Gma was born Mae Sally Miller, or, Roma Mae Miller. There is a bit of a question about this and without getting the actual birth certificate we are left to wonder which is really true. She grew up in San Francisco and later in San Diego, with her two sisters; Dorothy (Dottie) and Florence (Flo). Her parents were "show people" and worked in vaudeville and the circus. I have been told that my great gma hung by her hair and teeth in an act. Gma said that a couple times they went to see the circus as a kid and the performers would come up to her mom and dad and hug and chat because they all knew each other from working together. In later years her dad owned a bar at some point.
Gma had 3 sons with her husband Leonard Sherman Martinsen. Leonard Jr., Robert (Bob) Earl (my dad), and Richard Lee Martinsen Richard (Rick) Lee. They lived in Los Angeles and he was a merchant marine and was freuently out at sea. Gpa was born in the wrong century. He should have been born in the era of tall ships.
Gma was diagnosed with tuberculosis and spent a few years at Olive View Sanitarium trying to get well. Her mother had died at the same location years earlier from cancer so I know she had a hard time there. It was full of sad memories. The place is still there today. While she was there recuperating, her boys were shuffled around to various homes and such. It was very hard for them but they survived it. Their father stayed on the ships and only visited occasionally, which was a hard thing for all of them to deal with in later years.
While in Olive View, Gma met my future Gpa, Tom Mulligan. When they both survived TB and were released, my Gma got a divorce and she and Gpa Tom headed to Mexico for a quickie marriage. Gpa Tom raised the boys as his own and taught them all a trade.
Gma and Gpa lived in places like Los Angeles, West Covina, and Inglewood. Gma was a homemaker and never really worked at all.
She loved bowling and all my life I remember her being on a league. She had so many trophies and when I would go spend the night at her house, we would go bowling. It was always a fun thing to do. After I had a daughter she took her to the bowling alley too. Gma could bowl a fierce game!
Gma outlived every husband and suitor. She had a suitor right to the end really. She was really somethin. Gma chose red hair and was always concerned about how she looked. I remember going over to her house growing up and having yummy pot roasts and such. Served in her Desert Rose china along with ruby thumbprint glassware. The china was a Christmas gift from Gpa Tom. I chose the same China pattern as well as the same ruby glassware pattern. Hers was long gone so there was really nothing left of it.
When Gma would spend the night at our house, or we stayed at hers, there were some things we always did. First, we always made tapioca pudding. I always associate that with her to this day. Next was that she would always make french toast for breakfast. She taught me to make it and I always think of her when I see it or make it. She taught me to add some cinnamon and a little vanilla. Mmmm ... and to warm the syrup.
There was ALWAYS the fun of being able to stay up really late and we would watch scary movies. I loved that! We would lie on the sofa together and I would struggle to stay awake. We watched the Marx Brothers, 3 Stooges, Laurel and Hardy and all the great stuff they put on late at night. Gma never made us go to bed so it was heavenly. She never got mad at me if I got into her makeup and played. Her closet was always full of interesting things too and she was really good about letting me/us rummage.
When my daughter was growing up Gma would sometimes watch her while my husband and I went out. My daughter remembers root beer and peaches as the things she would have at Gmas. It's funny that we have food memories that are so different but by that time Gma wasn't really into much cooking. To this day my daughter has root beer and thinks of her great gma.
Her name morphed over the years.
To my generation she was Gma Roma. To the next generation she was Booma. My cousins daughter couldn't say Gma Roma so she became Bama Booma and then just Booma. I love how family names do that.
Gma had 8 grandchildren; Jeff, Tom, Lisa, Kathy, Susan (me, I'm now Zen), Karen, Greg, and Kim. Our generation in turn had 10 great grandchildren and the first great great was born soon after her passing.
