Author Archives: Paul Ligda

BRANDY STE.ANN LIGDA

BRANDY STE.ANN LIGDAFemale View treeBorn: 1993-09-08
Father: PAUL CHARLES LIGDAMother: ANNE LIGDA
Children: none
Siblings: JAY ATKIN LIGDA

Brandy is the adopted daughter of Paul and Anne Ligda.  Her natural parents were David Cooney and Shelby McDonald.  At the time of her birth, her parents were not living together.  Her father was homeless; her mother was a drug abuser.   Brandy’s mother, who had custody, often left Brandy with others for extended periods.  In December of 1993, Brandy was left with Anne’s daughter, Liz.  At the time, Liz was a single parent caring for her own two sons: Raymond who was 7 and Duke who was not yet one.  She was unable to assume responsibility for a third child.  To relieve Liz, Anne brought Brandy home in January of 1994.

The Ligda’s initially planned to provide Brandy a home until one of her parents could provide for her.  In the meantime, Anne became her formal guardian. 1  Brandy’s mother, Shelby, took an active interest in her daughter.  Over several months, while she entered and completed a drug rehabilitation program, Shelby visited Brandy and took her for regular Saturday visitations.  During the same period, however, there was a natural bonding between Brandy and the Ligdas who took her on frequent vacations and made plans for her future.  By 1996, it was clear Brandy felt the Ligdas were her parents.  With the consent of both her natural parents, the Ligdas petitioned to adopt her.  That petition was approved on October 31, 1996. 2

Brandy grew up in Vallejo, graduating from Cooper Elementary School in 2003, from M.I.T. Middle School in 2006, and from St Patrick St. Vincent High School in 2011.  She did not like the Catholic environment of SPSV and gravitated to the school friends she knew from earlier years rather than making new high school friends.  Among those friends was Erin Ring who had been a team mate of hers on the M.I.T. Colorguard Team that won the Winter Championships in 2006 and 2007.

Notes:

  1. Letters of Guardianship were issued June 22, 1994 by the Solano County Superior Court.  The file number is P34235.
  2. The Decree of Adoption was issued by Judge Harrison of the Solano County Superior Court.  The file number is A05329.

JAY ATKIN LIGDA


JAY ATKIN LIGDA
Male View treeBorn: 1966-08-04
Father: PAUL CHARLES LIGDAMother: JULIE CAROLYN LAINE
Children: none
Siblings: BRANDY STE.ANN LIGDA

Jay was the second child and first son born to Paul and Julie Ligda and the first male born in the sixth recorded generation of Ligdas.  His first home was at 6013 Joni Court in Pollock Pines, California.  He was four when his parents separated in 1970.  Custody was given to his mother who moved to Santa Clara where Jay was raised.

Jay was a quiet, reserved child.  He meekly obeyed his older sister to whom he often looked for direction in play.  He had an early speech deficiency with difficulty in pronouncing some sounds, e.g., his y’s sounded like l’s so “you” would come out “lou.”  He took special classes in phonics to correct his speech.

Jay attended Millikin School in Santa Clara.  His teachers described him as, “always trying to do his best.”  He was an above average student earning occasional merit certificates, but he was slow to mix socially with the other students.  His fourth grade teacher observed: “Even though he quite often stays close to the classroom, he mixes more freely and appears to enjoy the companionship of other students.”  He went on to Curtis Intermediate School where he developed considerable interest in science and mathematics, but had difficulty with reading and spelling.  He maintained above average grades.  For a while, in 1974, he participated in Cub Scout activities and became more active socially, but he preferred activities he could do alone.  Among his interests were drawing, bicycling, and river rafting, and skiing. 1

Jay attended Santa Clara High School.  His strongest subjects were drafting, graphics, and computer science; his weakest subjects were literature and composition.  While in high school, he socialized more and developed a few close friends.  He participated in cross country running and entered several races with his father, first running the San Francisco Bay to Breakers in 1982. 2  He was part of what became an annual family brunch after the race at Charley Browns near the San Francisco Airport.  He continued to enjoy bicycling and frequently organized many trips with his friends to areas in and around Santa Clara County.  He also took scuba diving lessons and later, while in college, made several dives off the Monterey Coast.

