How happy and grateful I am to be a grandchild of Edward William and Annette Brophy, parents of Dorothea, Joyce, Phillip, Margaret, Joanne, Annette, and Tim. We are a generation of 35 cousins whose parents' determination and effort brought us together as children, mainly because THEY loved to be together, and so, the many blessings of 35 cousins fell on our generation. We traveled back and forth to California. We camped. We had picnics and reunions. We went to the beach. Any reason and possibility to get together was never too complicated! For myself, I feel I have known each and every cousin at one level or another. Each family and each individual brought something to the mix. My memory is filled with fun and family, especially cousins, aunts and uncles. What a truly wonderful thing it is to be a part of such a fine group of people! For me, the Giroux family represented exploration and adventure. They were often traveling in their trailer, across the country, through the mountains and forests, just to see what they could see. Life was for learning, seeing and experiencing, with Clayton and Dorothea at the helm, and a bunch of boys and one lucky girl (or unlucky.....you'll have to ask Annette) in tow. Never a dull moment when with the Giroux's....there was building the cabin at Donner (I don't know if you remember, Giroux's, but I spent a week at the cabin site, going out on log hunts with “the boys” and “helping” prepare the logs for building).....there was Ed's sailboat....there was ALWAYS a renovation happening at the house in Sacramento....even a rest-stop on a road trip could turn into adventure for the Giroux boys.....wherever we were, if there was a hill to climb or a cave to explore, the Giroux boys were on it. I remember following the boys up a steep hill to climb a tree a ways up.....I got up, but couldn't get down....Joe and Clayton came to my rescue! I was lucky enough to fall into the middle group of the 35 cousins. There were several cousins older than I and many more younger, so I got to spend “quality time” with everyone at one time or another. Joe was 6-7 years older than I. When I was about 8-10, he was secretly the big brother I always wanted and dreamed about. He was quiet but kind. When I was a teenager, Joe became my very own hero of adventure......traveling the world, working on a fishing boat at sea, hitchhiking with only his backpack on his back and experiencing people and places all over the world.....a hippy of sorts. I remember on his way home from one of his journeys, he stopped in to see Grandma Brophy. He played his guitar and sang for all of us, and that cemented my love and admiration. Perhaps as Joe traveled, he was looking for someone or something, and he eventually found Rhea, and then their two girls. What a beautiful life! All 35 of us eventually grew up and got busy with our grown-up lives. However, thanks again to love of family and the great effort of certain individuals, have had several reunions with all families represented in a big way. As an adult, I always looked forward to seeing Joe and visiting with him, however briefly, because he always had those kind eyes that looked directly at you when you spoke, a laugh that I can hear when I close my eyes, and in his quiet way, I could always sense a huge, compassionate heart, full of love for life, family and this Earth which he so peacefully and gently walked upon. With Love and Much Gratitude, Margaret Dean Stireman