Gma had good health after her recovery from TB. I was fortunate to see her the day before she passed. She knew we were there but not much more than that. It was just her time to go and she had a very long and full life. She saw her firstborn pass from lung disease and once Uncle Len died, I can say that Gma suddenly, "got old" just about overnight. Everything changed after his passing. She lost her spark and even stopped coloring her hair. When that happened I knew things were really different. Gma was always very fussy about her haircut and color and how she looked. Now she just didn't really care. I'm glad she went when she did because my dad passed about a year later and that would ahve just been too much to have lost two sons. Losing her firstborn was terrible for her and I know she just couldn't have survived losing another.
My generation was much more spread out, as is to be expected, so there were some grandchildren and great-grandchildren that she rarely saw. Her dresser was full of photos and I was the one that inherited them all.
About 15 years ago, I was smart enough to have sat with her over the course of a couple months and we went through boxes of long forgotten photos. I labeled most of them and I heard the stories about where they were taken and with whom, etc. I took many of them and put an album together for her 80th bday party. That was my gift to her. I received it back when she died and I treasure it for all the memories both inside the book and from secretly putting it together with her. I knew what I was doing but she had no clue until I gave it to her at the party. It is nice to have an intact family history and everyone should take the time to do that with their elder relatives before they are gone and it is too late.
I have lovely rich memories of my grandmother and she died when I was 43 and my daughter was 13. We were truly blessed to have her in our life as long as we did. I miss her.
Gma had 3 sons with her husband Leonard Sherman Martinsen. Leonard Jr., Robert (Bob) Earl (my dad), and Richard Lee Martinsen Richard (Rick) Lee. They lived in Los Angeles and he was a merchant marine and was freuently out at sea. Gpa was born in the wrong century. He should have been born in the era of tall ships.
Gma was diagnosed with tuberculosis and spent a few years at Olive View Sanitarium trying to get well. Her mother had died at the same location years earlier from cancer so I know she had a hard time there. It was full of sad memories. The place is still there today. While she was there recuperating, her boys were shuffled around to various homes and such. It was very hard for them but they survived it. Their father stayed on the ships and only visited occasionally, which was a hard thing for all of them to deal with in later years.
While in Olive View, Gma met my future Gpa, Tom Mulligan. When they both survived TB and were released, my Gma got a divorce and she and Gpa Tom headed to Mexico for a quickie marriage. Gpa Tom raised the boys as his own and taught them all a trade.
Gma and Gpa lived in places like Los Angeles, West Covina, and Inglewood. Gma was a homemaker and never really worked at all.
She loved bowling and all my life I remember her being on a league. She had so many trophies and when I would go spend the night at her house, we would go bowling. It was always a fun thing to do. After I had a daughter she took her to the bowling alley too. Gma could bowl a fierce game!
Gma outlived every husband and suitor. She had a suitor right to the end really. She was really somethin. Gma chose red hair and was always concerned about how she looked. I remember going over to her house growing up and having yummy pot roasts and such. Served in her Desert Rose china along with ruby thumbprint glassware. The china was a Christmas gift from Gpa Tom. I chose the same China pattern as well as the same ruby glassware pattern. Hers was long gone so there was really nothing left of it.
When Gma would spend the night at our house, or we stayed at hers, there were some things we always did. First, we always made tapioca pudding. I always associate that with her to this day. Next was that she would always make french toast for breakfast. She taught me to make it and I always think of her when I see it or make it. She taught me to add some cinnamon and a little vanilla. Mmmm ... and to warm the syrup.
There was ALWAYS the fun of being able to stay up really late and we would watch scary movies. I loved that! We would lie on the sofa together and I would struggle to stay awake. We watched the Marx Brothers, 3 Stooges, Laurel and Hardy and all the great stuff they put on late at night. Gma never made us go to bed so it was heavenly. She never got mad at me if I got into her makeup and played. Her closet was always full of interesting things too and she was really good about letting me/us rummage.
When my daughter was growing up Gma would sometimes watch her while my husband and I went out. My daughter remembers root beer and peaches as the things she would have at Gmas. It's funny that we have food memories that are so different but by that time Gma wasn't really into much cooking. To this day my daughter has root beer and thinks of her great gma.
