A Tribute To Dianne Wright

I remember being little and staying with Dianne in her condo in Centerville.  Every time I would stay with her she would fix me Chef Boyardee beef raviolis.  She had this big stuffed animal that was a buffalo and I would pretend to ride it around her condo.  I remember sitting in her bed watching Channel 2 News with her every night. 

When I was little, my mom had bought me two Siamese kittens, Samson and Elijah.  Although I loved those kittens....I didn't care much for the little box (imagine that).  When mom had mentioned to Dianne that we needed to get rid of those kittens, Dianne jumped at the chance to take them.  She LOVED those two cats!  I remember her always saying that even though she had them....they were always my cats.  Dianne always made me feel happy!  I loved going to stay with her.

When Dianne moved back home to Iowa, I always wished I could see her again.  In the last few weeks, knowing that she was sick, the urge to go to Iowa grew stronger.  Mom and I had no idea that she would pass this quick.

Dianne, I will never forget you and I will always cherish the memories I had of you.  Love you!

DIANNE WRIGHT

Dianne Lee Wright 1942 ~ 2011 Dianne Lee Wright, daughter of John L. and Harriet L. (Bolon) Wright, passed away Sunday, February 6, 2011, at Iowa Methodist Medical Center. Her unshakable faith in God saw her through a number of serious and painful illnesses over the past several years. Dianne was born February 1, 1942 in Des Moines, Iowa. She was a graduate of Valley High School in West Des Moines, and attended the University of Wyoming in Laramie. She worked for Stuart Macomber, President of Valley National Bank for a number of years, and later as the front desk manager at Ramada Inns. Dianne loved the mountains so she moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where she continued working with the Ramada Inns. Missing her family, Dianne returned to Des Moines for an extended visit. The mountains once again lured her to her position as Land Law Examiner with the Federal Bureau of Land Management in Salt Lake City where she remained for 20 years, taking early retirement to be with her mother who had suffered a stroke. Dianne thoroughly enjoyed her job with the BLM and loved the people who worked with her, many of them becoming lifelong friends. For many years Dianne had a Winnebago motor home which became a weekend getaway for her and her friends. Dianne traveled twice to Europe, particularly enjoying Ireland and visiting relatives on her mother's side. We used to kid Dianne that although her greatest loves were her family and her animals we were never sure in the event of a crisis who she would save first. Dianne never gave up on her beloved Chicago Cubs, and recently added the Yankees in support of her sister. A true conservative, she liked nothing better than having a resounding debate on the issues. Dianne had many causes and she supported them passionately. Among these were the Best Friends Horse Rescue in Utah, Animal Rescue League in Des Moines, American Indian Foundation, her church, and many legitimate veterans organizations. She loved the outdoors, gardening and her flowers. Dianne's love of trees came about naturally. Her father and mother began Wright Tree Service in 1933, which is today among the largest and most highly respected utility line clearance companies in the country. As a kid on summer vacations, Dianne, along with her siblings and her mother, spent many summer days in the alleys of small western towns counting trees on utility lines for her father's contract estimates. Dianne is survived by her sisters Celia S. Wright of West Des Moines; and Linda N. Wright of rural De Soto; nieces and nephews Laura M. Wright, Heather L. Wright, Jennifer L. Wenslay, and Elena K. (Rick) Hanson; great nieces Josephine Wright and Kathryn Rozanek; many cousins and friends. We also want to remember Mary Ann and Ann who so devotedly cared for Dianne during the last phase of her illness. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother John R. Wright, grandparents, and many aunts, uncles and cousins. All services will be held at Central Presbyterian Church on Saturday, February 12. Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. with the funeral service to follow immediately after. A light lunch will be served. A private family burial will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Central Presbyterian Church, or Iowa Cancer Society .

"ONLY WHEN YOU RETIRE"

“ONLY WHEN YOU RETIRE”

Is what I would jokingly say when my mom would ask when I was going to have a baby. How odd that when I had Miss Kennedy, she DID retire! On December 3rd, 2010, after 40 years of working (36 ½ of which were with the Federal Government) SHE RETIRED!!!


I am so proud of my mom for going to work every morning, even when she didn’t want to. On top of that….she was a single parent until I was 8 years old. What an inspiration she has been to me. Growing up, I always wanted to have a career like my mom. When I realized that being a Dancer or a Celebrity was no longer an option for a career, I knew that I wanted to be an Assistant or a Secretary (just like my mom)! To stay with one company for 36 ½ years is so impressive! Just think of doing this….wake up, get ready, and drive to work, work and then drive home…for 2,665 days. UGGGG! Makes me tired just thinking about it.


