Lorraine Q.

Because I waited a long time to find the right man, I am very grateful for my Mrs. title and highly prefer it to any other. We have been blessed with five children between us, and I inherited four stepchildren at the time of our marriage. By the time our youngest reaches 18, my husband will have been parenting for 52 years (he married very young!). So he deserves the highest honors available. I'm very thankful he was willing to go through it all a second time. It's been a great experience.It is amazing to me that I've been in one location for so long. My pre-marriage wanderings took me to Utah, California, France, and Maryland before plopping me down in Virginia.The lottery of life handed me the top prize when it came to adopted hometowns. The Blue Ridge can't match the impressive ruggedness of the Rockies, but they have their own beauty. And given the large number of ancestral lines which pass through Virginia, I feel like I've actually come home.My great passion (besides family and faith) is genealogical research. The search for my fourth great-grandfather SCOTT began in earnest in 1973. Still haven't located him, but oh the stories I've gathered along the way!In 1977 I began a home-based "typing service" (that's what we called it then) which I still continue to operate. Its primary goal is to promote family history preservation. Along the way I've prepared several books of record abstracts, four of which have now been published.Since January 2004, I have been serving as the Relief Society president in our ward. It has been such a privilege to be able to observe the goodness of my sisters from this perspective.Although I hate to admit it, I've probably finally reached middle age. But if the second half is as exciting as the first, it will be quite a ride! How thankful I am for those who are accompanying me on the journey, especially for my eternal companion and our family.