Her name morphed over the years.
To my generation she was Gma Roma. To the next generation she was Booma. My cousins daughter couldn't say Gma Roma so she became Bama Booma and then just Booma. I love how family names do that.
Gma had 8 grandchildren; Jeff, Tom, Lisa, Kathy, Susan (me, I'm now Zen), Karen, Greg, and Kim. Our generation in turn had 10 great grandchildren and the first great great was born soon after her passing.
Gma had good health after her recovery from TB. I was fortunate to see her the day before she passed. She knew we were there but not much more than that. It was just her time to go and she had a very long and full life. She saw her firstborn pass from lung disease and once Uncle Len died, I can say that Gma suddenly, "got old" just about overnight. Everything changed after his passing. She lost her spark and even stopped coloring her hair. When that happened I knew things were really different. Gma was always very fussy about her haircut and color and how she looked. Now she just didn't really care. I'm glad she went when she did because my dad passed about a year later and that would ahve just been too much to have lost two sons. Losing her firstborn was terrible for her and I know she just couldn't have survived losing another.
My generation was much more spread out, as is to be expected, so there were some grandchildren and great-grandchildren that she rarely saw. Her dresser was full of photos and I was the one that inherited them all.
About 15 years ago, I was smart enough to have sat with her over the course of a couple months and we went through boxes of long forgotten photos. I labeled most of them and I heard the stories about where they were taken and with whom, etc. I took many of them and put an album together for her 80th bday party. That was my gift to her. I received it back when she died and I treasure it for all the memories both inside the book and from secretly putting it together with her. I knew what I was doing but she had no clue until I gave it to her at the party. It is nice to have an intact family history and everyone should take the time to do that with their elder relatives before they are gone and it is too late.
I have lovely rich memories of my grandmother and she died when I was 43 and my daughter was 13. We were truly blessed to have her in our life as long as we did. I miss her.
Gma was born Mae Sally Miller, or, Roma Mae Miller. There is a bit of a question about this and without getting the actual birth certificate we are left to wonder which is really true. She grew up in San Francisco and later in San Diego, with her two sisters; Dorothy (Dottie) and Florence (Flo). Her parents were "show people" and worked in vaudeville and the circus. I have been told that my great gma hung by her hair and teeth in an act. Gma said that a couple times they went to see the circus as a kid and the performers would come up to her mom and dad and hug and chat because they all knew each other from working together. In later years her dad owned a bar at some point.
Gma had 3 sons with her husband Leonard Sherman Martinsen. Leonard Jr., Robert (Bob) Earl (my dad), and Richard Lee Martinsen Richard (Rick) Lee. They lived in Los Angeles and he was a merchant marine and was freuently out at sea. Gpa was born in the wrong century. He should have been born in the era of tall ships.
Gma was diagnosed with tuberculosis and spent a few years at Olive View Sanitarium trying to get well. Her mother had died at the same location years earlier from cancer so I know she had a hard time there. It was full of sad memories. The place is still there today. While she was there recuperating, her boys were shuffled around to various homes and such. It was very hard for them but they survived it. Their father stayed on the ships and only visited occasionally, which was a hard thing for all of them to deal with in later years.
While in Olive View, Gma met my future Gpa, Tom Mulligan. When they both survived TB and were released, my Gma got a divorce and she and Gpa Tom headed to Mexico for a quickie marriage. Gpa Tom raised the boys as his own and taught them all a trade.
Gma and Gpa lived in places like Los Angeles, West Covina, and Inglewood. Gma was a homemaker and never really worked at all.
She loved bowling and all my life I remember her being on a league. She had so many trophies and when I would go spend the night at her house, we would go bowling. It was always a fun thing to do. After I had a daughter she took her to the bowling alley too. Gma could bowl a fierce game!
