DONALD GENE DAVIDSON
The Retirement Years
Don retired from ARCO in September 1986 at age fifty-eight. Pat started a small business in 1984 in North Dallas. Don retired on a Friday and went to work for Pat the following Monday. So much for retirement. He worked in the business with Pat until they sold it and the ranch in 1995 and moved to Brenham, Texas.
Pat and I knew that when an employee reaches age fifty-five in the corporate world they start making sounds for your retirement unless you are one of the top brass that has firmly entrenched your self at the top with a “golden parachute.” With that in mind we set about determining what kind of small business we could start with a minimum investment. After consulting with Ann and Fred we decided on a time-sensitive specialty courier service similar to what they operated in Houston. Thus, Mail Courier Express was born.
Pat rented office space in a strip shopping center in North Dallas and set up shop. She bought a Ford van and had it painted red and white with lettering on the sides and back. She set about calling on prospective clients to get business. It was three months before she got her first customer. It was nine months before she reached break even. Afterwards each additional client was profit.
In the meantime Pat let my brother, Sam, use excess office space to try to expand his pool building business to the North Dallas area. I continued to work at ARCO until retirement.486 William E. “Bill” Davidson Family 487 DONALD GENE DAVIDSON
I retired on a Friday and went to work for Pat the following Monday. I asked Pat what kind of benefits I would have. She asked, “Benefits? What kind of benefits?”
“Vacation.”
“You don’t get any.”
“Sick leave?”
“You can’t get sick.”
“Well, just what benefit do I have working for you?”
“You have one benefit no one else has.”
“Yeah. What’s that?”
“You can tell the boss to kiss-off and not worry about getting fired.”
Pat bought another van and had it painted like the first one. With me on board we were able to service more clients. We decided to expand to larger space and rented an office in an office complex on Spring Valley Road. Crystal Rowland was the leasing agent. The space was not only larger but also more professional. Sam used one of the offices a short time for his venture. He soon decided to give up on expansion into the North Dallas area.
The next couple of years the business grew to forty-two clients. Some of our clients were General Electric, Mutual of Omaha, Fox-Meyer Drugs, General Mills, Sysco, Schneider Transport, and BancTec. We had no contracts. We told our clients that if they were dissatisfied with the service and we could not resolve the dissatisfaction they could immediately terminate the service and not be tied to us with a lengthy contract. They all liked that novel approach to doing business. We also provided various small services without charge which they also liked.
We came to a time when we had to make a decision to either buy another van and hire a driver to expand the business, or level off and keep it a ‘Mom and Pop’ business that we could operate without help. We opted for the latter, though we later subcontracted a small part of the business to another man.
We ran the business for ten years and did very well. We never lost a client due to lack of service. Some went out of business, others moved their operation to another city, etc., but it was never from dissatisfaction with our service. In fact, one client fell upon bad financial times and wanted to discontinue the service. Pat told them we would continue the service without charge until they got back on their feet. It was several months but they pulled through the crisis and were again profitable. They were grateful and more than made it up to us.
While Don and Pat lived at Bartonville Don’s parents came to visit. They announced they were going to South Texas to look for a place to buy so they could move to where the weather was milder. Don’s mother was weary of the cold winters in Oklahoma
After they left Pat asked, “Do you think they are really going to buy a place in South Texas?” I replied, “No. They’ll go kick a few tires and go back to Oklahoma.”
They were back the next weekend. They announced they bought a house in Brenham. Pat and I were astounded. The next few weeks they came several times with household belongings and stayed the night. Then left the next day to take their things to their new house in Brenham.
Don’s parents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in May of 1985. They served punch and cake at the Methodist Church in Brenham. The five children and most of their families attended. Many friends from Brenham also attended. They had a ceremony where they repeated their wedding vows.
The spring of 1988 Don and Pat with help from Sam and Rowena held a Davidson Family Reunion at Falconhead near Ardmore, Oklahoma. All the children and most of their families attended.
The prior Christmas Mom put the ‘bee’ on Sam and I to organize and hold a Davidson Family Reunion. Mother was always strong on family unity and togetherness. I think she foresaw her own mortality looming in the near future. She wanted one final reunion with the family.