Jay graduated in 1984 with a  3.25 grade point average.  He earned a Bank of America Achievement Award for computer studies, won the David Cass Memorial Scholarship as the outstanding Industrial Arts student, and  took first place honors in drafting.  Shortly after his graduation, Jay joined some friends on a camping trip to Yosemite Park where he would have his only scrape with the law.  Jay was drinking beer near an area where there was a disturbance.  When police came to investigate, they were greeted with calls of “rookie pigs.”  Altho Jay was not one of the persons causing the disturbance, he was questioned.  One officer concluded that Jay should be arrested, “to protect them, other park visitors, as well as the public peace,” because he was a minor who “had at least remained in a disorderly group whose behavior invited retaliation and . . . had been blocking a public sidewalk.”  Jay was booked for public drunkenness and given a breath test which indicated a blood alcohol level of .04% – far below what was needed to establish his guilt.   The charge was eventually dismissed, but only after Jay spent a day in custody during which he said he was  treated and fed well.

Jay entered San Jose State University in the fall of 1984.  Altho he had developed his interests in computers and in engineering designs, he had no clear career objective.  He felt he would develop career plans as he worked toward his degree.  He lived at home and helped support himself by working at The Hickory Tree BarBQ, a fast food restaurant nearby.  His father urged him to join a fraternity.  Jay tried – even pledged – but did not enjoy fraternity life and dropped out before he was initiated.

He maintained a B average in his college studies, but his graduation was delayed because, as his interests changed, he changed majors.  He took a course in photography which he developed into a hobby he followed with a passion for many years.  In the summer of 1985, Jay and a few of his friends flew to Vancouver, B.C. and bicycled home.  The 1,178 mile trip took 13 days. 3

During his 1985-86 school year, Jay became interested in an exchange study program which would allow credits for courses taken abroad.  He saved over $1,000 and, in the fall of 1986, flew to London where he met other American students in the program.  Jay joined some of them beginning the academic year with a tour of Netherlands, Belgium, and France.  Jay’s program was in London.  He found the academic program: “. . . pretty easy.  It’s not like regular school.  I guess they’re easier on us since we are in a different country and that’s a learning experience on it’s own.”  He loved London: 4

“London’s a neat place.  I’ve seen lots of plays and have tickets to see “Cats” on December 4 . . . I haven’t  done much sight seeing in London.  It seems more like my home instead of a place I’d want to see.  Maybe I’ll get around someday.”

He did get around the rest of the country:

“I spent a weekend on the Isle of Wight, a weekend pony trekkin in Wales, and I just got back from a weekend in Scotland.  I went to Loch Ness and didn’t see Nessie.  I’m also going to spend a weekend in Stratford and I hope to get to Ireland also.”

Jay didn’t get to Ireland, but he did use his Christmas break to join a student tour of Italy which took him to Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Milan, and Capri.  “I had a great time.  I got back with no money and had to go a week without money until the check I had cleared.  When it does, I’ll have enough to last the rest of my trip.”

On his return to the United States, Jay transferred from San Jose State University to Humboldt State University where his brother, John, was enrolled.  He made his final change of majors to industrial technology and set his sights on graduating in two years.  He enjoyed the rural atmosphere of Humboldt County and the people.  He continued to do well in his studies.

In the summer of 1987, Jay joined his father and stepmother on a trip to Guatemala and Costa Rica.  While in Antigua, he and his father climbed Mt. Agua.  After a light breakfast, they drove to within 5,000 feet of the summit and started off without the precaution of taking water.  They were fortunate to find a native with a barrel of rain water at the top.  Jay remembers that drink as the: “best water I’ve ever tasted.”

In the summer of 1988, Jay joined a friend, Yvette, on another Pacific Coast bicycle trip from Arcata to San Diego.  The 967 mile trip took 16 days. 5  He spent the balance of the summer working at the Hickory Pit to help finance his next year in college which would be at the University of Southern Maine on a domestic student exchange program which allowed him credits at Humboldt State for courses he completed.  Jay election of an exchange school was partially based on the distance from California.  He felt driving to and from Maine offered a great opportunity to see the country. 6

He drove through the northern part of the country visiting friends he had come to know at the University and other exchange students who were sharing the experience.  On the trip back, he visited his Uncle Jon in Florida, Disneyworld, New Orleans, San Antonio, the Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas (where he lost more than he should have).  In between, he completed another school year successfully.  He returned to California sporting a beard.

In the summer of 1989, Jay worked with his father and brother in building 620 Indiana in Vallejo.  The building project fascinated him and allowed him some practical experience in applying much of what he was learning in school.  The building wasn’t completed when he had to return for the 1989-90 school year.  Jay used some of his earnings to buy a small house trailer which was to serve as his home in Arcata for the next two years.

