Pictures of Carolyn

Interview With Carolyn Jeanne Oakes

Length: 1 Hour 8 Minutes and 27 Seconds

Date: May 30, 2009

Time: 8:32pm

Hi are you ready? Yes

Ok first question... What was your earliest Memory?

Kissing Tommy, a boy who lives on Williams Ave. She was 4 years old. Life time of crime. Childhood friends and first boyfriend.

What was the earliest birthday you can remember?

8/9 years old- With her Aunt Gene, Viki and Vergie, playing games, running around, all like a typical birthday. She remembers looking at a picture of herself with Medium length hair all sticking out.

Tell me about the relationship you had with your parents:

She was closest to her dad as her sister Margene was to their mother. They would always go fishing, eating flounder, going to fish on the jetty off of the Newport coast, and going to Grandpa’s Farm.

Conversion: “Jacks grandparents were members and they wanted Kim (her oldest daughter) to be blessed. After that we meet the missionaries. I took the lessons and I knew it was right.” Jack and his parents were Christian-Science, she was Methodist, but the rest of her family was catholic. Now they are all Mormons. Due to her doing the temple work for them.

Baptism: “I don’t remember much of it that all, it was at the small church”

Best friends in Elementary School: Virginia, “we called her Virgie” she went to a Calothic school. We were friends until both of us wanted the same boyfriend. Due to the situation, marriage and friendship went sour. She also liked going up and down the river and spending time with friends, you use your imagination to have fun. Played cowboys and Indians, house, tree house.

Best friends in Jr. High: I think they were the same friends

Best friends in High school: Vergie were married by the end of senior year of high school and so was she.

Who was your first crush? She was dating Kenny, at the time so grandpa would sometimes coming to the house to visit and say hello in the hallways. At one time she had a date with both of them at the same time, she doesn’t know how she got out of it, but both of them were upset with her. She doesn’t really remember how she started dating her husband.

What was your first date like and whom with? She liked a lot of boys and had some relationship before grandpa Jack.

Who was your first kiss, and what led up to it? David Anderson, he was a great guy, she doesn’t know why she didn’t date him, because he was a good guy. They were like 14 years old. She later regretted not getting to know him better.

She was married a total of 5 times. Her first Husband’s name was Jack, whom she had all four of their children together. She later divorced him and Married Tim. Due to the kids not getting along well, they later divorced. She then married Dale, who was not a very well respectful man and didn’t deserve her and she later divorced him. Her fourth marriage was to Jim and after handling too much of his bipolar attitude she divorced him. The only other man she was sealed to was Jim.

First kiss with grandpa? At the dances, along with dates regularly there. They were married for 21 years

Dated Tim after Jack she was in her 30’s

Dale- had a girlfriend

Jim-was bipolar, and on meds, he didn’t want to be married anymore and then after the divorce he married again within a year, he didn’t like to talk to people and was just weird

Don- she met him at the bookstore, he would bring his wife in, and she would help her out, the wife died and then Don would ask her out some time and she would say no. He said he was dying of cancer, they dated and started as friends and then it ended with marriage.

He proposal at dinner. The waiter came with a lot of roses married July 8 2007 and sealed Oct 23 2008, had to wait a year after he died to be seal.

Sealed: Don used to work in the temple and she found a friend who used to work with him there, the man was also their Stake Patriarch, and he sealed them together. Of course she cried through the whole thing, it was very spiritual, she was grateful happy to be finally sealed with Don.

Kids: When Kim was born Big Grandma kept laughing at her big fat cheeks. She was a sweet baby and cute. She likes to show her off. Feeling of love and protection and you were part of your baby.

Grandkids:” I fell in love with her right away. I loved every single grandchild, there nothing better than your family. I enjoyed the time when Jenny got her tonsils out so she could take care of her.” She loves the time we spent together one-on-one. She also loves to talk about her experiences with her grandbabies.

Jobs: after married to Jack, the first job called Oak Pit, near the high school. She gains like 20 pounds there, always eating all the fast food from there. She also worked at the U.S. Bank then Portland general electric. PGE made a float and they had her on it in the Rose Parade the float was called Don Juan. There were four other girls on there and the float one a prize for first place. She liked it. She then worked at a bridal store. It was fun but a lot of work, the dresses was heavy to deal with.

Travels: Went to Canada with her mom. “ We missed the boat so we just went glacier national park, and went to the world fair in Canada. The World Fair was set up like a little German town. It was so cute they also had sleigh rides.” She wishes to one day go back there again.

Cars: “oh goodness, you are asking the wrong person when it comes to cars, you should ask your grandpa. My first car was blue and white, but I can’t remember anything else.”

Hobbies: “As a kid I collected glass horses, and some were even bronze. One day I don’t remember what exactly but Margene came over and knocked my shelf over and all my horses broke, I was heart broken.” “I like doing outdoor stuff, walking, hiking, and camping. Now I collects wolves, and other wild life statues.” Her living room is covered with wolves and wild life collectables.

Interests: Genealogy and Family research.

Movies: Sound of Music, Dragonfly, “movies that touch my heart”, she likes Ever After, Mountain of the Lord, and Work and the Glory.

Music- Christmas, 50’s, Josh Groban, Celtic Women, Mormon Tabernacle Choir (other religious music), and listening to Christmas music year round.

Favorite Memory: Being sealed to Don in the Temple.

Least Favorite Memory: “Well, I can think of four of them.” She said this with a chuckle.

Embarrassing Moment: “Well your mom(Kristi) and I went to the mall, and each bought a Hickory Farms hotdog. We were sitting on the bench next to another man. When I bit into my hotdog it punctured it and the juice came spewing out and squirt all over the leg of the man sitting next to me. Thankfully he was not looking and neither was your mom, I looked at her and said um, Kristi, let’s go.. Now!” They thankfully left before he noticed that the pant leg of his suit was covered in grease.

Other embarrassing moments were: “While working at Seagull book I answered the phone “Seagull Book, this is Christmas” I don’t know where it came from.” She then told me of yet another embarrassing moment. “While sitting in the front row in church, paying close attention to the speaker, someone next to me asked me to borrow a pen. I then reached into my purse and handed them a tampon not realizing what I did, then I turned to them just barely noticing and quickly took it back and replaced it with a real pen.” I had to laugh real hard about this one.

Retirement: She is retired but feels as if she isn’t due to always being so busy.

How Important is Family History to you?

“Very Very important,”

“Now my goal is to get as many people over there, so that when I die they will all be over there…” “…You realize that when you lose your mom or your dad, how important it is to be with them again.” “How would I feel if I get over there and they are in spirit prison and I had never given them the opportunity.” She is the only one on her line doing family history. As I will be the only one working on My grandfather’s side. Her goal is going to the temple once a week to get more names done. So far she has done about 300 names. “You can’t be saved, if you don’t save your family too.”

This concluded our Interview together. I truly enjoy each moment I get to spend with my grandmother. She is such an angel and has a wonderful spirit that cannot go unnoticed.