Sam and I with Rowena and Pat organized and arranged for the reunion to be held May 29th through 31st at Falconhead, 488 William E. “Bill” Davidson Family 489 DONALD GENE DAVIDSON
a resort area a few miles west of Ardmore. It was a three-day event over a weekend. We sent invitations to all the family. Most attended at least on Saturday, the main day.
We were served a meal Friday evening at Falconhead and had a story telling afterwards. I was the master of ceremonies. Saturday was the main day for visiting and getting reacquainted with distant family members. Lots of photographs were taken, especially with Mom and Dad.
Saturday evening we gathered at McGehee’s Catfish Restaurant for a catfish dinner. Sunday morning we held a short religious service and disbanded to go home.
I think Mom was pleased with the reunion. It was her final get together with the family. She died Christmas Day that same year. Sam and I again held a reunion at Falconhead the following year. It was not the same without Mom. Dad was promoting his desire to marry another woman showing photos of her around to all the family. My older brother, Bob, had a nasty encounter with the resort operators about use of the swimming pool. I announced that the first person to complain would get the opportunity to arrange and organize the next reunion. Bob’s daughter, Paula, complained. I told her she had the responsibility for the next reunion. We didn’t have any more reunions per se, just the several birthday parties for Dad that Sam and I with Rowena and Pat arranged and organized.
The 1988 Republican Convention was held August in Houston. George Bush the first was renominated for the presidency. The Union Pacific Railroad brought the Challenger to Houston to showcase the train and to be a part of the activities.
I’ve been interested in trains for a long time, especially the old steam locomotives. The Union Pacific Challenger is the world’s largest still operating steam locomotive. It is a monster locomotive weighing in at a million pounds with twelve driver wheels. It is No. 3985 built in 1943 by the American Locomotive Company. The name Challenger was given to steam locomotives with a 4-6-6-4 wheel arrangement. This means they have four wheels in the leading pilot truck, which helps guide it into curves; two sets of six driving wheels, and finally, four trailing wheels that support the rear of the engine and its massive firebox. Each set of driving wheels has its own steam cylinder. In essence it is two engines under one boiler.
When Pat and I learned the Challenger was in Houston we checked to see if we could buy tickets to tour with the train after it left Houston. The only seats available were from San Antonio to Fort Worth.
We flew from DFW airport to San Antonio. Stayed the night at a hotel and boarded the train at eight o’clock the next morning. The train consisted of a baggage car, two pullman cars, eight passenger day cars, and a club car at the back. We got to ride in the club car. All the cars were 1930’s decor.
It was one o’clock in the afternoon before we left San Antonio. The fuel supplier brought the wrong fuel. The Challenger burns bunker fuel. We waited for the supplier to find and bring bunker fuel. What he brought was not bunker fuel but adequate for the Challenger to run at half speed which was thirty miles per hour.
The Challenger tour was widely advertised and written about in local newspapers. It was amazing to see all the people gathered along the way at crossings and all kinds of places where they could sit and see the train go by. Many people brought their kids so they could see a real steam locomotive. We had great fun waving from the windows and the back platform at the crowds of people.
The train stopped in Austin for about an hour. A large crowd with many kids gathered to see the huge locomotive. Many posed their kids next to the locomotive to take photographs. One man stood a five-year old boy on the cowcatcher for a photo. The poor kid was scared to death of that big monstrous thing blowing steam and hissing.
We left Austin and went through Hutto to Taylor. The highway parallels the tracks all along there. Many people were racing along in cars and pickups with someone leaning out the window taking videos of the train. At Taylor we stopped just long enough for Mikeska’s Barbecue to set up food service in the baggage car. We went through the buffet line one car 490 William E. “Bill” Davidson Family 491 DONALD GENE DAVIDSON
at a time to get our meals and take to our seats to eat while steaming toward Waco.
It was late evening when we finally pulled into Fort Worth. Even after dark we saw many people and cars waiting to see the steam locomotive pass by. It was a fun day. Pat and I took a tape recorder/player and played old time railroad songs by Boxcar Willy for the people in the club car with us.
In September 1988 Don and Pat drove to Brenham on a Labor Day weekend to visit Don’s parents.