I just had to let all of you know how very proud I am of my mom and how much she has inspired me.

TOOTING

Just have to share an email from my Uncle Gary to my mom. Pretty cool. I am a very proud Niece!

Gary:

I forgot to tell you; last week during our inspection outbrief I was called to the stage of the base theater in front of thousands of people at the theater and on closed circuit TV across the base, to receive the award as the Top Performer for the inspection...out of 22,000 people!!! What an honor that was...AND how embarrassing!!!! The inspector general said they only give out one coin for every two or three inspections they do every year. My nuclear certified equipment program was named the best in the Air Force Materiel Command. Cool eh?

Mom:

OMG! how cool is that??????? That is so awesome, you better tell Mom!I just can't get over how ambitious and awesome you are at your job!22,000 people????? Congratulations, Gar...about the time I'm so proudof you I could burst, you do something else! WOW!

Gary:

Thank you, T. It would have been awesome just to pass the inspection of my program; I never expected this. And the good part: that was the last major inspection I have to go through before retiring next year. We passed our weapons safety program management evaluation by headquarters last spring with zero discrepancies (first time ever for this base). It was neat because when they hired me into this position last year there were a lot of people (including HQ) questioning why I was selected after being out of weapons safety for ten years. It's good motivation when people say you can't do something! "Hide and watch, beotch!"

Coming out the other end?

The day my world changed!!!

It all started on Sunday Aug 29th at 5:30am. I was enjoying an episode of Three's Company when it all started. The contractions felt like the worst cramps I have ever had. I decided to wait and time the contractions prior to waking Dustin (he's a bit grumpy when woken up)! The contractions were anywhere from 3-6 minutes apart and that lasted for an hour. At that time I decided to wake Mr D up. I rushed around the house, stopping every three minutes to double over, packing my hospital bag and then the race began! Dustin was flying down the freeway like he was in the Indi 500! We decided to take the picture below, thinking it would be the morning our little Kennedy would arrive!

Once we arrived at the hospital they quickly put us in the "observation room". I knew at that time that they would probably send us home! The doctor came in and informed me that I wasn't experiencing "true" labor. What in the world was it then? It felt like a little monkey doing tricks in my tummy! They then sent us home with the instructions that if they got worse and were 2 minutes apart then we needed to come in. GRRR!

Because I had been up all night, I knew I needed to get some sleep (especially if I was going to end up in "true" labor)! That's when the problems arose! I tried everything to go to sleep! Benedryl , Tylenol Pm, nothing seemed to work! I was in too much pain to sleep. I then decided that enough was enough and that I was going in to the hospital and STAYING! I called the hospital and informed them of my decision.

Once we got back to the hospital they admitted us and put us in a real room! We were not leaving the hospital with out Kennedy! It was now 11:30pm Sunday night. Phew what a long painful day! I finally was given some Morphine for the pain and around the same time I received my epidural. Life was now good!

Around 1am Monday morning we decided to call our moms. They both crawled out of bed and headed down to the hospital.

It was now 6:30am Monday morning and with Dustin sleeping face down on the recliner next to me, I quickly feel a huge amount of pressure in my "southern region". It was time! I informed the nurse that I was feeling that pressure and she decided that she would check me. I was a 10! HOLY CRAP! The nurse told me not to push and that they had to call the doctor. How in the world do you NOT PUSH?!? It took 45 minutes for the doctor to come and right before she entered the room the NOT PUSHING got to me so much that I had to vomit! It was almost like Kennedy was going to come out the other end!

Then all of a sudden, Dr Alexandra Eller walked into the room! HALLELUJAH! I don't remember much about the staff getting the room ready, I just remember being so thankful that the doctor was finally in the room! Dr Eller made the whole experience wonderful. It was actually kind of relaxing (remember that I had the epidural though)! A few sets of pushes and POW....Kennedy was here! My life at that point had a new meaning! She was my life! She is my life! What a life changing moment! Miss Kennedy Francis came in weighing 6lbs 6oz and 191/2 inches long. She was born at 7:13am on Monday August 30 2010!

Already being a good daddy!

Yay! The furniture is officially PUT TOGETHER! Thanks do Dustin for doing all the work! Here are a few pictures!

Our 4th Of July

Its Official!!!

I decided that I am the only one being picky on the baby's bedding so I decided to just make a decision (and not a $500 decision either) Here is the bedding we have chosen.

I decided that I am the only one being picky on the baby's bedding so I decided to just make a decision (and not a $500 decision either) Here is the bedding we have chosen.