Jay finished college, graduating with his B.S. in Industrial Technology on May 10, 1991.  He sold his trailer and moved to Sebastopol, California where he planned to continue his education at Sonoma State University.  To support himself, he took a position as a counselor to troubled children at Willow Creek Residential Center in Santa Rosa.  He was to remain on the job less than a year when emotional problems forced him to leave.

Jay moved to Oakland where he rented a room at 1004 Arlington Street.  He enrolled at John F. Kennedy University taking night courses in counseling while supporting himself with a series of jobs and student loans.  On June 16, 1996, he earned his Master’s Degree in Holistic Health Education.

In the years that followed, Jay worked to establish his own business designing web pages and was moderately successful, particularly when he developed a single client who provided so much work that he enlisted help from his brother, John, to supply the work product.  Unfortunetly, that client ran out of money and abandoned his project owing both Jay and John several thousand dollars that was never paid, but before that occurred Jay and John bought their Aunt Susan’s half interest in the Miguel Street property in San Francisco.  Both moved into the building and became partners with their father who owned the other half.

Jay filled much of his leisure time dancing.

Jay entered many triathelete competitions.

Accomplished swimmer

Near fatal experience in 2011 when he became separated from rescue boat and was unable to fight bay currents between Alcatraz and San Francisco.  Was in the water 2 ½ hours before locating small fishing boat whose crew took him on board.

Notes:

  1. Jay first went rafting with his father when he was four.  Over the years, they ran several rivers together including the  Stanislaus, Merced, and Cache Canyon.  In 1978, he and his father went skiing together in Colorado.
  2. His best time in the Bay to Breakers was 57:19 in 1985.  In 1982, he ran a 47:31 10k race at the Walnut Festival in Walnut Creek.
  3. Anne and I were on vacation that summer at Rockaway Beach in Oregon with Liz and Sari, a Finnish exchange student.  We were able to provide Jay a place to spend the night during his trip.
  4. Jay had been to London for a week in 1977 when he was 10 on a visit with his father, sister, and brother.
  5. Jay spent two days during his trip at his grandmother’s home in Daly City and visited with her in Menlo Park just before her death on May 24.  He was back on the road and could not be reached to advise of her death or the funeral.
  6. Jay developed an interest in travel in his youth when he accompanied his father on trips to New York, Washington, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, and Seattle.

VICTORIA ROSE LIGDA

VICTORIA ROSE LIGDAFemale View treeBorn: 1956-02-07
Father: VICTOR WORTHINGTON LIGDAMother: DOROTHY LIGDA
Children: none
Siblings: SUSAN MILA LIGDA, PAUL CHARLES LIGDA

Victoria was the only child born to Victor and Dorothy Ligda.   She was born five and a half months after her father’s death.

When she was seven, her mother sold her home at 401 Taurus Avenue in Oakland and bought a home at 31 Boulevard Court in Walnut Creek.  Tori was raised in that home and attended schools in Walnut Creek.

Tori graduated from Del Valle High School in 1973 and entered the University of California, Santa Cruz in the Fall of that year.  In addition to her college classes, she worked in a cooperative education program as a teachers aide to speech therapists.  As an avid dancer, she was active in the Folkdance Club.  Club activities provided the opportunity of meeting her husband-to-be, Earl Fredrick Witt. 1  Earl and Tori became engaged during her senior year.

Tori graduated with honors in 1977, completing a double major in Linguistics and Psychology.  She took her first job as the Head Teacher of a day care center in Concord, California.  She was working there when she and Earl married on July 2, 1978.  The ceremony was in the garden of her mother’s home in Walnut Creek.  The Witt’s first home was at 1773 Oakland Boulevard, #8 in Walnut Creek.  They later moved to 1595 Third Avenue in the same city.

In 1979, Tori was accepted into the Bay Area Writer’s Project, a graduate program at the University of California, Berkeley, designed to teach teachers how to teach writing.  In 1980, she earned teaching credentials in English, Mathematics, and Social Sciences. 2  For the next four years, she taught 7th, 8th, and 9th Grade English 3 at Vallejo Junior High School. 4

The Witt’s first son, Alan Nicholas Witt, was born December 11, 1983.  In 1984, Earl earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, and took a temporary postdoctoral position at the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory 5 at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts.  The family moved to 24 Spencer Road, Apt. 24N, Boxboro, Massachusetts.  Tori obtained a temporary position teaching 6th Grade English at Concord Middle School in Concord, Massachusetts, but when she was unable to obtain a position the next year, she remained home with Alan and started a fantasy novel.

