LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Shared Stories

Dear Editor:

I almost didn’t read it!? The article looked way TOO long! But then I noticed the person’s first name and realized she was Japanese. And so I start to read the most heart-warming article the “Shared Stories” column has produced. 

The article is about Nobuyo Avery’s journey upon marrying an American serviceman and her year of struggling with tuberculosis, after having two children and while being pregnant with a third. (Nobuyo would be blessed with four!) Uncle Frank (my dad’s brother) died of TB at 29 years of age (I was about 9), so this devastating illness also had an impact on my life. 

Thank you, Carol Kearns, for producing this incredible worthwhile column in our local paper. Thank you, also, for so many worthwhile activities you create and/or support in the City of Downey enriching the lives of all Downey residents, thus helping to make it a very special place to live.

BTW: I believe the “Shared Stories” articles better serve our community when seen on the front page of The Downey Patriot – definitely NOT the last!

Bernice Stumps
Downey