I swear, that's my mom's initials. Janice Ann Reaves Stafford. It makes for a classy monogram, y'all. She is the oldest of 3 kids born to Harold and Geraldine Reaves and one of 2 still living. Her sister Nancy is alive and well though the baby brother is long gone, by his own doing.

The family grew up on Pate Street in a house next door to her grandparents Oskie the grocer and Ethel. Later they moved to the more ritzy section of town over by the high school where all the action was. Imagine living across the street from your 1940's alma mater! Harold owned a service station a couple of blocks away, and the greasy spoon next door. He was a man admired by many and a hard worker who died when I was only 3 years old from heart disease. If it were now and he were still here, it would be a matter of a simple outpatient procedure to cure him.

My mom never got over losing her father when he was only 45. To this day she still cries when she talks about him. I'm thinkin' she was a daddy's girl, if you know what I mean :) They traveled a lot when the kids were young and often took friends along, like Baby Sister. Katherine wasn't really a blood sister, but might as well have been. She was part of the family, and still is.

Janice met Billy at school and fell head over heels for his quirky sense of humor and silly smile. They courted and took off to college together, but military service put a dent in that courtship for a bit. When he was stationed in the Azores with the USAF there was a chance for a leave around Valentine's Day and that's when the wedding planner kicked into gear.