You are probably wondering why Donna and I were in the same grade together even though we weren’t twins. We should have been twins – we thought alike, acted alike, and were very close in age (less than a year apart). She was also smarter; but as students in the Dearborn system, a five year old with a late month birthday started school in January. So she was a half grade ahead of me, as I started the following September. When we moved to Redford Township, the school’s rule was that one must move back a grade rather than forward to the next grade.
It was great having my sister in the same grade and we had lots of good times together, each watching out for the other so we didn’t get into too much trouble with our parents. After high school graduation Donna went on to school to become a cosmetologist. She was so creative; I volunteered my hair many a time so she could demonstrate her hair styling techniques. Lucky me! Donna worked at a local salon for a short time, and even though she was great at her profession, she decided it just wasn’t for her.
Donna went on to work at an automobile insurance company near by as an administrative assistant. I’ll never forget the day she brought home a Corvette purchased from the insurance company. It was such a great deal! A previously stolen car that was subsequently found and back in the hands of the insurance company. But she didn’t know how to drive a standard shift – we would laugh ourselves silly every time she changed gears and stalled out. What fun we had with that car but one day someone drove into her and the car shattered. That was the end of the Corvette – but by that time Donna liked fast cars so she bought one of those new (at the time) Firebirds with a big engine.
She and that Firebird left for California, along with her husband that got transferred to San Jose. They bought a house in a cute little town called Morgan Hill, which sat at the foot of the mountains. I loved to visit there; it was close to San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Carmel, Monterey, and Lake Tahoe. In Morgan Hill, Donna worked as a secretary at a ranch for juvenile delinquent boys. She became their “Mother Superior,” providing the boys with the attention and caring they never received at home. The boys had a lot of respect and love for Donna, and if you were to visit the ranch today, you would find a beautiful garden the boys created in her memory.
Nikki Gedeon (Black)
About Donna from her sister Loretta
You are probably wondering why Donna and I were in the same grade together even though we weren’t twins. We should have been twins – we thought alike, acted alike, and were very close in age (less than a year apart). She was also smarter; but as students in the Dearborn system, a five year old with a late month birthday started school in January. So she was a half grade ahead of me, as I started the following September. When we moved to Redford Township, the school’s rule was that one must move back a grade rather than forward to the next grade.
It was great having my sister in the same grade and we had lots of good times together, each watching out for the other so we didn’t get into too much trouble with our parents. After high school graduation Donna went on to school to become a cosmetologist. She was so creative; I volunteered my hair many a time so she could demonstrate her hair styling techniques. Lucky me! Donna worked at a local salon for a short time, and even though she was great at her profession, she decided it just wasn’t for her.
Donna went on to work at an automobile insurance company near by as an administrative assistant. I’ll never forget the day she brought home a Corvette purchased from the insurance company. It was such a great deal! A previously stolen car that was subsequently found and back in the hands of the insurance company. But she didn’t know how to drive a standard shift – we would laugh ourselves silly every time she changed gears and stalled out. What fun we had with that car but one day someone drove into her and the car shattered. That was the end of the Corvette – but by that time Donna liked fast cars so she bought one of those new (at the time) Firebirds with a big engine.
She and that Firebird left for California, along with her husband that got transferred to San Jose. They bought a house in a cute little town called Morgan Hill, which sat at the foot of the mountains. I loved to visit there; it was close to San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Carmel, Monterey, and Lake Tahoe. In Morgan Hill, Donna worked as a secretary at a ranch for juvenile delinquent boys. She became their “Mother Superior,” providing the boys with the attention and caring they never received at home. The boys had a lot of respect and love for Donna, and if you were to visit the ranch today, you would find a beautiful garden the boys created in her memory.
We all still miss Donna terribly.