We thought it was just a visit to see the folks. However, Mom came dragging out a Trust Agreement a local Brenham bank had drawn up for them. She asked me to read it and tell her what I thought. I read it. I told Mom and Dad they should not sign such a Trust Agreement. Mom asked, “Then what should we sign?” I said, “I’ll take this and review it more closely and draw up a more acceptable Trust Agreement.”
I spent the next two months consulting with lawyers and writing a Trust Agreement I thought would be more appropriate to Moms and Dad’s situation. Pat and I made several trips to Brenham to discuss it with them.
Early in December Mom went into the Brenham hospital with a heart condition. Pat and I made a trip to Brenham after she was released to finalize the Trust Agreement. It was ready to be signed and we planned to bring it to Brenham Christmas Day when we came to visit Mom and Dad.
The phone rang at two o’clock in the morning Christmas Day. It was Greg. Dad had called him and said the EMS took Mom to the hospital. Pat and I hurriedly got ready and drove as quickly as we could arriving at the Brenham hospital about eight o’clock that morning. We did not see Dad’s car in the parking lot and feared the worst. A check with the hospital revealed that the doctor had released Mom to go home.
Greg and Donna came from Austin. We spent Christmas Day with Mom and Dad. In our haste to leave I did not bring the Trust Agreement with me. We left about two o’clock that afternoon to go home.
When we arrived home in Bartonville the phone was ringing. It was Greg. Dad had called him and told him Mom had died about four o’clock that afternoon.
The Trust Agreement was in limbo. It later became a serious matter of contention between Dad and me as he refused to sign it. He had other considerations in mind that surfaced within two weeks after Mom was gone. There were irreconcilable differences and I withdrew from the trust effort. Much later and after considerable cajoling my sister, Ann, and an attorney convinced Dad to sign a trust agreement to protect his assets.
There came a time when Don and Pat began to think about a real retirement. They wanted to move farther south in Texas to where the weather was milder and closer to Greg and Donna in Austin. The next two years almost every weekend they traveled to Austin and spent the weekend scanning the newspaper want ads and looking at rural property within fifty miles of Austin. A number of places were interesting and they came close to placing a contract, but some negative would pop up to preclude the offer.
In the meantime in 1991 Don’s Dad was approaching his 90th birthday. Pat and Don with Sam and Rowena undertook to have a birthday party for him. They arranged to use the recreation hall at the Methodist Church. They made decorations and extra large size photographs of their Dad to display. They bought a birthday cake and arranged for a caterer to provide food service. Invitations were sent to relatives and a large number of local friends in Brenham.
The party was a rousing success. About three hundred people attended. All five of Bills and Pauline’s children and their spouses attended as did some of the grandchildren. Pauline’s sisters Jewel, Dixie, and Blanche with some of their children attended.
In their search for property Don and Pat were told to stay away from around Brenham. The property there was too expensive. Brenham was only an hour drive from the west side of Houston. Many of the Houston people with money had weekend places in 492 William E. “Bill” Davidson Family 493 DONALD GENE DAVIDSON
the Brenham area. Nevertheless, they decided to look around Brenham anyhow. They found a place to their liking and made an offer that after a little negotiation the sellers accepted. Thus began the process of moving from Bartonville to Brenham.
This place was located six miles southwest of Brenham. It had a nice house with a good large barn and corrals. It had two acres of yard with a sprinkler system. It had eighty large trees which Pat liked. A Massey-Ferguson 230 tractor was included in the deal as were several household items.
We closed in August 1995. We went back to Bartonville and began the process of getting ready to move. The Mims bought our Bartonville property. I cleaned out the equipment shed and barn discarding thirteen small dumpster loads.
We had an eighteen-foot trailer special made. We made several round trips hauling the 8N Ford tractor and the 1962 Dodge Lancer car and other things from Bartonville to Brenham. In October professional movers moved the household goods. A month later a cattle hauler moved twenty-seven head of our Longhorns to Brenham.
The first year at Brenham was a drought year. Hay was scarce and expensive. Don and Pat spent hours scouring the countryside for fifty miles around Brenham to find hay for the cows.