The Witts had a hard time adjusting to New England.  Both missed family and friends on the West Coast  When Earl’s temporary position ended, the family returned to California where Earl concentrated his search for a permanent position.  He joined Mission Research in Santa Barbara.  The family moved to 4061-C Foothill Road, Santa Barbara.  They were living there when their second son, Perryn Alexander Witt, was born on April 6, 1987.

In June, 1987, the Witts bought their first home, a 1,100 square foot three bedroom condominium at 1270-5 Franciscan Court in Carpinteria, 10 miles south of Santa Barbara.  In addition to raising her sons, Tori continued her writing.  She completed one novel.  While attempting to sell it, she worked on two others.  She made time to sew and quilt, tie-dye and batik.  On June 24, 1991, the Witts had a daughter, Kylie Alexis.

In 1989, Perryn, was diagnosed with leukemia.  He was hospitalized twice that year, first for two weeks in Los Angeles, later in Santa Barbara.  His outpatient treatment required  weekly trips to Los Angeles, days Tori described as: “ . . . brutally long; some days I’ve left here at 7 a.m. and not gotten home until 8 p.m.”  Tori gave up her writing to concentrate on what she had to do for Perryn’s care.  By the end of the year, his cancer was in remission, but he relapsed at the end of 1992.  To compound the family’s problems, Earl lost his job with cutbacks in the defense sector.  With the exception of two temporary jobs, he was unemployed for three years.  The family used his retirement savings on living expenses and Perryn’s medical insurance.  Despite the care provided, Perryn’s cancer could not be contained.  He died on June 11, 1995 – just eight years old.  The months that followed were overwhelming.  Tori reported:

“The first day of school was hard, Halloween was sad, Thanksgiving was especially difficult, and Christmas was celebrated on eggshells.  Nevertheless, we got through it, only to face more changes.  Right after Christmas, Earl was interviewed for a real job in New Hampshire.  He was offered the position, and after an intense week of soul-searching, we decided that accepting it was the only viable option we had.”

In February, Earl moved to an apartment in Nashua, New Hampshire to begin his new job. Tori and the children followed.  After their condominium sold, they began a house-hunt concentrating around Hollis, an area Tori described as:

“. . . rural with lots of apple and peach orchards.  They grow strawberries, corn, pumpkins, flowers, and things I can’t recognize.  I see sheep, cattle, and lots and lots of horses.  There are trees everywhere, mixed pines and hardwoods.  It’s very pretty.”

The Witts were delighted to find 97 Richardson Road, a 2,300 square foot home on two acres.  Tori said: “I was greedy; I’ve lived in very small houses or apartments my entire life and I wanted space!”  They bought the home in July, occupied it in August, and set about converting it to their tastes.  By the end of the year, Tori indicated:

“I think we are going to enjoy New Hampshire . . . we all love living in a house . . . we enjoyed the change of the seasons.  Spring was beautiful and green.  Summer was miserable with insects, but the heat wasn’t bad.  Fall was fun; lovely weather, and gorgeous leaves . . . We still miss Perryn terribly, but the new environment does not remind us of him so constantly . . .”.

Tori filled her leisure hours with hobbies.  She wrote extensively beginning a series of books that would continue to occupy her for many years.  She made jewelry.  In 1990, she declared her latest hobby as gardening their two acres.  “The only problem is that they have bugs here.  I really miss the comparative lack of insects in California.”

On June 24, 1991, Tori gave birth to a daughter, Kylie.

In 1999, the Witts came to California for the Ligda Family Reunion in Vallejo gining their children their initial opportunity of meeting many of their relatives for the first time.

Alan graduated from Hollis-Brookline High School in 2002 after some notable accomplishments that included parts in school plays, receipt of the USMC “Semper Fidelis” Award for musical excellance, and becoming a National Merit finalist.  In the Fall, he began his college career at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.  Tori reported feeling sad at his leaving although looking forward, “to less laundry.”

In 2004, she reported selling almost $300 worth of her jewelry, but wouldn’t say: “. . . how much I spent on supplies.”   She had completed three novels that she continued revising while she undertook her fourth under the encouragement of a writers group at the local library.   Later that year she joined her mother, half-sister, Leslie and her husband, Don, on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera where she enjoyed, “ . . . seeing the cliff divers at night, swimming with the dolphins in Ixtapa, and getting to release a one day old endangered sea turtle in Manzanillo.”

