Betty and Sammy think their grandchildren really are grand! Their own five children have been good examples. Because children do what they see, their grandchildren are turning out wonderfully, and seeing the importance of a good education.
Insert BlakelyPB9 Paul, Stephen, Kevin – Stephen’s wedding
Insert BlakelyPB10 Karen and Barry – Stephen’s wedding
Like many grandparents, Betty and Sammy say they have probably a hundred baby photographs of their oldest grandchild, Christopher, son of Stephen and his Malaysian wife Jenny. He was born on September 2, 1991, with a quiet nature like his Grandad. The family lived in England then, and Betty and Sammy got to go over for his birth. Christopher is very sensible, well grounded and courageous. He got his education at Queens University in Belfast and now successfully works as a computer programmer/developer in Belfast. They don’t get to see Christopher as much as they’d like, but were glad to help him raise money for a charity marathon he participated in. He’s a wonderful boy. Insert Blakely5.1 Christopher
His beautiful sister Jennifer came along on March 8, 1995. Once when she was about two or three weeks old, she came over so Granny could watch her, but she screamed the whole time. Screamed and screamed and screamed. The moment her mother came back, she stopped. Jennifer worked in retail while she was at the university and now has a job where she travels worldwide. Her grandparents are very proud of her. Insert Blakely5.2 Jennifer Insert Blakely4.12 Christopher and Jennifer with their Mom, Jenny
Stephen’s second family lives in Sweden. Stephen has taught himself to speak Swedish and his three children, Noah (April 27, 2009), Lily (February 27, 2014), and Amelia (September 17, 2011) are all bi-lingual. When they get to do video calls with Stephen’s family, Betty and Sammy are so impressed at the ease with which the children, who have been exposed to both languages from a young age, move from one to the other with ease. Insert Blakely PB29 Stephen Insert BlakelyPB30 Stephen Insert BlakelyPB27 Lily, Noah and Amelia
Insert BlakelyPB28 Noah and Tina
Lily loves to walk about in her bare feet. Insert BlakelyPB26 Lily and Amelia
Paul immigrated to America when his son, Ethan (April 29, 1999), was about one year old, and the whole family are now naturalized citizens. A favorite video of Sammy and Betty is of Anna (September 15, 2002) and Caeris (February 10, 2006), probably about age eight and four, standing to say the Pledge of Allegiance, not pronouncing all the words correctly, but very sincere. Betty and Sammy have visited Paul in the U.S. many times and saw the children when Carol brought them over to visit her Mum and then they came on the Derry train to visit their grandparents. Insert Blakely5.6 Sammy, Betty, a neighbor child, Anna, Ethan, Caeris, Paul Insert BlakelyPB37 Anna, Paul, Caeris, Carol, Ethan Insert BlakelyPB45 Caeris, Ethan, Anna
As a child, Ethan was small, quiet, sensitive and very well mannered. Ethan has matured into “a great young man…a big, strong and lovely lad.” After a high school soccer game his junior year, he was approached by a scout for Moravian College in Pennsylvania and offered a soccer scholarship. The standard of play at college is a huge step up from the standard of varsity at high school, but Ethan has started every game and is now the Captain of the team. His studies in Bio Chemistry are in preparation for a career in medical research or medical practice we think. He’s a credit. Insert Blakely5.3 Ethan
Anna is very quite, but very strong-willed and loves soccer as well. She received a soccer scholarship to Centenary College in New Jersey where she’s studying Psychology. Her Dad says she’s going to be an FBI profiler and her grandparents really enjoyed the video of her learning to play the saxophone when she was younger. Insert Blakely5.5 Anna
Paul’s youngest child, Caeris, is boisterous, funny, very sweet, and just a bundle of energy. She’s another excellent soccer player and Betty and Sammy love the video of her, decked out in her soccer uniform, scoring a goal from a penalty kick and running down the field celebrating. They know she’ll do great things like her older brother and sister. Insert Blakely5.4 Caeris
Insert Blakely4.10 Paul and Kevin on a pub crawl/boozy night out
Kevin’s daughter Aoifa, born October 6, 1999, attends Manchester University. Though she’s now taller than Betty, when she was a toddler, about three years old, Granny Betty would sometimes collect her from her other Granny’s and bring her to their home. The route they drove crossed two bridges, the Foyle Bridge and the Craigavon Bridge; Aoifa thought she needed to help and would say, “No! No, Granny Betty! Take the blue bridge!” Insert BlakelyPB65 Aoifa
Born on June 4, 2008, Sophie is a serious sort who tends toward technological subjects.