Gradually Don and Pat began to settle into their new home and surroundings. They became acquainted with Charles and Joy Blake, and through them became acquainted with Frank and Ruth Kosieracki. Charles and Joy were active in local Republican Party activities. Don and Pat joined the Republican Club of Washington County and became involved in local Republican Party activities. Don became a precinct chairman and a member of the Republican Party Executive Committee. He also became an election judge. Pat became an election clerk and assisted Don at election times.
In the meantime Don’s Dad continued to live at home alone. He had several lady friends that took an interest in his welfare. In 1996 as his 95th birthday approached Don and Pat arranged to have a birthday party for him at their place. Again Sam and Rowena helped with the expense and the work. Don and Pat cooked and prepared a barbecue buffet with all the fixings. About seventy-five relatives and friends attended.
Don and Pat loved their Texas Longhorns though they required a lot of physical work. Over the twenty years they kept Longhorns they had over two hundred calf births and lost only one. Pat and Don enjoyed just watching them in the pastures. Don took many photographs of them. It was a sad day when they took the younger cows and calves to a Longhorn sale in Brenham and a few days later loaded the older cows in a trailer and hauled to the auction barn in Industry. Don kept the old steer with the big horns just so he would have a Longhorn to look at in the pasture.
Don and Pat kept in touch with Don’s dear friend, Buford Young, from his childhood days at Moore. They exchanged occasional letters and called one another from time to time. A few years after Don and Pat moved to Brenham they learned Buford had cancer.
It was a sad day when we learned Buford had prostate cancer. We called each other and had long chats. Pat and I did some intense searches on the Internet trying to find any information that might be useful in Buford’s treatment. We never found anything that Buford or Georgia hadn’t already told us about. We felt so helpless.
Buford and Georgia had often asked Pat and I to come visit them in Wyoming. It was something we were always going to do. We had the cattle to look after, and it was so far to Wyoming. We just never seemed to be able to find the time.
In the meantime we kept in touch with Buford and Georgia. Buford’s condition was not getting better. Finally, early in 1997 I told Pat, “We’re selling the cattle and buying a new car and going to Wyoming to see Buford and Georgia.” We originally planned to go in September, but something told me to go sooner. So, in April I sold all the cattle and bought a 1995 Lincoln Town Car. We didn’t think our old ’88 Lincoln could 494 William E. “Bill” Davidson Family 495 DONALD GENE DAVIDSON
make the trip. In May we went to Wyoming and visited Buford and Georgia. I am so glad we did.
We had a nice visit. Buford and Georgia have a lovely home and we enjoyed the warm hospitality. Our last evening there Georgia prepared a very nice dinner and we ate in the bedroom with Buford. We enjoyed a good meal while we reminisced about our times together. It was nice to visit with Buford, though it saddened us to learn that his condition was much worse than we had imagined. The few people we came in contact with in Worland all knew Buford and Georgia. They all spoke very highly of them, and felt very sad about Buford’s illness.
We returned home through Salt Lake City and visited my cousin, Evann (Riley) Sutton and her daughter, Monica. We also visited our friends, Mick and Marion Cannon, from our days in Salt Lake City. Then we went to Phoenix and visited Aunt Elsie. She and I had a nice long walk early one morning reminiscing about our early days on Panther Creek and current events. Also in Phoenix we visited Aunt Marge, my cousin Jimmy Weldon and his wife, Michelina, and Jimmy’s daughter, Jana. We stopped in Tucson and visited my cousin, David Riley.
After we got home we went to Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, for the Clarke Family Reunion at Rose Edna French’s house. We visited Old Davidsonville State Park. I sent Buford a post card from Black Rock, Arkansas.
A month later Georgia called us with the sad, sad news. I sat down and had a good cry. A little bit of me died that day, too. My greatest regret is that Buford and I did not live close enough in our adult lives to have the same level of friendship and companionship we enjoyed as young boys. There is a very special place in my heart for Buford and his Mom and Dad. They were the greatest. I will never forget them.
I have believed for a long time that God takes the good ones first so they can go ahead and prepare the way for the rest of us. I truly expect to see Buford on that fateful day standing there with that big smile and his hand out. I’ll say, “Hey, Big Guy, good to see you.” He will laugh real big and say, “What took you so long?” And, we will both have a good laugh together.