In 2005, she quit many of the local groups she attended as well as the craft fair circuit. “ . . .after selling all her scarves and lots of my jewelery,” to concentrate her time finishing, “ . . . the last revision of the first book in my series (as well as finishing the first draft of the fifth and hopefully last book.”  She looked for support from others in her writers group in making revisions, but admitted difficulty in finding an agent or potential publisher.

Kylie graduated from Hollis-Brookline High School in 2009 and began her college career at Mount Holyoke College in western Massachusetts.  Tori proclaimed she and Earl had, “ . . . achieved EMPTY NEST.”  Alan, having graduated from college, returning home, and working at Pelham High School and the Hollis Library, moved to enter graduate school at the University of Rhode Island.  Tori visited her cousin, Carol, in Michigan where she had her entire book critiqued and left planning further revisions.  She posted her journal at http://toriw7.livejournal.com., but in 2010 reported she was, “ . . . in a writing slump and have done very little.  I went back to the book I wrote second . . . and have been attempting to turn what was written as a history into something that works as a novel.  I am finding it tough going . . .”

In 2010, Earl got a new job that involved hanging a new sign on the door.  He and two others from the former company resigned after making arrangements with a new company that kept the same office space as well as the same work on the same contract.  He and Tori found time to visit China on a trip sponsored by a local Chamber of Commerce.  She reported, “We have walked on the Great Wall and seen the Forbidden Palace with our own eyes.”

In 2011, Earl found new work and began a project that he enjoyed.  Tori opened a shop at Second Life where, “I get paid real money, but the amount is miniscule – far less than I spend on the shop’s rent.  However, I get a great deal of pleasure from seeing others wearing my creations . . .”  Both continued their work into the next year with Earl’s company adding an intern and another employee and sending him away on business trips that Tori described as, “ . . . the only downside,” to the job.

Notes:

  1. Earl was born August 13, 1954 in Los Angeles.  He grew up in Covina, California.
  2. She qualified in English and Mathematics via the National Teacher Examinations in those subjects.  Her major in Psychology qualified her in Social Sciences.
  3. She also taught in the GATE Program for gifted students.
  4. My step daughter, Elizabeth Cooney, was in one of Tori’s classes.
  5. Earl’s work involves the development of computer models to solve problems in plasma physics.

DAN SEWELL

DAN SEWELLMale View treeBorn: 1947-09-22
Father: UnspecifiedMother: Unspecified
Children: none
Siblings: none

Dan was Valorie Ligda’s third husband.  They were married on March 16, 1987 and had one child, Chelsea Rose Sewall, who was born on May 27, 1988.  They were divorced in 1991.

DAVID MUSGRAVE

DAVID MUSGRAVEMale View treeBorn: 1944-08-10
Father: UnspecifiedMother: Unspecified
Children: none
Siblings: none

David was Valorie’s second husband.  They married on February 5, 1983 and had one child, Sarah Valentine Musgrave, born August 7, 1983.  Their marriage was dissolved in December of 1986.

VALORIE JEAN LIGDA

VALORIE JEAN LIGDAFemale View treeBorn: 1956-03-18
Father: MYRON GEORGE HERBERT LIGDAMother: EVELYN DALKE
Children: none
Siblings: RICHARD WORTHINGTON LIGDA

Valorie was the third and last child born to Herb and Evelyn Ligda.  She was eleven when her father died in 1967.  Her brother, Richard, and sister, Carol, were grown and away from home.  Her mother, Evelyn, began drinking heavily.  Valorie says she underwent a change in personality from “outgoing & confident” to “jaded & resentful,” in the years after her father’s death.

Valorie attended Awalt High School in Mt. View where, despite getting: ”   . . . into pot [marijuana], and on rare occasions, LSD, mescaline, and other drugs,” she was an outstanding student, 1 graduating a year ahead of her class and allowing her the option of leaving home.

In June of 1973, Valorie left to enroll at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.  Evergreen was a new school created to be different than the traditional state schools which had a reputation of “an atmosphere for rebels.” 2  She developed an interest in Zen and spent the last weeks of the school year in Japan staying with host families.  Her experience in Japan convinced her: “There was more to be had than what a college town like Olympia could offer.”  She moved to Honolulu, first attending the New York Technical Institute studying architectural drafting, then transferring to Windward Community College in Kaneohe where she earned an Associate of Arts degree in May of 1977. 3

In November of 1976, she married Nafetalai Pouanga 4 and, “lived the Tongan life in the “bush” behind the Polynesian Culture Center in Laie, Oahu . . . devoted to his extended family.”  The marriage lasted three years.  In January of 1979, Valorie returned to school at Leeward Community College in Pearl City, taking drafting and business courses. 5  She left in May of 1980 and took a job documenting Hawaiian Independent Refinery’s compliance with E.P.A. standards during the construction of a hydrocracker and vacuum unit.