Gma outlived every husband and suitor. She had a suitor right to the end really. She was really somethin. Gma chose red hair and was always concerned about how she looked. I remember going over to her house growing up and having yummy pot roasts and such. Served in her Desert Rose china along with ruby thumbprint glassware. The china was a Christmas gift from Gpa Tom. I chose the same China pattern as well as the same ruby glassware pattern. Hers was long gone so there was really nothing left of it.
When Gma would spend the night at our house, or we stayed at hers, there were some things we always did. First, we always made tapioca pudding. I always associate that with her to this day. Next was that she would always make french toast for breakfast. She taught me to make it and I always think of her when I see it or make it. She taught me to add some cinnamon and a little vanilla. Mmmm ... and to warm the syrup.
There was ALWAYS the fun of being able to stay up really late and we would watch scary movies. I loved that! We would lie on the sofa together and I would struggle to stay awake. We watched the Marx Brothers, 3 Stooges, Laurel and Hardy and all the great stuff they put on late at night. Gma never made us go to bed so it was heavenly. She never got mad at me if I got into her makeup and played. Her closet was always full of interesting things too and she was really good about letting me/us rummage.
When my daughter was growing up Gma would sometimes watch her while my husband and I went out. My daughter remembers root beer and peaches as the things she would have at Gmas. It's funny that we have food memories that are so different but by that time Gma wasn't really into much cooking. To this day my daughter has root beer and thinks of her great gma.
Her name morphed over the years.
To my generation she was Gma Roma. To the next generation she was Booma. My cousins daughter couldn't say Gma Roma so she became Bama Booma and then just Booma. I love how family names do that.
Gma had 8 grandchildren; Jeff, Tom, Lisa, Kathy, Susan (me, I'm now Zen), Karen, Greg, and Kim. Our generation in turn had 10 great grandchildren and the first great great was born soon after her passing.
Gma had good health after her recovery from TB. I was fortunate to see her the day before she passed. She knew we were there but not much more than that. It was just her time to go and she had a very long and full life. She saw her firstborn pass from lung disease and once Uncle Len died, I can say that Gma suddenly, "got old" just about overnight. Everything changed after his passing. She lost her spark and even stopped coloring her hair. When that happened I knew things were really different. Gma was always very fussy about her haircut and color and how she looked. Now she just didn't really care. I'm glad she went when she did because my dad passed about a year later and that would ahve just been too much to have lost two sons. Losing her firstborn was terrible for her and I know she just couldn't have survived losing another.
My generation was much more spread out, as is to be expected, so there were some grandchildren and great-grandchildren that she rarely saw. Her dresser was full of photos and I was the one that inherited them all.
About 15 years ago, I was smart enough to have sat with her over the course of a couple months and we went through boxes of long forgotten photos. I labeled most of them and I heard the stories about where they were taken and with whom, etc. I took many of them and put an album together for her 80th bday party. That was my gift to her. I received it back when she died and I treasure it for all the memories both inside the book and from secretly putting it together with her. I knew what I was doing but she had no clue until I gave it to her at the party. It is nice to have an intact family history and everyone should take the time to do that with their elder relatives before they are gone and it is too late.
I have lovely rich memories of my grandmother and she died when I was 43 and my daughter was 13. We were truly blessed to have her in our life as long as we did. I miss her.
Gma had 3 sons with her husband Leonard Sherman Martinsen. Leonard Jr., Robert (Bob) Earl (my dad), and Richard Lee Martinsen Richard (Rick) Lee. They lived in Los Angeles and he was a merchant marine and was freuently out at sea. Gpa was born in the wrong century. He should have been born in the era of tall ships.
Gma was diagnosed with tuberculosis and spent a few years at Olive View Sanitarium trying to get well. Her mother had died at the same location years earlier from cancer so I know she had a hard time there. It was full of sad memories. The place is still there today. While she was there recuperating, her boys were shuffled around to various homes and such. It was very hard for them but they survived it. Their father stayed on the ships and only visited occasionally, which was a hard thing for all of them to deal with in later years.