Farewell for now, My Friend. Thank you for touching my life. I love you and I miss you. Take care, and I’ll see you over there.
The large yard and all the trees at the new house involved much work keeping up things. Leaf management was a year round job. The post oaks shed in November. The water oaks shed in February and March. The live oaks shed in April. The magnolia trees shed all summer. Don bought a Cub Cadet lawn tractor and later a Mow-N-Vac which helped immensely to pick up the leaves. Still there was plenty of hand raking where the Mow-N-Vac could not go in and around hedges and flowerbeds.
Don had an atrial fibrillation attack June 1998 and was hospitalized for several days. He recovered but with medication. It became an affliction he had to be aware of all the time. He later had another mild attack, but has since been able to control it with medication.
Don and Pat bought a Compaq Presario computer and over several years Pat became a self-taught computer ‘guru.’ She collected recipes and accumulated over a million. She subscribed to recipe websites and shared recipes with people all over the world.
In 2001 Don and Pat with help from Sam and Rowena arranged and organized a 100th birthday party for Don’s Dad.
Once again it was Sam and I with Rowena and Pat that began to plan, organize and arrange for the celebration of Dad’s 100th birthday. We planned to the ‘Nth degree’ and estimated the cost. Since we had borne all the costs of the other parties we asked each of the five children to contribute $250 each to help defray the cost. Four of us, Bill, Ann, Sam and I ‘ponied up’ our share. Steve and Paula paid for Bob.
We thought the 90th might be Dad’s last birthday. We then thought the 95th may be his last. Now it was his 100th. We wanted to make it one grand party for it may well be the last.
We rented the parish hall at Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church in Brenham with tables and chairs to accommodate three 496 William E. “Bill” Davidson Family 497 DONALD GENE DAVIDSON
hundred people. Pat and I rented all the necessary party accessories for coffee and cake. We decorated the hall with flowers and potted palm plants. Potted flowers were set on each table. One hundred dollar bills were replicated on the computer with Dad’s image on them instead of Ben Franklin. They were widely distributed to all the tables.
The day of the celebration trumpets sounded. A red carpet was rolled out by great grandsons, Casey and Daryl, all the way from the entrance to a large throne like chair at the front. Dad was escorted by granddaughters, Ashley and Debbie, to his throne. Sue Johnson, a friend, sang several personal songs and sat on his lap to sing a special song. The Methodist Church choir sang a few spirituals.
I was the master of ceremonies. I presented framed special greetings and proclamations from President Bush, Governor Perry, Congressman Kevin Brady, State Senator Steve Ogden, and County Judge Dorothy Morgan. Family members came forward to tell stories about Dad and to give him presents. His grandson, Steve, presented him with a nicely done plaque, “The Order of the Shoe,” with a shoe attached to signify the slipper Dad used to spank him when he was a kid. Aunt Blanche gave him a very nice walking cane made from the hame of a horse harness.
We hired a professional photographer and had family group photographs taken with Dad, and a large group photo of all the family that attended. Our son, Greg, made a video of all the activities. He and Donna attended with their new daughter, Mary Grace. She was only a month old.
That evening we had a family dinner at the K&G Restaurant. I brought copies of the booklet I wrote, “The Life and Times of William Edmund ‘Bill’ Davidson–100 Years of History.” I gave a copy to each of the five children and all the grandchildren in attendance.
Life resumed to a fairly normal existence for Don and Pat after the party. Don busied himself with his genealogical endeavors. He spent hours searching on the computer and found several instances of pertinent information about the Davidson Family some of which is incorporated in other chapters of this book.
About this time Don was diagnosed with glaucoma. It was caught in time and is controlled with medication.
In October 2001 Greg and Donna adopted a baby girl in an “open adoption” arrangement with the birth mother, Alicia, in Fort Worth. When the baby was two days old they brought her home to Round Rock. They named her Mary Grace. She is Dons and Pat’s only grandchild. From time to time Greg and Donna take Mary Grace to visit her birth mother. Don and Pat go to Round Rock to visit as often as they can.
Don’s father continued to live at home though he was getting more and more feeble. Don often helped with his needs. He took him to his doctor appointments. He kept the lawn and trimmed the hedges. He made minor maintenance and repairs around the house.
