Remembering My Sister

My sister Betty was the youngest of three girls. I was the oldest sister and Donna was the middle sister. Betty Frances McDonaugh Hamilton was born April 11, 1940 in Coronado, California. She died on November 23, 2007 in Billings, Montana.

Our parents were R. Eugene and Ida Frances McDonaugh. Dad was born in Washington D.C. in 1911 and came to California when he was nine years old. He spent the rest of his childhood in Coronado. Mom was born in Bellingham, Washington in 1913 and spent her childhood on a farm in that part of the country. Her maiden name was Davenport. Our parents met in Coronado and got married in 1935. Dad was a chauffeur and Mom was a maid at the time. Later, after the war they would spend many years painting houses together in Coronado.

During World War II my sisters and I lived on the farm with our grandparents while Mom and Dad worked in Portland, Oregon in the shipyards. I always say that Mom was Rosie the riveter. She was always a hard worker. Dad painted inside the ships that were being worked on.

Donna, Betty and I enjoyed our time with our loving grandparents on the farm. I was in school and did two years of first grade plus second grade in the school near Bellingham. Our area was called Laurel and the grade school was Meridian Elementary. They did not have kindergarten at that school so Donna did not get to go to school till she was in first grade. I had gone to kindergarten in Coronado. Betty was still too little for school. She got to spend more time with our grandparents.

One family story is that Dad took Betty with him on the bus to California. We were not exactly rich and Dad could not afford the fare for Betty. I guess she was barely old enough to have to pay so Dad said she was four rather than five years old. She was to say she was younger than she was. When they got to our aunt and uncle's house in L.A. and they asked her how old she was she had to ask Dad, "How old are I now Daddy?" She was tiny and no bigger than a four year old at that time.

Our grandparents were very upright Christian people so we learned a lot of good lessons in their home. They faithfully took us to their Church and Sunday School. We also lived a "Little House On The Prairie" existence. There were fields to play in and a barn that we spent time in. It was fun to watch our grandparents milk the cows. We had chickens and pigs too. We had a healthy lifestyle. There were plenty of vegetables that grandma had canned from her garden. It was fun being able to climb the cherry trees to pick our own fruit. And riding on the haywagon while our grandparents and other relatives brought in the hay was a fun time for three little girls.

The summer of 1945 we moved to be with our parents in Portland. I remember all the horns and celebration that summer when the war was over. I was sheltered from most of what had been going on in the world. The main thing I remembered is that my Daddy did not have to go to war as he did not pass the physical when they tried to draft him. But he served our country in a different way as he was available to work in the shipyard.

Now we were living in a housing project in Portland and had indoor plumbing instead of the little house out back. These were nice buildings in my child's eyes. The school was in walking distance instead of by the bus I remembered from the farm. Betty got to start kindergarten when school started that year. We also had relatives near Portland and got to go to their place for Thanksgiving. It was a time of more good memories for our family. The five of us were all together again.

After Christmas the five of us took the bus to California where we would live. I remember seeing palm trees for the first time in years. I also remember the ocean for the first time since I was a lot younger. It was probably the first time Betty ever remembered this scenery. Our grandfather met us at the Santa Fe train station in San Diego where we got off the bus after such a long ride. He took us on the ferry to his house in Coronado. It was so sweet to see our father's parents again after so many years. I wonder if Betty had any previous memory of them. I had always written to them as Grandma Davenport encouraged me to do this.

My parents had hoped to be living in the old house next door to our grandparents, but there were already renters there. We moved into the back part of our grandparent's home on the corner of third and F where we would live for a few years. I was in third grade, Donna was in second grade and Betty was in kindergarten. I even remember the first day of school in Coronado. We made friends in Coronado that would last a lifetime.

Mom and Dad painted houses for a living for many years. Donna, Betty and I had the island for our playground, the bay on one side and the ocean on the other. We went to Sunday School and made friends there. When we were on the farm we went to a Baptist Church, but there was not yet a Baptist Church in Coronado. We went to the Methodist Church for many years and made many memories there.

The summer of 1948 Donna flew to Bellingham to be with our grandparents as they needed her willing hands to help them on the farm. Betty and I were together with our parents, and I'm sure we missed Donna as part of the family. We had always played together, maybe not always peacefully.

The spring of 1949 the rest of us decided to go to Washington and join Donna to spend time with our grandparents there. This was a memorable car trip that I have written about before. The car was loaded with all of our worldly possessions and two special pets, as well as squeezing us in too. The pets were my favorite turtle Mac and our little red hen Susie Q. We were quite the sight.

It was a pleasure to be back on the farm. I was in sixth grade and Betty was in third grade. Donna was just one grade behind me. When in Coronado I was homesick for the farm. When in Washington I was homesick for Coronado. I don't know if this was the case for my sisters. We spent the rest of the year on the farm until after Christmas. In the meantime two of our California cousins came to live with us on the farm. It was fun to get to know them.