Valorie returned to California in August of 1981:

“Three factors made me return to the mainland.  One was losing ground towards earning a living; mother’s drinking was more serious than ever; and a Hawaiian boyfriend was pressuring me to move in with him.”

Valorie moved back with her mother in Los Altos.  In October, she took an office job with MedaSonics in Mt. View.  Her return had a positive effect on her mother who stopped drinking in November of 1981.

In September of 1982, Valorie enrolled at San Jose State University, taking courses in business management.  She maintained her high academic average. 6  She met David Musgrave. 7  They married on February 5, 1983 and lived in Dublin, California.  Her first child, Sarah Valentine Musgrave, was born on August 7 at El Camino Hospital in Mt. View.  Four months later, Valorie returned to part time work at MedaSonics.  In January of 1984, she enrolled at Hayward State University to take calculus, maintaining a B average.

Valorie’s marriage was marred by her husband’s drug use.  She was faced with the problems created by his thefts and writing bad checks.  In September of 1984, she left her job so they could move to Idaho Falls near his family and away from the drug environment in which David was involved.  She took part-time work and cared for Sarah; he became a cook in a popular restaurant.  Her mother-in-law helped them buy a house.  Whatever stabilization resulted from the move quickly deteriorated.  In January of 1985, Valorie took Sarah back to Los Altos. 8

Valorie took office work, first for Ferry Morse Seed Company in Mt. View; then with DE Systems in Santa Clara; then with Sylva Machinery in San Carlos.  In February of 1986, she met Dan Sewell, 9 an ex-Marine working as a cab driver.  They were married on March 16, 1987.  Her second child, Chelsea Margaret Rose Sewall, was born on May 27, 1988 at El Camino Hospital in Mt. View.

Valorie returned to work on August 25, 1987 as an Attendance Technician at Mt. View High School (formally Awalt High where she, her brother and sister all graduated).  At that time the Sewalls were living at 981 Bonita, #19 in Mt. View.  The marriage did not last.  In 1991, Valorie was divorced and again living with her mother.  She was working for Dialog Information Service, but still felt she could afford, ” anything but rent.”  In 1992, Valorie married Mike Duran.  Shortly after that marriage, she found it necessary to obtain a court order restraining him from attacking her.  They were divorced in 1993.

On December 20, 1992, Sarah suffered an aneurysm induced stroke which hospitalized her for over a month and caused the loss of her speech and movement in the right side of her body.  She learned to use her left hand and to walk and run.  After a short period in special schools, she returned as a regular student in the Los Altos schools.  Within a few years, the effects of the stroke were no longer readily noticeable to a casual observer.

Valorie relied heavily on her mother for the help that was needed during Sarah’s rehabilitation.  In 1994, the stress was too great.  She lost her job.  Valorie later went to work for N. I. S. in San Jose.  She left that job in 1998.  On March 1 of that year, she married Bill Galindo.  They were living with her mother when her mother died in July.  Her mother’s will left one sixth of her estate to Valorie.

Notes:

  1. Her record shows 27 A’s and 9 B’s in two and a half years of high school.
  2. Evergreen State College was the subject of an favorable article in the San Francisco Chronicle of December 19, 1982 which mentioned it was the only state school on the select list of sixteen colleges.
  3. Valorie continued to earn excellent grades.  She had a 3.4 grade point average at the College.
  4. Nafetalai was born January 23, 1955 in Hihifo, Haapi, Tonga.
  5. Valorie completed 19 semester hours with a 3.2 grade point average.
  6. She completed 17 semester hours with a 3.3 grade point average.
  7. David was born in Idaho on August 10, 1944.  He had two daughters, Emily and Melanie, by a previous marriage.  His mother’s family was directly descended from William Clayton, one of Brigham Young’s right hand men and the inventor of the pedometer used to measure how far the Mormons had walked in crossing the plains.
  8. David last visited his daughter in December of 1985.  The marriage was dissolved in December, 1986 in Santa Clara Superior Court with Valorie given sole custody of Sarah.  The case number is 583050
  9. Daniel Lee Sewell was born September 22, 1947 in San Francisco.  He graduated from high school in Redwood City.  He had two sons, Joshua and Justin, from a previous marriage.  The boys lived with their mother in Lorain, Ohio.