One day Don’s Dad had a flair up with his heart. Don stayed with him at the hospital and when released took him of his own accord to the Gazebo Terrace, a convalescent center.. He stayed only a few weeks and came home to live with his granddaughter, Paula, and her husband, Gary. This arrangement lasted a little over a year.
The spring of 2003 Don fell from a ladder. He was cleaning leaves from the gutter on the front of the house. He landed on his right leg and fell backwards onto the sidewalk on his left hip. He already had indications of arthritis in his hip and knee. The fall exacerbated the condition to where it was painful for him to walk.
Don and Pat bought a new 2003 Mercury Marquis and that September they drove to the western part of Virginia to attend a Roller Family Reunion. Debra (Roller) Price was the coordinator. Don and Pat met Rollers they never knew.
We drove from Brenham to Little Rock, Memphis and to Kingsport, Tennessee. Pat did all the driving. My hip and leg were not up to that much driving.498 William E. “Bill” Davidson Family 499 DONALD GENE DAVIDSON
In Kingsport we called Angela, Debbie’s daughter, and had a nice dinner with Angela, her husband, Brian, and little boy, Nate.
The next day we drove to the old Fairview School House near Clinchport on a tributary to the Clinch River. This is the area where the first Rollers, Johannes and Anna (Ocher) Roller, in the Colonies settled about 1750. They are the parents of Jacob Roller born 1766 who married Eve Zirkle in 1791.
This part of Virginia is in the extreme southwest corner a few miles from the Tennessee border. It is in the heart of Appalachia and very mountainous with deep narrow valleys.
As a part of the reunion activities a group of us went to the cemetery where Johannes and Anna Roller and Jacob and Eve Roller are buried on a mountaintop. It was so very steep we had to ride in 4-wheel drive vehicles to get there. And then we had to walk the last fifty yards. We had a short religious ceremony to honor the family members buried there and placed new artificial flowers on each of the graves.
From the reunion we went to Tazewell and Wyth Counties in Virginia on a genealogical safari looking for information on the early Davidsons in the Colonies. Then we went to Huntsville, Tennessee, and on to Waverly, Tennessee, searching for Davidson information. We found some interesting information but nothing conclusive.
That December Don went into Saint Joseph Hospital in Bryan, Texas, for left hip replacement surgery by Dr. Joseph Iero. He recovered very nicely.
Don’s Dad passed out one morning at breakfast. The EMS was called and they revived him and transported him to the hospital. Don stayed with him to assist in whatever manner needed. This episode scared Paula. In a few weeks she and Gary went back to Oklahoma after checking her grandfather into Gazebo.
November 2004 Don again went into Saint Joseph for right knee replacement surgery. The next day after surgery Don received a pleasant surprise visit from two former classmates from his days at Classen. Bernie Thompson, who played football with Don, and his wife, Martha (Goode) who also went to Classen, popped into his room. They had a nice visit reminiscencing about their days at Classen.
Don was in therapy three days a week and worked very diligently. He recuperated very nicely. Pat was a champion ‘Nurse Jane’ to care for him during his convalescence.
Don decided over two years ago to lose weight to relieve the pressure on his hip and knee joints. He went on what he called a “half diet.” He ate just half of what was placed in front of him. He went from 224 pounds to 168 pounds in two and a half years following this method. He also worked out vigorously and religiously at home and at the gym.
Don’s Dad continued to live at Gazebo. Don ran errands and took care of his needs. Ann was the trustee of his Trust Fund. Don handled all his financial matters. Don’s Dad died December 7, 2005, Don’s birthday.
The phone rang at 1:45 a.m. It was the night nurse at Gazebo. She told me Dad died at 1:40 a.m. Pat and I were unable to sleep the rest of the night. Early that morning we began the sad task of calling relatives and friends to give the sad news.
We had a funeral in Brenham officiated by Rev. Calvin Beckendorf, and then one at Memorial Park Cemetery in Oklahoma City officiated by Greg and Steve. Dad is buried next to Mom with his mother and father.
Don and Pat continued to live at their place near Brenham. They were active in the local Republican Club and Republican Party activities. Pat served one year as club treasurer, and as chairperson for special projects. Don served as the chairman of the by-laws committee and chairman of the scholarship committee. Don usually goes to the gym three days a week for a two-hour workout each time.
