Annette Wright Martin:  

Hello, Thanks for visiting my page and viewing my profile. I use the nickname "Monette922". All my online friends know me as "Monette". It stands for Mo(m An)nette and 9-22 is my birthday. I also use "LadyAnnette922" and "TXLady922". I graduated from Byrd High School, Class of 1953, in Shreveport, Louisiana. I attended Rhodes College (formerly known as Southwestern at Memphis)for one year, Centenary College one semester, Draughn Business School, then worked awhile. My family owned a prominent luggage business in Shreveport. Kidd-Russ Luggage and Gifts was founded by my grandfather Fred E. Russ, Sr. in 1911. It used to be located downtown on Milam St. across from the Court House. Then it moved to Uptown Shopping Center and from there to Pierremont Mall with my late aunt as manager. After my grandfather passed away, it was sold and is now located on Line Avenue just south of Pierremont. It is still in operation but no longer in the family. I learned a lot working there. I met Eddie at the USO in June 1954. I loved to dance and he was a great dancer. He was from Lowell, Massachusetts and stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base. We dated for a year and a half. We had a beautiful Christmas wedding on Dec. 18, 1955. We enjoyed raising our family but later years became rather rocky. We divorced in 1996 after more than 40 years of marriage but we remained friends. Neither of us remarried. I lost my beloved mom on November 2, 1974 due to heart problems and my wonderful dad passed away from cancer on April 15, 2003. I was there with him holding his hand. Eddie also died of cancer exactly 2 months later on Father's Day morning, June 15, 2003. I was also there with him and our children when he passed away. I miss them all so much. I have lived in Nacogdoches, Texas since 1973 and I have 2 daughters and 2 sons, plus my firstborn twin sons, Roger and Russ, in heaven. My oldest daugher, Cindy and her husband Kevin, live in Bartlett, TN. and have 3 daughters, plus a twin son (Andrew) in heaven. My Bonnie and her husband Sam live about 25 miles from me in Lufkin, Texas. They have 2 daughters and a son. My son Ed is a Retired Master Sgt. with 23 years in the Air Force and lives in Indiana. He has 2 teenage daughters. My youngest son Fred is a Retired Master Sgt. (Flying Crew Chief) in the Air Force with 24 years of service stationed at Dover AFB, Delaware. He officially retired the end of May, 2011. UPDATE: July 2011: Fred applied to go back overseas and work as a civilian. He was chosen out of 190+ applicants because of his excellent training, knowledge, and experience. He leftt on July 10, 2011 and is now in Krygyzstan which is northeast of Afghanistan. He and his wife Patty have a 9-year-old son, Jonathan. We hated to see him go but it was his choice. Please pray for him. I am very proud of all my family! My firstborn twin sons, Roger and Russ, were born on Sept. 2, 1956 and were totally helpless with a form of Fragile X Syndrome. They never walked or talked but had to be lifted and carried everywhere. They could fling their arms and kick their legs but there was no muscle control. They couldn't lift their heads or roll over. They could understand me quite well and could make sounds like a baby. Russ died at age 4 on Feb. 9, 1961 from pneumonia which collapsed his lung while under the care of a nurse in her home. By this time, I had a 2-year-old daughter Cindy and was pregnant with my second daughter, Bonnie. Roger died from a seizure in a state school at age 20 on Nov. 9, 1976. I was not with either one of them and it still deeply bothers me. I miss my boys. It hurts when I see twin boys and I try to r...Expand for more