Capt. Don's Retirement

Capt. Don's Retirement

Thursday, May 30, 2019



Remembering my sister Jennifer-

I was told this morning that she passed away last night.


Me, our mother Zelma, Jennifer and Tim
on Mom's 75th birthday, July 16, 1991.

It was always “Jennifer”, as our mother insisted that we not call her Jen or Jenny or anything else, always Jennifer.

As I remember it-

It was either 1969 or 1970 and the family was living in Monterey Park, near Los Angeles. At 18, Jennifer had just returned from a school trip to Europe where she had felt unnaturally fatigued and had also noticed a lump on her neck. Our mother had taken her to the doctor’s for testing, and on a Friday afternoon they went back to review the results. They were told that the tests showed that Jennifer had something called “Hodgkin’s Disease”. The doctor told her that he did not know much about this condition, but that he had made an appointment for her at White Memorial Hospital the following Monday where they had specialists that could better discuss treatment options. Upon returning home from the doctor’s office that Friday, Jennifer rushed upstairs to look up the disorder in an old encyclopedia set we had. The article she found (this was before Google) described Hodgkin’s Disease as a cancer of the lymph nodes that was often fatal.

That was a long weekend for all of us.

Things, however, improved greatly when she met with the doctors at White Memorial. She was told that there had been great improvements recently in the treatment of her illness. The physicians believed that they had caught it early enough and that with cobalt treatments, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalt_therapy , she could expect to live close to a normal life.

What joy!!!

But this then treatment was not without consequences. While she was undergoing the therapy, she became rundown, lost weight and much of her hair (which grew back curly). Long term effects were loss of fat and muscle cells in her torso and, later, heart, lung and artery deterioration. The pain and discomfort from the latter became so acute that towards the end, life for her was no longer worth the suffering.

But she was gifted with an additional 50 years of life!

And, she made it count. Jennifer graduated from San Diego State University with a teaching degree and later picked up her masters. She decided to stay in the area and eventually our mother and brother Tim followed her there. 

Don and Jennifer at Don's Navy retirement.               

She met and married the love of her life, Don Muehlbach (who I believe told her that he would marry her the first time that they met). She had a long career as a primary school teacher, later specializing in reading development. She always had a close relationship with our brother Tim, who would show her his love by tormenting her. She also had a special relationship with my children, Tim and Kerry. The precious sweaters she knitted for their little girls will remain in the family for generations as heirlooms. She had many life-long friends, including the neighbors we grew up with. Many of these people spent time with her in the past few weeks.

Of course, her most wonderful achievement was having two children of her own, Trey and Molly. With all that radiation, having her own kids was never a certainty. And, later came her precocious granddaughter Sienna, in whom she took a special delight.

So, at 67 Jennifer died early by today’s standard, but she was able to fill the time she had with many good years and accomplishments. She was surrounded by loving family and friends to the end. Surely, she had regrets, but she was a good person who lived a valuable, full and happy life.

She was my sister and I loved her.

Charley Coy Mallon
May 30, 2019


Jennifer at 2 years old. I remember when this photo was taken in 1953. Cute, isn’t she?




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