Laneda Wall:  

After graduating from Leilehua High School in Wahiawa, Hawaii, I went three semesters to three different universities, University of Hawaii, Graceland College in Iowa, and Louisiana State University. I got married during my third semester and dropped out of school. I took courses here and there while working full time, but didn't go back to school seriously until 1980. I majored in Mechanical Engineering, even though I was always a washout in math. I got a BSME in 1983 and a Master's in 1993. I had two sons during my first marriage. The older one was killed in a bicycle accident in 1980 at the age of eight. My younger son is 35 years old. He got married for the second time December 2012. Reuben and Siobhan have two children, Cormyck, almost three years, and Saffron, one year I love them more than I can ever express.. Reuben is back in school working on a Master's in Product Design. Siobhan, who is truly like a daughter to me, is finishing up a Master's in Education. She is also a stay-at-home mom. And a great one, I might add. I will be observing the fourth anniversary of my fourth marriage in December. My husband Gerald's daughter has twin girls born last April. Gerald lost both his sons, one in 2007 at age 42, and the other two years ago today August 11, 2011 at age 29. Since we have both lost children, our remaining children and the grandchildren mean even more to us. I have had a lot of different kinds of jobs. Engineer Aide at the Louisiana Highway Department (the first woman ever hired in the Earthworks Division). Teller at three different banks. Engineer Aide for the Navy in Pearl Harbor. Clerk in the credit department of Liberty House in Ala Moana Mall. (I moved back to Hawaii a couple of years after I left, but could no...Expand for more