In June, 1971 Walter and I became grandparents for the first time when David Scott (Scotty) was born, in Texas to Cheryl and Dave. Six weeks later our second grandson arrived when Richard James (Jamie) was born to Kaaren and Dick, in Spain. To say we were thrilled with the new title "grandparent" is definitely an understatement. In the Fall of that year we flew to Killeen, Texas to see Scotty for the first time.
In the meantime, Kevin was beginning his college career at Cal Poly, and we looked forward to realizing our goal of seeing our three sons obtaining degrees, something that their parents were unable to accomplish for various reasons. However, Kevin came up with a different goal after he'd completed his second year. He became very interested in the Mormon religion and soon joined the church; then, informed us that it was imperative for him to go on a two-year mission for the church. We tried to persuade him to postpone that obligation until he'd obtained his degree, but he explained that being nineteen he was already older than most missionaries. It was apparent to us that it was terribly important that he make this commitment a reality, so we gave him our support, somewhat reluctantly. After a short training period, in Utah, he was soon on his way to Argentina.
It's difficult not to get ahead of events during this period of time, and things will get out of sequence, from time to time, as they have at this point.
In October, 1973 Christopher Michael, our third grandson was born to Cheryl and Dave up in Patterson, Calif. where Dave was now pursuing his teaching career, after being released from the Army. This time we were on hand to welcome the newest addition to the Heffner clan, as we jumped in the car and drove the 200 miles to Patterson soon as we were informed his birth was imminent. I'd had a growth removed from my thyroid a few days previously, and the news that the growth was non-malignant, plus a new Heffner in the family made the month of October pretty special, and we celebrated by bringing Scotty home with us for a week of fun and games while his parents were giving full attention to the new baby in their home.
In 1974 we prepared to welcome Kaaren, Dick, and Jamie home from Spain, as Dick's time in the Navy was drawing to a close. They would also have a new baby, who would arrive in April or the early part of May, to add to our growing family. Of course, we were hoping for a girl this time, and sure enough on May 5th. Shannon Llorraine arrived with much rejoicing, to add some variety to the family circle.
1975 saw several important events transpiring. Kevin was winding up his second year of missionary work in Argentina, so we were anxiously awaiting his return. He'd given us some anxious days earlier when we'd received a phone call telling us he'd have to have a hernia operation in Buenos Aires, so we were more than anxious to see him back home in March 1976. In March 1975 it was a traumatic time when it was discovered that I had uterine cancer. An immediate series of 18 radiology treatments were started, followed by successful surgery on May 7. I was most impatient to get back to feeling hale and hearty, after the operation, but due to the radiology treatments full recovery took almost a year. Meantime, Cheryl and Dave were both teaching up in Patterson, and Kaaren and Dick were living in Mission Viejo and Dick was an assistant city engineer for San Juan Capistrano.