The Coss-Mcdaniel Family : A Short Story

Family is the most important aspect of student success, this is the unit that teaches children how communicate, have good/appropriate social skills, and problem solving skills and this could not be truer than with a special needs child, yet if that child has a sibling this can be to their detriment. Mary McHugh, author of the book Special Siblings writes that “I don’t know if that happy baby turned into that somber child because of my brother’s disability or because my parents’ marriage was almost destroyed by it,” showing how typically developing children are, many times, at a disadvantage in the family unit because their parents are pouring all their love and attention into the special needs child leaving the typical child deprived and alone

The parents came out of Grandma’s room by one by one, bags under their eyes, makeup running down their face, and bright red noses. By that time, I could almost predict what happened. As my mom and dad approached us with their heads down, I prepared myself to hear exactly what I never wanted to hear. “The doctors are turning off the life support machine. She isn’t suffering anymore, and she will be looking over every one of you guys. She said she loves you all so much,” Mom told us while my dad didn’t hide his tears back.

My Uncle was married twice; first to Michelle he has three kids Michael, Brienne, and Killian. On January 10, 2002 he married the love of his life; the woman I call my Aunt Colette. She is no longer with us; she passed away on March 2, 2014. She was involved in a tragic single motorcycle accident. She was only 59. “We were all very grateful to know Colette, not only because of the wonderful person that she was, and the joy that she spread in our lives, but because she used all the moments in her life to share her wonderful experiences with us and took the time to teach us all a little bit about life.” Michael Purta (Obituary). The death of my Aunt was the hardest time of his life; not only mourning the loss of his wife, but learning

She lost her parents at a young age, so her grandparents struggled to take care of her and her brothers. Soon after her sixtieth birthday, my mom married my father, and they both welcomed me two years later. I was born in September 1999; unfortunately, five months after my birth, my father died in the hands of a stranger from a gunshot to the head. Although both my grandmother and mother were devastated by his passing, they both decided to once again fight for our future and raise me.

In the detailed story of an impoverished family during the late 1900’s, Jeannette Walls describes her experience from the young age of 3, up until adulthood. The family of 6, with Rex Walls as the father, Rose Mary as the mother, and her three siblings, Lori, Brian and Maureen, were constantly moving throughout the country with little to no food or cash. The memoir shows how dysfunctional the family was, but never seemed to force the reader to condemn the parents. In a life of poverty, the have to move for own to town, and often lived in various mining towns. Although they each found something they learned to love (like Jeannette’s rock collection) in the desert, they had to leave them behind once Rex’s alcoholism only worsened, and they ran

John (1735-1826) and Abigail (1744-1818) Adams were the second President and First Lady. John Adams served as the first vice president to George Washington, United States minister to the Netherlands, United States envoy to France. He served in congress for three years and served one term as president. Abigail Adams was a fairly active first lady, and was involved in some of the politics.

Holly Hank’s daughter found out her dad and grandfather were legends. Holly didn’t know some of her family were legends (Larkin, 2002). Hank’s death was a tragic but it was going to happen

In 1961 my father Everett Babcock and Lois Menken would marry and 10 months later in October they would give birth to my sister Kelly (1961-present), in April of 1965 I would be born. Although, we had our disagreements throughout our lives I would consider my immediate family as just a basic family there was not any mental illness or abuse. Although, on my father’s side of the family there is a history of suspected alcoholism, and both sides of the family there have been family members who contracted or died from

I went to my grandmother’s house for lunch one afternoon. Her name is Bonnie. As we were eating I asked her about a family story. She had one that came straight to mind and really stuck out. It was about her long lost cousin, Jimmy. Jimmy’s mother, Willy, was born into a big family. Willy had eight siblings, but in this story I’ll only talk about two, Gladys and Maylene.

Michael’s father’s name was Hugh. His earliest memory of him is when his father was a Chaplain in the air force. He remembers a Sunday after church he stepped in an anthill and it was his first time and hopefully last time being naked in front of a church and he remembers his father taking care of him after the incident. His father was born in Mount Hope, West Virginia. His grandfather was a coal miner. Michael’s Dad had two sisters and one brother. Michal knew his grandmother, Goldie Richie, and his grandfather died before he was born. Michael’s grandmother, who he called Grandma Goldie, married after her first husband’s death to a man named Pearl Diamond making their name Goldie and Pearl Diamond. She was the matriarch of the family for a long time and she passed in her 90’s. His grandfather passed when his father was around seventeen years old.

“To hear Grandmother talk, you’d think they came over on the Mayflower; she still refuses to let me look through her Family Bible- it has all the births documented from past generations. She says that when she dies, it is to go to your mother; it will be up to your mother to decide who gets it next.”

Joyce Ann Thigpen was born on February 17th, 1946 to Edward Franklin Rich and Dorthy Thigpen in her grandmother's house on a little farm four miles from Trenton, North Carolina. She was then adopted by her grandmother Mary Ann Thigpen because her parents were not married at the time. Joyce met a linemen that was working on power lines on my family’s land. Joyce later married the linemen, my grand daddy, Frank Linney Roark Sr., at the young age of sixteen. In the process of getting married she had to have her birth certificate and that was when she found out that her mother was really her grandmother. After Joyce and Frank got married they then moved to Clinton, North Carolina. Joyce gave birth

My grandmother, 62 today, has lived an eventful life very unknown to her 22 grandchildren. Most of us know she was married to our grandfather, Ray Pittsley, at the young age of 16, however, before and after that is mysterious. They settled in Dubois, Wyoming and raised a family of three girls and two boys. During their children’s teens and twenties, my grandparents worked for the Louisiana Pacific Sawmill in Dubois, Wyoming. This company logged in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana and created the job industry in these places. At the sawmill, my grandmother worked the post peeler. “I would generally work eight hours a day. It wasn’t hard hard work, but it was work.” Cindy would go to work no matter the weather and no one would ever hear a grumble. While

The stories of family member’s lives are important to document and share over the years. Their stories are a reminder of the history from different time periods. The family members I chose to talk about are people I either admire or wanted to learn more about. Here are their stories.

To this day, I can still remember standing at the end of my driveway watching my mother arrive home from the bus stop. This day was different; she was not coming home empty handed. In fact, she had stopped at a yard sale on the way home and bought a prize for me, a doll named Suzy. This memory, from the age of two, embraces the story of my mother and my entire childhood. In Indianapolis, Indiana in September 1980, I was born to a single mother. Throughout her life, she worked for the phone company in downtown Indianapolis. Even though she raised us through hardships and despair, she always took the time to love my brother and me outwardly. Until second grade, I have no recollection of my father visiting more than three occasions. At last, in fourth grade we began to spend weekends at his house and with his family. Sadly, when I was eleven we learned that my father had cancer. One week before Christmas, after a school music program, I read his obituary in the paper and told my mother he had passed away. From that moment, our family forever changed, specifically my relationship with my mother.