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In Dec. of 1968, I turned 18. 1969 was a very full year! I graduated in January the last mid-term class. In February, I got married to a Springwoods boy named Danny Woodard (yes I only dropped the "y" in my name) I went to work as a secretary at Deephole Machine Company. I got a 1964 yellow convertible VW Bug...life was good. The year 1970 was a mixture of good times and bad. March was an example of this. We found out that I was going to have a baby and Danny (whose draft number was 86) got drafted into the Army. We both decided to run away to Canada as neither one of us believed in the Vietnam War, but our fathers talked us out of it. In September Danny got orders to go to Vietnam. We were able to get him a stay however through political people until our first born son Paul was born on November 2, 1970. Within a week we had to move back from San Antonio to Houston and Danny was headed off to Vietnam and I moved back home. Danny made it home and on January 10, 1973, I had our second son Casey. My two sons meant the world to me. In 1974, I lost my mom to lung cancer. This was very hard on me. The boy's growing up years were full of little league baseball, Cub Scouts, Football and soccer. My marriage to the boy's dad did not last but 10 years as he had gotten pretty messed up in Vietnam. So in 1979, I was alone raising two small boys. I decided to go to college while they were both in school. It took me a while, but in 1986, I graduated with an Elementary Teaching degree. I taught First Grade first in the Splendora district, then New Caney. On the dreadful day of May 18, 1991, my never ending nightmare began. I got the news that my first born son Paul had been murdered. On that day a part of me was ripped from my body and I died too. I can't even begin to tell anyone what it means to loose a child, but it has to be one of the worst feelings in the world. The next 11 years were filled with trying to live and fighting early releases at parole hearings. This only opened up the wounds trying to heal. The kid that shot him ended up only having to serve 11 years out of twenty and this still haunts me today. In Oct. of 1991, I married again to a man named Rick Harmon and we moved to Lake Jackson, TX. (this is where his job took us. ) I got a job in Danbury, TX, again teaching First Grade. This is the school I retired from after the 2006 school year. Being a teacher allowed me to take some wonderful trips. I have visited England, Scotland (many times), Ireland, Australia (twice), Vienna, Prague and Slovakia. I love traveling! In January of 2007, I became restless with life, marriage and very lost. I moved to LaGrange to try and understand what I wanted in my life. I love LaGrange and get to see some sort of wildlife every day. I sit out on my deck each day to read and take tons of pictures. I am learning to paint and am boring all my friends and family with emails of my paintings....but hey I am having fun! I love taking my cocker spaniel Jagger for walks each day. I also try to go see as many Astro games as I can with my son Casey or dear old friends. Music has always been a big part of my life (an escape as a teen) and I still go to as many concerts that I can afford! Hard to believe I saw the Beatles in 1965 for $5. ha-ha So this is where I am now...still very lost, but meeting new friends and trying to make the best out of what life has to offer. One day I hope to be a granny and spoil my grandchildren rotten. See you guys at the reunion:)...little did we know those were to be some of the greatest days...peace and love, denise