Five Generations, Irene DOB 1919, daughter Kay Beltz Stevens, DOB 1940, Karen Stevens Sievers DOB 1959, Malinda Sievers Villwok DOB 1981, Addison DOB 2001 and Cadein DOB 2003. Kay, Karen and Malinda all live in Nebraska.
Maddison Hauck youngest great-grandchild in attendance just moved from Ca to Co. She was taking advantage of the rain and trying to get a drink.
You should have seen her dance>>>>>>>>>>
Great-Great Grandma with her first Great granddaughter Malinda Sievers Villwok.
Irene’s Celebration HUGE SUCCESS
Weather in St. Louis is always so unpredictable. The end of June we had had over ten days of record temperatures mixed with the heat index made it triple digits.
They came from near and far some arriving as early as Tuesday, June the 30 till Saturday the 4th of July.
On Wednesday evening July 1, Irene went to a St. Louis Cardinal game with her daughter Anne and husband Roger Theilmann, son Steve and wife Pam Beltz and granddaughter Michelle Anderson-Duszynski. Red Birds beat San Francisco Giants with a walk off home run in the 10th inning.
Thursday evening, 32 of the family went to the ballgame. Again St. Louis Cardinals won. On Friday, some went to the St. Louis Zoo while others went to the local water park. Roger fried fish and there were 44 for dinner on Friday evening.
Saturday we woke up to it raining. By 10 a.m. we had received over two inches of rain. It did bring the temperatures down……… however, it did not dampen the spirit of the party. We had five tents in the yard and lots of tables and chairs.
There were 94 in attendance from 10 different states on Saturday. The children representing 4 states, Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, and the grandchildren traveling from Virginia, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida. And one niece Buelane Daugherty from IA. Her brother Floyd Dixon and wife Doris were unable to travel from California due to his heart surgery in May. Her sister Marie Dixon Richards was unable to travel from VA. Her son-in-law Gerald Stevens just had heart surgery in May at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota but did make the party so all of the children were here for a family photo. Irene has two granddaughters and a great granddaughter named after her. Michelle Irene Anderson Duszynski, Michelle’s husband Andrew aka Dutch is a Lt. Col in the US Army in Washington D.C. They traveled by car to attend the celebration with Alex 5 and 2 year old twins, Shealyn Irene and Aidan Leroy (named after their grandparents) Duszynski. And Emily Irene Beltz Sneed, whose husband was just given a promotion as General Manager of a Best Buy store in Denton, TX and he was to report for work on Monday July 6. We were so glad they could all be here for my special day.
There was lots of food, fun and fellowship. They played volleyball, fished in the pond, played crochet. Many of the grandchildren and great grandchildren put on a talent show. The family sang several songs together. If you look closely you can see the necklace that Irene has on. It was created by her granddaughter Deidrea Beltz Farney. It is called a legacy necklace with birthstone crystals to represent her direct descendants in birth order. The first row has Irene, then her twelve children and Leroy’s birthstones. The second layer has her 24 grandchildren. Third layer has the 52 great grandchildren and then dangling from that are the 5 great-great grandchildren.
We closed the night with fireworks shot off in the back yard. It was a wonderful day that she will long remember. She continues to read and re-read the many cards and letters she received.
In less than one month it will be two years since her stroke. Leaving her partially paralyzed, blind spots in the eyes, initially no memory, sleep apetna as the brain refused to communicate with lungs and other vital organs, and Aphasia (inability to communicate). We left the hospital in a wheel chair almost in a catatonic state. Yes her life has changed drastically but all for the better. With the help of her daughter Anne she continues to improve. She still goes to physical therapy twice a week at the St. Peters Rec Plex where she does stretches in the water for an hour. On Tuesday and Thursday, she goes to speech therapy with the Aphasia Group at Barnes Jewish Center. Both are vital to her continued success. She loves getting the mail and reads the newspapers from front to back. Thank you for remembering her. Blessing to all of you.