So after Christmas their dad came to help us move back to California. My dad had already moved back and made arrangements for us. We were to move into our Aunt Clara's big old house in Spring Valley. There was a houseful as my cousins were still with us as well as another cousin, Aunt Clara's son. We went to various schools as we varied in ages. Donna and Betty and one cousin went to the nearby elementary school. I was in junior high and two cousins were in high school. This was a lot for our parents to deal with. They were also back to painting houses in Coronado.

After a few months of this arrangement we were making new plans to get closer to Coronado. Cousins were now out of the picture and we temporarily settled in Imperial Beach in our friend's house. We went to school in Coronado as we would move there in the summer when the house Mom and Dad wanted would be available.

The rest of our school years we would be in Coronado. Betty graduated from Coronado High School in 1958. She was already an aunt by then. Betty had a job in a bank while she was still single. She had done a lot of babysitting as a teen ager, as we had all done.

It was not long before Betty met and married Samuel S. Hamilton. He was a young sailor from Wyoming. Three of Betty's children were born in California. The youngest was born in Hawaii when Sam was stationed there with the Navy. Elizabeth was born in Coronado like Betty was. Her sons are Gary, Matthew and Mark.

When Sam left the Navy they moved to Billings, Montana to be near his family. They have lived in Montana since 1967.  We have enjoyed getting together with their family a number of times over the years. When they lived in California our children got to spend time together and they got to know each other. I have pictures of them all together when they were little. Then when the distance was great we still stayed in touch. They came to California on vacations.

Donna managed to get to Billings for a vacation once with her daughter Debra in the early years. Donna's son Arthur got to spend some time in Billings with his cousins too. Mom and her husband Frank used to get to Billings almost every year at one period of time. It wasn't until 1979 that three of my children and I got to go to Montana. That was after Kathy got her own car and took us on trips. Also on that first trip was Laura and Bill. We got to go to Yellowstone National Park for the first time with Betty's family. Griff stayed home with Paul that summer.

Then in 1980 Betty and Sam's daughter came to visit and stayed for five years. She also had her dog with her. Mouse was a good dog. Elizabeth became like a daughter to me. In 1981 the girls and I made a trip to Washington and Montana. This was another trip to remember. It was my first time back to Washington since 1956 when I went with my in-laws and baby Kathy. On this 1981 trip Kathy was driving. We visited family and saw the sights. We met up with Donna and her husband Fred, as well as little Freddy, in Billings. So the three sisters were together for another reunion. Caroline, Donna and Betty.

Betty and Matthew both came to Kathy and John's wedding in 1983. Matthew saved the day with all the help with the food. We had other relatives from out of town too including Paul's brother Charlie, and John's sister who came on the bus from Washington with two little children. Betty had also come on the bus from Billings, Montana.

In 1993 Betty and Sam were here for Easter which was also her birthday. So we had a nice family gathering at that time. By then Kathy and John were in Colorado with my grandchildren. Betty and Sam offered to take me with them back to Billings, stopping in Denver for an overnight stay at Kathy and John's. This was a sweet time to spend with family. Then I got to stay in Billings for a week or two. I came home on the bus.

Betty and Sam made more trips to San Diego over the years. When Mom was in her last days Betty and Sam made two trips by car in a very short period of time. They did a lot of work with us. Matthew was with them then. They were here for a memorial service for Mom.

Years earlier when our Dad died Betty made a trip from Washington state with three little children on the train. Sam had just left on deployment with his ship. This was 1964. Betty had hoped to get here to see Dad in the hospital, but she got here for a funeral instead.

In 1997 Sam died of a heart attack. He was young like my Dad had been. He was just 55. Dad had only been 53 when he died of cancer. A couple of months after Sam was gone Donna and I flew to Billings to spend some sister time with Betty. I think we were there for about two weeks. Sam died September 6th the same day as Princess Diana's funeral. This date is also Grandma Davenport's birthday.

Ten years later Betty was very sick and died on November 23rd. Thankfully Betty had been here for a nice visit with Matthew, and two of her grandchildren and their friend the summer of 2006. We enjoyed a beach picnic with a bonfire one evening. We three sisters were all together for this. My dearest friend Madeline and her sweet husband were also with us. Betty also came in 1998 to visit, the 4th of July Paul and I were in the parade. All of us were together then too.

When Betty died Donna was able to fly to Billings to spend two weeks with the family and be there for the memorial service. Elizabeth's new husband officiated at the service. Elizabeth and Jack were there from Missouri. Gary, Matthew and Mark live in Billings, Montana. The family still have the home they have been in for many years.

Betty and Sam are also survived by four grandchildren. Mark's children are Brittany and Michael. Elizabeth's two are Andrew and Elijah. And this year they would be great grandparents as Andrew is going to be a Daddy.