While in Olive View, Gma met my future Gpa, Tom Mulligan. When they both survived TB and were released, my Gma got a divorce and she and Gpa Tom headed to Mexico for a quickie marriage. Gpa Tom raised the boys as his own and taught them all a trade.
Gma and Gpa lived in places like Los Angeles, West Covina, and Inglewood. Gma was a homemaker and never really worked at all.
She loved bowling and all my life I remember her being on a league. She had so many trophies and when I would go spend the night at her house, we would go bowling. It was always a fun thing to do. After I had a daughter she took her to the bowling alley too. Gma could bowl a fierce game!
Gma outlived every husband and suitor. She had a suitor right to the end really. She was really somethin. Gma chose red hair and was always concerned about how she looked. I remember going over to her house growing up and having yummy pot roasts and such. Served in her Desert Rose china along with ruby thumbprint glassware. The china was a Christmas gift from Gpa Tom. I chose the same China pattern as well as the same ruby glassware pattern. Hers was long gone so there was really nothing left of it.
When Gma would spend the night at our house, or we stayed at hers, there were some things we always did. First, we always made tapioca pudding. I always associate that with her to this day. Next was that she would always make french toast for breakfast. She taught me to make it and I always think of her when I see it or make it. She taught me to add some cinnamon and a little vanilla. Mmmm ... and to warm the syrup.
There was ALWAYS the fun of being able to stay up really late and we would watch scary movies. I loved that! We would lie on the sofa together and I would struggle to stay awake. We watched the Marx Brothers, 3 Stooges, Laurel and Hardy and all the great stuff they put on late at night. Gma never made us go to bed so it was heavenly. She never got mad at me if I got into her makeup and played. Her closet was always full of interesting things too and she was really good about letting me/us rummage.
When my daughter was growing up Gma would sometimes watch her while my husband and I went out. My daughter remembers root beer and peaches as the things she would have at Gmas. It's funny that we have food memories that are so different but by that time Gma wasn't really into much cooking. To this day my daughter has root beer and thinks of her great gma.
Her name morphed over the years.
To my generation she was Gma Roma. To the next generation she was Booma. My cousins daughter couldn't say Gma Roma so she became Bama Booma and then just Booma. I love how family names do that.
Gma had 8 grandchildren; Jeff, Tom, Lisa, Kathy, Susan (me, I'm now Zen), Karen, Greg, and Kim. Our generation in turn had 10 great grandchildren and the first great great was born soon after her passing.
Gma had good health after her recovery from TB. I was fortunate to see her the day before she passed. She knew we were there but not much more than that. It was just her time to go and she had a very long and full life. She saw her firstborn pass from lung disease and once Uncle Len died, I can say that Gma suddenly, "got old" just about overnight. Everything changed after his passing. She lost her spark and even stopped coloring her hair. When that happened I knew things were really different. Gma was always very fussy about her haircut and color and how she looked. Now she just didn't really care. I'm glad she went when she did because my dad passed about a year later and that would ahve just been too much to have lost two sons. Losing her firstborn was terrible for her and I know she just couldn't have survived losing another.
My generation was much more spread out, as is to be expected, so there were some grandchildren and great-grandchildren that she rarely saw. Her dresser was full of photos and I was the one that inherited them all.
About 15 years ago, I was smart enough to have sat with her over the course of a couple months and we went through boxes of long forgotten photos. I labeled most of them and I heard the stories about where they were taken and with whom, etc. I took many of them and put an album together for her 80th bday party. That was my gift to her. I received it back when she died and I treasure it for all the memories both inside the book and from secretly putting it together with her. I knew what I was doing but she had no clue until I gave it to her at the party. It is nice to have an intact family history and everyone should take the time to do that with their elder relatives before they are gone and it is too late.
I have lovely rich memories of my grandmother and she died when I was 43 and my daughter was 13. We were truly blessed to have her in our life as long as we did. I miss her.
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