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Shortly after our marriage, I was discharged from the Army. Bonna had resignd from officership in The Salvation Army and it was time to move home to Seattle. We put absolutely everything we owned in our VW bus and headed for San Francisco. The Western Territorial Headquarters of The Salvation Army were in San Francisco at that time and it was time for a Territorial Congress. My brother was (and still is) a Salvation Army officer. He was going to marry Peggy and they were both in San Francisco. We all went to the Territorial Congress where I met a lot of family and friends. Then, all four of us headed for Seattle. Jim and Peggy were going to get married in the next week or so at the Tacoma Corps, in Washington State. I had created a spiffy bed in the VW bus so Bonna and Peggy slept in the VW and Jim and I slept in a tent on the way to Seattle.
I realized how serious marriage was and what a precarious situation I was in when Bonna met my mother. After spending an hour together, mom said to Bonna, "If you ever decide to leave him, you can always stay at my house." I have to tell you that the most remarkable thing I've ever seen happened. My mother and my wife have absolutely loved each other from the minute they met to this very day. In over three decades since we were married, my wife has NEVER criticized my mother or complained about her. In our whole married life, my wife has treated my mother like a queen. They have NEVER once quarreled about anything. My wife is so wonderful she has deferred to my mother 100 percent of the time. My wife, Bonna, has acted like a hand maiden to my mother without fail. Whenever my mother has gotten into a car with us, my wife has put my mother in the most comfortable seat and made sure her seatbelt was fastened. The temperature in the car is set to my mother's comfort level. The radio is set so my wife and my mother can talk comfortably. Any time there is a decision to be made about a restaurant, a movie or anything else, my wife has asked my mother what my mother would like to do and has allowed my mother to make the final decisions. It almost gags me to watch this subservience, but it sure has made for a happy marriage and a very happy mother - in - law, daughter - in - law relationship. My mother lives in Nampa, Idaho, and we live in Shoreline, Washington. Bonna calls my mother frequently and talks to her for hours. Thank God my daugher takes after her mother. Because my wifeis such a great example, I have the most wonderful caring daughter you can imagine. Unfortunately for me, my mother made the same offer to my daughter she made to my wife, "If you ever want to get away from your Dad, you can come and live with me." Bonna never took my mom up on the offer, but my daughter has on several occasions. When I first took Bonna to the Seattle Temple Corps, people just fell in love with her. I discovered that all of the kindness and compassion she had shown me when I poured out my heart to her shortly after we met in Waco, Texas, is a natural lifestyle for Bonna. It wasn't long before Bonna became the "shoulder to cry on" at the Seattle Temple Corps. People came to her and told her their deepest secrets. Literally every family in the Seattle Temple Corps has had a family member pour out their heart to Bonna. Her compassion is boundless and sometimes I wonder how she can bear some of the things people have laid on her. Years later, one of the ladies in the Seattle Temple Corps was visiting friends at the Salvation Army Headquarters in New York City. They asked her why on earth she was still in the Salvation Army after what had happened to her. She told them it was because of Bonna Ross. It wasn't just my mother that got the royal treatment. My wife, "CAPABLE WOMAN," is the most caring, kind, compassionate person I know. I'm so lucky.
At the Seattle Temple Corps, Bonna decided we needed to do something for the children. We formed a Young People's Band, a Singing Company and two Timbrel Brigades. Bonna had been in a Girl Guard troop in Asbury Park Citadel, New Jersey, which had 75 girls in it. She had formed a Singing Company in the Waco, Texas, Corps. She was absolutely fantastice with children. This was one of the attributes I had written into my "Dream Sheet" of things to look for in a wife. When Bonna was in charge of any children's group, the kids excelled. This included toddlers, elementary aged children and teen agers. When Bonna was leading the Salvation Army Junior Soldiers at the Seattle Temple Corps, she found out that there was a special program where exceptional children could be awarded the title "Honor Junior Soldier." She started this program at the Seattle Temple Corps. When she was finished, every single one of our children was awarded the title "Honor Junior Solder." There were more "Honor Junior Soldiers" in the Seattle Temple Corps than in the whole rest of the Western Territory combined. When Bonna's Timbrel Brigade played in public, people whistled, shouted, cheered and applauded vigorously. She was loved as much by the ladies of the Seattle Temple Corps for the care she gave their children as for the pain they shared with her that nobody else could understand. |
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01 Meet My Wife Bonna Before College 07 Seattle Washington <=YOU ARE HERE |
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Dan Ross Bonna Ross Jordana Ross Dan
& Bonna Ross Dan and Bonna Ross drdan71, drdan71@aol.com cornucopiagenealogica
09/30/03
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