I left Bishopshalt at 18, and went to work at The King Edward VII Hospital, Windsor as a student Technician. After 3 years there, I passed the IMLT exams, and proceeded to Hillingdon Hospital, working in Haematology. After passing my Associates with IMLT, I went on to work at the Royal Free Hospital, and studied Clinical Chemistry.
At this point, I was offered a job in Massachusetts, to run their Haematology Department, and teach in their Med Tech School, This is when I met and married, in 1961, Paul Knoblett, who was a Petty Officer in the US Navy. We were with the very earliest Polaris submarines. From 1972-1975 we were stationed at Holy Loch, Scotland, and our two children attended local schools, where they got an EXCELLENT education!
The children are Marcella, born 1962 and Michael, born 1964.
After Scotland, and returning to the USA for one year whilst the ship was undergoing a healthy check-up, we went to Rota, Spain for a couple of years. On our return to the US we went to live in southern Maryland, when Paul had a heart attack, in 1981, and ultimately died at the age of 45.
I stayed there, bought a house and worked in a doctor's office, and was very involved with the Navy League, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The first supported the military, and the second was restricted to those who had actually been overseas. This is where I met Jim.
For many years we lived together " oh no!!!"., primarily because a) the taxes would kill us and b) I would lose my widow's pension from the Navy if I remarried before age 55.
It is sad, but the way our taxation works, there are so many older couples living "without the benefit of matrimony" as my Mum would say. Actually she was totally supportive of us, and we had her blessing.
Marcella has her Masters degree in Computer Science ( her Bachelors was in Math) and is a "Senior Consultant Software Engineer" with Booz Allen Hamilton, a major consulting firm here. I would like to see her get a PhD, but it really makes no sense, because she is so busy. I don't know precisely what she does, but I know they work on various contracts, sometimes government and sometimes industrial, and she is extremely well paid for it. She has three great kids, Michael (10), Stephanie (6) and Lauren (4). I went to stay with them in Maryland in September, whilst the parents had a belated 10 year honeymoon off Nassau. I really learned to know the kids. And how to pack lunches for three and all the parenting skills needed. Incidentally she and Steve have been married nearly 11 years, and are a delightful couple, very involved with their children and have a lovely new home, overlooking the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Michael, my second child, is a Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy, and is due to retire in the next three years. He is unmarried, but does own a house and a dog!! He has had the opportunity to see many different places; however the one that really amazed him was going back to Rota as an adult, as compared to being an 11 year old. Times have changed, and so has old Spain. The interesting thing was that he went back to the local community where we lived ( offbase, and totally Spanish) and the old ladies came out, recognised him, and "Miguelito" was welcome in every home.