Charlie, born on December 21, 2010, is a more relaxed child and into fishing, as shown in a favorite photo Betty and Sammy have of him catching a big trout in the River Mourne. Their family lives nearby so Betty and Sammy see them occasionally when they come up to visit. They spend a lot of time with their other granny while their mom works at school. Insert BlakelyPB42 Charlie Insert BlakelyPB43 Charlie and Kevin Insert BlakelyPB44 Charlie and Sophie
Insert BlakelyPB22 Karen’s graduation Insert PB20 Richard & Karen’s wedding, with Sammy Insert BlakelyPB23 Karen’s wedding, Sammy and Karen
Karen’s son Jamie was born April 15, 2000, while she was still in the university, so he was basically reared by Granny Betty until age five, and consequently, has a very close bond with his grandparents. When Karen took him to the south of Ireland, it was so heartbreaking that Betty decided to participate in the New York City marathon, to keep from going crazy. So gregarious is Jamie, that he would, as they say in Ireland, talk to the head of a crutch, an endearing trait he got from his Granny. His father, Richard, showed Betty and Sammy a video one day when he was in their area for an auction. Jamie and another lad, both students at Trinity College Dublin, were making a pitch to a millionaire businessman and Jamie’s verbal ability was absolutely brilliant! Jamie is studying engineering; he’s into building and racing cars, loves rugby and is working on a project to produce clean water for Africa and other nations. When he and Ethan were just kids, Paul took everyone out for lunch and instead of ordering burgers, the two boys ordered sirloin steak and it cost Paul 50 quid just for the boys! He wasn’t happy.
Karen’s son Zach, born on June 24, 2008, is a very determined person. But Sammy notes that he is “more sophisticated, more refined. Like me.” (“Oh the cheek of him!” quipped Betty.) When asked if he wants to be a mechanical engineer, Zach said no, he’s going to be a researcher. Insert 5.7 Baby Zach with his mother, Karen, and grandparents Betty and Sammy
The boys are never idle and do everything under the sun. They waterski and ride horses. They play Gaelic, hurling, and rugby. Once when they were visiting, Karen’s family took Sammy and Betty to Cork. At the lake, Zach, only about two then, rode on a skiboard. (Betty says she couldn’t watch.) Now they waterski. On a more recent visit when Betty and Sammy were minding the boys (not that they needed much minding), Betty said they were going to Saturday night mass. “I’m not going,” Zach announced. “I’m Presbyterian.” But she insisted and even offered to pay him to go to mass, but Zach was equally insistent that he would not. So they compromised and watched online. They attend Catholic school and have had their First Communion and taken Confirmation there. Insert BlakelyPB41 Karen, Richard, Zach, Jamie at Zach’s confirmation Insert Blakely4.3 Jamie, Zach, Karen and Richard Insert BlakelyPB19 Sammy, Karen, Betty, Richard
Insert BlakelyPB36 Barry and Sinead’s wedding Barry’s children are Ellie (November 3, 2014) and Fionn (April 7, 2019). Ellie is very intelligent and amazing. Mildly autistic and extremely gifted, she can recite the names of all 32 counties in Ireland! A jigsaw puzzle featuring the map of Ireland, which she got for Christmas, she put together very quickly though she’d never seen such a map before. She, too, is a chatterbox like her Granny Betty. Fionn is a happy toddler who always smiles. The moment he sees you, his face just lights up! Insert BlakelyPB31 Barry and Sinead Insert BlakelyPB32 Ellie Insert BlakelyPB33 Fionn
The family photograph on the back cover was taken on the day of Paul’s wedding. Betty spent an hour getting them all together, because she knew it might never happen again. ( l to r – Barry, Karen, Paul, Sammy, Betty, Kevin, Stephen)
