn from the bone. She was alone and waited until some neighbor kids heard her cry out for help. She sent them to get her friend David who was in the neighborhood, and he took her to the hospital. While recuperating, one of her home-schooled piano students stayed with her quite a bit during the day to help out. A couple of men from her church built a temporary ramp off her porch to make coming and going easier. She's completed physical therapy and says mowing her grass is good therapy now. Louada has recently "retired" from teaching her Sunday School class--time for someone else to teach. She's always active doing something, though. She's ahead of me in spring cleaning, as she recently had her living room painted. So many of her piano students have moved, that she's decided to not "replace" them, but do more sewing and mending for people instead. Sharon has been busy sewing new work uniforms for herself. She's soon required to wear royal blue or white (or combination) nursing uniforms. As industrious and thrifty as she is, she's making hers instead of buying them. Sharon and I drove to Missouri in mid-may to see her youngest son, Jeremy, graduate from high school. That was no easy task for Jeremy, either. He had to "make up" some courses on-line. For a long time, we didn't know if he would be able to complete the courses in time to graduate with his friends or go through summer school or have to get his GED. Since he needed income from his part-time job, his work time cut back the after-school hours that he needed to be on the computer. But since he's in the Army NG Reserves, they told him that they would pay him to finish high school. Thus, he didn't have to work so much at his job, and that allowed time to earn the necessary credits. God answered so many prayers in this situation! He sure had a big smile on his face walking down that aisle after the graduation ceremony!! In mid-July he goes back to Ft Sill OK to complete the career-field training portion of basic training. And that very thing is what older brother Jason is doing now. He graduates less than a week before Jeremy begins his AIT, both at Ft Sill. They're both in the field artillery career field. At the time that I'm writing this, Cecil is facing surgery and 2 biopsies. He had an ultrasound, CT scan, and MRI on a swollen area above his right collar bone. They revealed nothing, so a biopsy is planned. Meanwhile, he spoke up about a sore, lumpy area on his right breast. This was followed by an abnormal mammogram (he now empathizes with millions of women everywhere!) and an ultrasound that showed swollen tissue. On June 11, the surgeon will cut about 6-8" to be able to remove that tissue. Of course they'll biopsy that tissue as well as the swollen area on his neck. This process began in February, so we're ready to get it over with. We are optimistic that all will go well. Many people will be praying for him. Billy just applied for a job at a Publix grocery store that's about to open right across the street from his apartment complex. The city's putting in a traffic light there too, that will be access much easier and safer, as that is a busy street. His current grocery store job is fine, but he doesn't get as many hours as he wants. As for me, I'm doing fine. The health issues of several family members causes me to count my blessings even more. Our church choir, that Sharon, Cecil and I are in, is putting the finishing touches on the patriotic musical that will be presented June 28 on the grounds of our church's future location. Just like last year, there will be fireworks and food (hopefully no last-minute storm like last year). We'll also have a "county fair" theme with booths, etc. Stay safe in your family vacations, summer cookouts, and fireworks displays! Jeanne Elmeda’s Family It has been a tense and apprehensive past few months. As most of you are aware John is a member of the US Marines and is assigned to the 81mm mortar unit in the combat infantry portion of the 2nd Battalion 1st Marines. His unit left San Diego in early January and went directly to Kuwait, stopping only in Singapore for fuel. Training continued up until the day they entered Iraq. The unit was the first to enter through their designated breach and immediately encountered stiff resistance. With superior training and firepower and the will of God, they achieved their designated objectives with minimal casualties. After many unspeakable terrifying, sleepless nights, and by the grace of God he returned unharmed to Kuwait on April 29th. He is currently on his way home aboard the USS Tarawa and is due to arrive back in the States the end of July. Carol went to Denver for a few days in May to attend an oncology conference, she said that there were five thousand people there in attendance. Rachel has stayed busy during the completion of her freshman year of high school. She lettered in track, I was under the impression that she was running away from the boys, but was recently told that she is in training to be able to catch them. She ended the semester with all A's and B's. I was finally able to go to Buffalo, New York during Rachel's spring break. I had purchased a front loader for my tractor and Carol decided that she and Rachel would go with me to pick it up. The money that I saved on the cost was almost spent on extras bought during the trip. We traveled to Michigan and crossed into Canada at Detroit. We then re-entered the USA at Buffalo, New York. Since Rachel is an I Love Lucy fan, we had to stop at Lucille Ball's hometown of Jamestown, New York. Carol insisted that we travel through the Amish country in Ohio. She was not able to stop at all of the gift shops, as most of them closed at dark. Hey Everyone, This is Rachel Elder just telling you about a part of my life. Right now, during the summer I'm making my way to Louisiana going to a Catholic Youth conference with my church, then right after that I am going to a horse camp to take lessons and learn more about the horses. In July things start to calm down but maybe my brother will be home and I will get to spend a little time with him. When August starts to roll back around I will begin my sophomore year in high school, and for a fall sport I'm going to be on the volleyball team. Well I hope that everyone is doing well, love to all. ~ *Rachel Elder * ~ Salutations from the USS Tarawa, currently we are somewhere between Australia and Hawaii nearing the international dateline. As most know, I deployed with the 15th MEU SOC Jan 5th of '03 and due to past events I was involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom. As events for us unfolded we offloaded in Kuwait Feb 10th and sat in the desert and trained. Work began for us on March 20th at 5:07am as we moved into the Al-Faw Peninsula with the 3rd Battalion British Royal Commandos (Royal Marines) and attacked Umm-Qasar. Other than the special forces already in Iraq we were the first American unit in Iraq due to everyone else started their push 8 hours behind us. From there we went to Az Zubayr, then to Jaholiba. We moved up to An Nasiriya March 30 and once everything calmed down there we began to set up local police forces and attempting to restore order. We withdrew May 1st and I arrived back on ship May 5th with my platoons vehicles. Currently we are due back in the US (San Diego) July 12th. So far places we have been. Singapore, Kuwait, Saudi, Iraq, Bahrain, Seychelles, and Australia. Right now I plan on taking leave July 21st thru the 8th of Aug. Hopefully I may see/hear from a few of you when I'm home. More later ~John W. Elder Bill and Mary Watts Reminds everyone to mark their calendars for the reunion in Childress June 2004. Announcements July August September BIRTHDAYS 4 John Elder 5 Rhett Patterson 30 Randal Patterson 17 Roper Lee Swanson 24 Nancy Paterson 25 Kenneth Jensen 26 Virginia Patterson 7 Joe Elder 14 Carol Elder 25 Elmeda Elder ANIVERSARIES None reported Please send all omissions and corrections to the editors.

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