My Mom Ann Armstrong O'Donnell

My Mother, Ann Armstrong was 21 when I was born and as beautiful as the harvest sunsets.

She was raised in Oklahoma of poor parents during the Great Depression. My Mother was the 3rd of five children and was considered the most beautiful child; a golden child, with long blond hair the color of wheat, and a bright smile. Grandma would call her "Sweet Ann".

She grew up in a Christian home. The family attended the Church of Christ and Grandma never missed a Sunday. It seems she always had her Bible with her whenever she visited us and could recall every Sunday church menu.

Mother, called Mom or Momma by her five children, was sweet. A sweet as anyone you would ever meet. She was also sweetly controlling in that she liked peace at any cost. She had four children in four years and three years later had my baby sister Kelly.

My Mom, me (on the left at age 8) and my two of my sisters Shannon and Erin. When I was 11 my Mom won the Mother of the Year contest at March AFB in California. My Mother was the area coordinator for the Girl Scouts for many years. Missing is my brother Robin and youngest sister kelly.

My Grandpa died when Mother was 15. I regret never being able to meet him. What a handsome man he was. Mom speaks very fondly of her father.

My parents married when my Mother was just 19. My Dad was in the Air Force and was a very worldly, very handsome young man. He was a “charmer” from Brooklyn and basically swept my Mom off her feet. They married 6 weeks after they met. They eloped and it took Grandma years to get over the shock.

My Mom (far right) and her two sisters Beth and Sue

Mom is a very caring giving person. What I remember very vividly about her was her concern for the poor and her willingness to help. When we lived on the Air Base she seemed to hunt out those women in need, especially the women whose husbands were in Vietnam or Korea. She would often lend a helping hand, take food baskets and clothing and always included goodies for the children. She sold Avon door to door to help makes ends meet. My Dad was often away on TDY and Mom was left alone with their five children but she was very resourceful.

After my Dad retired we moved to Missouri where he had a job teaching college. There was a ghetto nicknamed "Smelterville" near the Mississippi River. Mom and Dad were very involved in politics and Mom strongly continued her "job" of helping those less fortunate. We often took food baskets, clothes and other things into the ghetto. One visit I recall perfectly was to the shack of a women whose husband had killed himself by jumping off a bridge into the river. The woman had seven small children. The shack had a dirt floor and two rooms. Every spring at that time the area flooded. Many shacks had snakes and rats, children that were filthy and hungry and this place was no different. I often found myself wanting to hide in the car because the dispair was often so overwhelming.

After our visit Mom would often leave just shaking her head in disbelief with tears in her eyes. But she didn't stop and often helped raise funds and recruited other volunteers for her cause of helping others. She also often fought to get these families financial assistance, jobs for the parents and so forth. When we moved to Nebraska there was no ghetto but she always seemed to find the families that had a need. We often would take over a turkey, ham or gift basket during the holidays or at other times of the year to some needy family. Sometimes I would walk into the kitchen and she would be busy putting a package together. She often did this in a state of disbelief and anger and then she would tell me the story about an abused wife abandoned with three hungry children, or a family were the husband was disabled but he was turned down for unemployment. She has a lot of stories. She also started Haven House, a homeless shelter for battered and abused women.

Today she works as a hospital chaplain in Wichita. She loves her work although the hours are very long. She also helps out her family in many large or small, but very kind ways. Her children are her first priority in her life. She calls often, visits as much as she can and we visit her as often as we can. I can talk to my Mom about anything. She is more than a Mother as she is also my friend.

At my wedding to my dear hubby Larry (yes, he was an ol' hippie!)
My Mom is to the right of Larry.. Missing is my youngest sister Kelly.

What I love about my Mother is that she taught me to reach out, to help, and to notice those in need. I live in a "rural ghetto", which means we have the same problems as an urban ghetto. Most of this is as a result of gambling - alchoholism, poverty, divorce, crime, single parent families, etc. Ninety percent of the children in our area schools receive free medical aid from the state and are on the free lunch program. Only 70% of the boys graduate from high school. Many are addicted to gambling and drugs and drop out of school and go to work in the mines or gaming industry. It is odd to think of the Northern Black Hills in such a light, since it is considered such a beautiful vacation area, but it is a fact of life here. It is also a fact that many people choose to ignore.

Without this inborn teaching from my Mother I probably wouldn't be able to recognize a family in need. My Mother gave me a great gift in that she taught me to reach out with God's love to his children in need.

She is one of the greatest people I know and I thank the Lord for making her my Mother.

My Mother and my youngest son Joey

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