Immediate Family

	My mommy, Marcia, is no longer with us as of July 5, 2023. Until her death, she lived in Tampa fairly close to me and we saw each other frequently. She divorced from my dad in 2005 and lived with various roommates in a house she owned. Mom was interested in dentistry, stained glass, science, nature (especially ocean stuff, and she loved SCUBA diving), certain dogs, and of course, her awesome kids and grandkid. :) She also liked dancing and going on canoe trips. She used to volunteer at hunger-related charities and liked to listen to podcasts and watch medical stuff, and was a really big Andy Griffith fan. She and I had a close relationship and tried to help each other out where we can, and she was always my number one fan! Mom was quirky and honest and always up for helping people in need.
	My daddy, Marlon, lives in Sarasota, Florida and we see each other when we can. He's divorced from my mom and lives with his second wife Connie. Dad is a former banker and has spent a lot of his life invested in his career, and he enjoys good movies, playing games with friends, socializing and going to meetings, science fiction, and sometimes golf. He plays piano very well and can also play guitar and knows his way around music, and began to learn drums in his retirement. He started a band and asked me to be the singer. He keeps in touch with his kids and tries to see us when possible. He supports me in everything I do.
	My sister Patricia lives in San Francisco with her husband Yusuke and her son Ash. We have occasional visits but mostly I have to keep in touch with her by telephone or video calls. My sister is a former employee of a nonprofit and is passionate about helping those less fortunate, and she enjoys cooking/baking, knitting, traveling, gardening, and various forms of art. (She can even play the ukulele a little!) Being only a year younger than I am, Patricia and I grew up very close and were raised sort of like twins. She's always great to have a chat with and spend time with, and she shares my dislike of unclear writing (as we've both worked as editors). She graduated from New College in 2001. She met her husband while living in Japan--they can both speak English and Japanese--and got married in 2009, and Yusuke got his Master's in nonprofit management in 2011. They became parents in December of 2013 when Ash was born, and are quite involved with raising a happy, healthy kid.
	My sister Lindsay lives with her husband Mike in the Charlotte area in North Carolina, and we really mostly see each other when she visits for holidays. She once managed a college bookstore and currently works at a country club, spending what little free time she has chilling with her husband or trying to catch some time to herself. Lindsay has an extremely well-developed sense of humor and is often the funniest person in the room. She married Mike in May of 2014. She loves and cherishes her dog Toki, and relaxes with music, movies, TV, and games--with a special interest in 311. She's five years younger than I am.

Grandparents

	My maternal grandmother, Maura, is no longer with us, but I'll remember her fondly. She was mother to eight children and spent her life being a wife, mom, and homemaker. One thing she liked to do was play golf, and she could also sew very well--I have a couple of dolls she made for me when I was young. She also liked to volunteer, but who knows where she found time to do it. Family meals with my grandmother were always made special by her signature dishes, and her laugh was unique.
	My maternal grandfather, Herb, is passed on but not forgotten. He ran several successful companies and was able to support his family of ten people; he was talented in the skills needed to provide for a family. He was a chemist and a gas expert, and he used to say that he worked on The Manhattan Project and that he was involved with the actual oxygen that went to the moon in a NASA mission. My mom said he was a really good dancer and could lead anyone. Grandpa had a silly sense of humor and really enjoyed goofy pranks, and he also loved dogs and called his children's dogs his "granddogs." He had catch phrases that those who knew him will never forget, and had a passion for good old-fashioned food.
	My paternal grandmother, Marceline, passed away in December 2018 at age 88 after spending her latter years in Sarasota, Florida. She was a singer and English/drama teacher. My grandma sang professionally for many years and was on Broadway a few times, and taught acting and English. She started her singing way back at age 13--with the Red Cross entertainment efforts during World War II!--and she majored in music at UCLA, becoming the first person in her family to go to college. She was a fan of music and art and theatre, and was passionate about good food and family. I always had a great rapport with her and miss her very much.
	My paternal grandfather, Don, is no longer with us, formerly a resident of Sarasota, Florida. He was a cantor and loved to play tennis, and was a huge fan of singing and exercise. He knew a lot about health and food, and he always led the family celebrations when we had holidays together. He and my grandmother were always the perfect couple and he was very dedicated to her. He had an amazing ability and willingness to learn new things--he actually learned to use a computer at 89!--and he was one of the most patient people I've ever had the pleasure to know. He lived to be 96 years old.

Aunts and Uncles

My mother's siblings numbered seven; that's right, she was from a big Catholic family of eight kids. My mother's older siblings are Kenny, Pattie, and Keith; her younger siblings are Denise, Jane, Greg, and Diane. Her eldest brother Kenny passed away in 1995 when I was in high school, but the rest are still with us . . . though I am not in touch with my mother's siblings anymore. Kenny was a zookeeper and teacher and lived with his partner Jake; Pattie is with her second husband Jim and has four children; Keith got married late in life to an aunt named Laura whom I have never met; Denise is married to my uncle Maury and has three children (plus she adopted two who were older than hers); Jane married Dean and had two children (but divorced later), and she's a nurse; Greg is married to my aunt Pam and has four children; and Diane is divorced from George and remarried to Michael, and has no children, but keeps lots of animals. I mostly know very little about my mother's siblings because I had little contact with them throughout my childhood. I know Uncle Kenny was a nature guy and loved animals. I know Uncle Keith is a computer wizard. And I was pen pals with my Aunt Jane when I was a little kid. My Aunt Diane collected glass animals when she was younger (inspiring my sister to do the same), and I remember her making necklaces once with me when I was in elementary school. She was fairly close to my mother for a while when they were into SCUBA diving. I've seen these folks at family reunions and holidays, but the last time I was ever at a significant family gathering was when I was still in college.

My father's sister is his only sibling: my Aunt Elisa. Elisa and I see each other semi-regularly because she comes to visit her parents and I attend the family gatherings, but since she lives in New York City we aren't able to see each other but a couple times a year. She's an artist--a painter and photographer, and she dabbles in plenty of other arts--and she has an editing eye just like me. She spent some time in France and loves the country. She and I share a lot of tastes and experiences, and strangely enough--even though we don't look alike--my grandfather (her father) always accidentally called me by her name. (Just me, not my sisters.) She's into music and some spiritual and artistic ways of life, and I value her influence in my life.

Cousins

My cousins are all on my mother's side because my father's sister didn't have children. Because I'm not in touch with my mother's family, I'm not really in touch with my cousins either, and I didn't grow up with them except with vague contact at family reunions and visits. I was the eldest in the entire family (except for my adopted cousins Andrea and John, who lived with my Aunt Denise and Uncle Maury), and the next youngest cousin was about the same age as my youngest sister, so there wasn't a lot of room to connect even when we were around each other. In any case, I have family I haven't met, and I'm not even entirely sure I know all their names, but to the best of my knowledge I can rattle off who they belong to. I believe my Aunt Pattie's children are named Alexandra, Jimmy, Nicholas, and Alena; my Aunt Denise's children are Chris, Erin, and Cheryl; my Aunt Jane's kids are Alyssa and Michael (and I'm actually friends with them on Facebook); and my Uncle Greg's kids are Lizzie, Sarah Jane, Tommy, and Kenny (named after my deceased eldest uncle). I've at least been in the same room as all of them except I believe my Aunt Pattie's youngest daughter. I also enjoyed playing with Alyssa and with Chris and Erin at various weddings and gatherings.

Honorary Family

Family History

Pets