Abraham Lincoln once said, "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my mother." This pretty much says it all in a nutshell. Mom was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 9, 1931. Her mom, Hannah Groves, was a native of Nova Scotia. Her father, Joseph Gabree, also known as Grampa Joe, or "Indian Joe," was of Blackfoot Indian descent. Mom was the fourth of nine children, so raising eleven of her own came as second nature. One of the earliest memories I have of Mom is of her in our five acre garden weeding beds and supervising the extraction of honey from the hives. We raised milk goats, chickens, ducks, and always had a dog romping the farm.

Hardship taught my Mom to be a carpenter, electrician, plumber, mechanic, seamstress, wonderful cook and food preserver, gardener, artist, handyman, botanist, bird expert, and antique finisher - all while working full-time and raising a family.