Don took a strong liking and keen interest in two neighbor boys, Cameron and Austin Wehmeyer. Since they had no grandfa500 William E. “Bill” Davidson Family 501 DONALD GENE DAVIDSON
thers and he had no grandsons he took a grandfatherly interest in the boys. He enjoys going to their baseball games and talks with them about their interests and school activities. He gives them grandfatherly advice.
Don and Pat often go to Round Rock to visit Greg, Donna, and Mary Grace. She is a joy in their lives. They go to watch her play soccer and to her ballet recitals. She also is in gymnastics and swimming. Greg and Donna own twenty acres at Blue, a small community half way between Elgin and Lexington, Texas. We sometimes meet there for country outings.
In March 2005 Don and Pat went to Liberal, Kansas, to celebrate the eightieth birthday of Don’s brother, Bill, at Debbie’s house in Turpin, Oklahoma. On the way to Liberal Don and Pat received a cell phone call from Steve that Bob had a serious stroke at the racetrack in Houston and was in Hermann Memorial Hospital in Houston.
After they returned from Liberal Don and Pat went to visit Bob in the hospital. He was very much out of it. The prognosis was not good. Bob was later moved to Oklahoma City and Don and Pat went to visit him there. He was not much improved, though he seemed to kind of recognize people and understand what they said.
September 23, 2006 Bill’s wife, Mary, died in Liberal, Kansas. Pat and Don attended the funeral.
Bob was later moved to a facility at Catoosa near Tulsa where he died June 24, 2007. He is buried at Antioch Cemetery in Garvin County.
July 2007 Pat and Don went to Moore, Oklahoma, to attend Don’s 60th Class of ’47 Reunion. It is the class he would have graduated with had his family stayed at Moore. Don always felt closer to that group and kept in touch with several of them over the years.
Don and Pat occasionally visit his sister, Ann, and her husband, Fred, at their country place near Flatonia, Texas.
January 29, 2008 Pat had a regular scheduled visit with her primary care physician. She had been complaining about shortness of breath and weakness. He had been treating her for asthma. Pat insisted there was more to it than asthma. He ordered a chest x-ray (for asthma) and an EKG. Her chest x-ray did not reveal asthma, but the EKG showed her heart rate to be 160. He immediately sent her to the Trinity Medical Center ICU in Brenham. They tried a procedure that was ineffective. The next morning the doctor had Don take her to Dr. Schwartz, a cardiologist in Bryan. They did an echocardiogram. She was diagnosed with atrial flutter. They immediately took her to St. Joseph’s Hospital. There they performed a transesophageal echocardiography and then a catheter ablation. That is where a long wire is inserted into the main vein in the right groin and run into the upper right chamber of the heart to create a scar blockage. That interrupts the run away circular electrical impulse creating the fast, but weak, heart beat. The next day she felt fine. They did another echocardiogram. Dr. Schwartz said she had very slight signs of congestive heart failure and minimal valve leakage. Nothing to be overly concerned about. She was discharged to come home.
March 24, 2008, Pat had knee replacement surgery for her right knee. Dr. Iero performed the surgery. He is the doctor that did my hip and knee replacement surgery. Greg and Mary Grace came to St. Joseph’s Hospital to be with me during her surgery. She was in the hospital three days and then cleared to come home. Don was her caregiver. Her stitches were removed April 24 and her incision is healing nicely. She is able to flex her knee 95 degrees. Dr. Iero said she was in the upper 2% of people able to do that so soon after surgery. Only six weeks after surgery she was walking without assistance.
When Pat complained, which was infrequently, I reminded her, “This hospital is run by an amateur.” We ate a lot of bacon, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, and canned soups for a couple of 502 William E. “Bill” Davidson Family 503
weeks. I can open cans and heat the contents, I can cook oatmeal, and I can fry bacon and eggs. That is the extent of my culinary prowess.
Six weeks and four days after surgery Pat and I attended the St. Joseph Joint University Alumni Luncheon at the hospital. Fifty-three former joint surgery patients attended. Pat walked the best without assistance or a limp. I was proud of her.