Not many people know it, but my mom was actually born in Denver Colorado as "Betty Louise Heimbecker". Her parents were Paul and Sylvia Heimbecker and she had several brothers and sisters, although we don't know exactly how many. At some point, the parents left the children with their grandparents to live in a very small house in Denver. The children were taken away from the grandparents sometime later, due to poor living conditions and placed in a Children's Home. At age 5, my mom was adopted by William and Iva Souder of Iowa. The Souder's had one natural son, Alan MacKiddy Souder, who was 10 years older than my mom. My mom was renamed "Beverly Kathryn Souder". It was a tremendous blessing and my mom became part of a very close and loving Souder family. She grew up being known to all as "Katy". My mom loved to swim, roller skate, and play sports. She also loved movies and reading and writing poetry. Her best childhood friend was Jan Crouch. She was also very close friends with Jonnie Lang and Marilyn Hoffman. My mom graduated from Davenport High School in 1952. She worked part time for the church as well as some local businesses and even did some ad modeling. In April of 1956 my mom and dad met for the first time at a dance and only four months later they were married on August 18th, 1956. They left for California on their honeymoon where they lived for the rest of their lives. I was born 9 months to the day of their wedding on May 18th, 1957. My dad called my mom "Kay" or "Special K" and also as I have now found out, "Kayzookie"! We lived in an apartment in Long Beach in my early years and my dad graduated from Long Beach State. When I was 4 we moved to Buena Park, just two houses away from the Sumrall family. This is where my brother Monty was born on July 6th, 1961. My Grandma Gladys Barrie came to live with us full time and help take care of my brother and I. She lived with us for a wonderful 10 years and took care of Monty and I during the day while my mom and dad worked in downtown Long Beach. We moved back to Long Beach for a year, before finally settling on our longtime home in Huntington Beach, where I started 1st Grade. My mom worked as a Book Keeper and my dad as an Insurance Investigator for the Insurance Company of North America. My mom and dad met our long time friends Dan and Clara Mae Kuhn and their kids Vicki, Jani, Danny and Susie around 1962 and we remain the best of friends. My parents and the Kuhn's loved to play tennis and my parents got really into it. They joined a small tennis club near our home called the Pacific Sands Cabana Club. My mom and dad would spend weekends there, and if not there, playing tennis with the Kuhn's at various courts. Later, my parents joined both SeaCliff Tennis Club and Lindbourg Racquet Club. My parents met many friends through tennis and played as many years as they could. My mom and dad also loved card games, especially Bridge, and played with Kuhn's as well as many other friends through the years. As many would tell you, my mom was a very fierce competitor. That's where my brother and I get it from I think. My mom's favorite color was red and she liked very bright colors. She could be quite the fashionable dresser. Her favorite food was fish and her favorite dessert was either Strawberry Pie or Cheesecake. For my Birthday she would always make me her specialty: Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Malted Whipped Cream Frosting. My parents song was "Smile" by Nat King Cole. My mom loved all of her family very much and wrote letters very often. When my son Parker was born in 1987, she instantly became a fabulous Grandmother. She was also great with my brother's sons Michael and Patrick, as well as my wife Kathy's children Morgan and Parker, who would entertain my parents for hours by putting on shows while my mom and dad babysat. My parents were married for a wonderful 52 years and it was very hard on my mom when my dad passed in April of 2009. Her health was never the same after that. She continued to be a tough competitor though and we played cards almost every week. My mom Kay Barrie was the last of our family's generation and she will be greatly missed.
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