Kathy Before Ron
Kathy is private. I will share what I have seen her share publicly. But I want her to decide how much of her story to tell. She will make her changes later.
Kathy started as a flutist early in her life and developed into an accomplished musician. She wanted to be involved in music during elementary school. She picked out a flute. She joined the elementary school band. A few months later, the band director informed her parents that she had already progressed beyond the skill level that they teach. He advised them to get her a private teacher. She performed in various music groups worldwide until her 70s (which, of course, hasn't happened yet.) At that point, arthritis in her hands made constant practice impossible. She dearly misses this part of her life.
Kathy's grandmother was a lifelong, committed member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Shortly after the birth of each grandchild, she saw to it a birth record for them in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was created by having them receive a blessing in the church. As she left home to go out on her own, Kathy's mother, Pat, chose a path different from the LDS life taught by Kathy's grandmother. Pat was a great parent, raising them with good values and the skills to be successful adults. However, they did not have the Church as their central influence. When Kathy was eight, Mae Town, a leader of the local church children's organization, came by their house to see if Kathy would be willing to be baptized and begin attending church. Mae was unaware of Kathy's older brother, Ron, but included him in the invitation. Pat said it would be fine if it were their own choice. They took the missionary lessons and committed to becoming baptized. They both became future leaders in the Church and community who influenced others to develop faith. She chose many great friends in high school who helped her make good life decisions.
Kathy was 5'4" in her freshman year of high school but then grew to 6'1" in her sophomore year. As she says, she became uncoordinated enough to trip across painted lines in the street. Mr. Bland, the high school boy's varsity basketball coach, watched her and devised a plan to help her rediscover her coordination. He proposed to her Mom that Kathy start practicing with the boy's varsity basketball team. Pat agreed, and Kathy developed coordination and a love for playing basketball. But she never enjoyed the girl's team because they "played like girls." She never played college ball because of the lack of college girl's sports in the era. However, she often played later on as the opportunity arose, including her years as a principal when she chose to compete with the boys on campus. She also kept this talent concealed until she demolished me on the court just after marriage.
Then there was this unique opportunity to play basketball in the early 80s. There was a group of seven women who all loved basketball. They had 25 children between them so practices were interesting. Kathy was pregnant at this time. The gelled into a good team and started beating everyone around, mostly men's teams. Then there was this church women's basketball league that started. The team started there. They defeated everyone they played locally, and on to the regional teams. They ended up in fourth position for all teams in Southern California. The other three teams were all college students so defeat was inevitable.
Kathy was timid, so her mom worried she would not be outgoing enough to succeed in college. She began college at Cerritos Community College, but Kathy soon realized she had to move on to receive full credits for classes taken. Kathy went to BYU and rapidly melded socially. She developed many friends, male and female. A mystery group went about BYU soaping car windows at night. A group of guys staked the place out and caught the group, including Kathy. Their punishment was to prepare dinners for the guys for the rest of the year. (The guys furnished the food.) She joined the award-winning BYU Marching Band and performed at events around the United States. She graduated from BYU with a major in elementary education and a minor in music. She hoped to teach music at the elementary level. This never happened because more extraordinary things were in store for her. She returned home to teach at Los Angeles Unified, where she taught at 122nd Street School in Watts. She also returned home unmarried, of course waiting to meet the future love of her life.