I had a short, youthful marriage that only lasted about a year after I got out of the Marine Corps. Her name was Sherry Mosul. That was in the real early 60’s.

Then I met my wife in a Junior Achievement meeting for college students. It was to help kids get into JA. I walked in, recognized her, but couldn’t remember where.

Finally it clicked. We had gone to grammar school together. We were a year apart, but we knew one another from school. We had a 31 year marriage. And we would be still together if she had made it through. She died in 1999 from a brain hemorrhage. She died instantly. Right here in this room as a matter of fact.

I went into shave I came back out, and she was dead. It was a shocker; she was in better health than I was. From the autopsy, they were able to determine that her death occurred as a result of a birth defect. She had it throughout her life that didn’t know it.

Looking back there probably could have been in operation. But as I said it was an undetected difficulty that she had. She was a San Jose girl also. She was third generation Italian. She went through San Jose state university and became a teacher and a librarian. She took a leave of absence to have our daughter. After that, she went back to San Jose state to get the library credential. Then she taught at Branciforte Elementary School for 24 years.

My wife was a leader in the reading industry, and she has turned me into a campaigner for reading throughout the state of California. That’s my soapbox.