A remarkably beautiful woman throughout her life, Evelyn ("Lynn") was probably one of the first "house flippers," which was a blessing as well as problematic. For a young child, moving from home to home every year, it began to wear on the nerves, and made life a bit more difficult to deal with since it also meant enrolling in a new school almost every other year. However, as I grew older, I would come to realize that this "venture" afforded us to live in larger and larger homes, each more beautiful than the next. Unfortunately, it wasn't sufficient enough to save a marriage. Lynne was also an incredibly talented hair dresser and had she been permitted to continue work after adopting a son, might have been a real contender to some of the hair stylist in existence today. Before marriage, she owned a very successful beauty salon in West Portal, a suburb of San Francisco. There, she employed at least a dozen other beauticians. After her divorce, she eventually moved to Carmel, California where she lived out the remainder of her life.
Her early life was a remarkable one as well. Her mother, Eleanor (Lesh) Serdahl was born in South Dakota where she would eventually meet her first husband, Mr. Lesh. However, after the birth of their two children (Clyde R. Lesh born on November 16, 1917 and Evelyn Dorothy Lesh Briggs born on August 24, 1919) the strain of running a bakery eventually took a toll on my grandfather, and eventually he had to be hospitalized for what remained of his life on this earth. The bakeries still remain in existence and are known as the "Lesh Bakeries." My grandmother then met what would be the only grandfather I would ever know, Roy Serdahl. For many years prior, however, my grandmother loved to spend her spare time playing the piano in a variety of bands, eventually becoming a piano teacher for none-other-than Lawrence Welk. Even though both moved from South Dakota, every year my grandmother and my new grandfather would travel to wherever Lawrence was playing, and he would celebrate her birthday with her, and also have her play in his band. It was an incredible life. When they moved from South Dakota, they moved to Paradise, California which was aptly named. This was about 1960, 1961. Paradise, California is one of the most beautiful parts of the country one will ever see, as soon as you can get past all the red clay. It creates such a horrible mess because there is always red dust everywhere. But if you can overlook it, it is the most incredible (or at least was) place to live. There, my grandmother and grandfather owned a gift shop very much like a Hallmark Store. I loved visiting them because when my parents left to go on a short trip without me, I got to work in the store, help my grandmother wrap packages, and help my grandfather as he fixed watches. I was about six at the time. My grandfather also turned out to be the only watch repairman in town. Too, he made incredible, incredible jewelry from stones that they would find on one of their rock searching expeditions. Each year, they would spend a couple of days visiting us in Marin County, and then off they would go to meet friends with their camper in tow, and in later years truck camper. They would travel all around the United States in search of unusual stones that my grandfather would then bring home and carefully and meticulously cut, polish and set in some of the worlds most incredible settings. Some of the pieces eventually found their way into the collection of Elizabeth Taylor and other movie stars and celebrities. Unfortunately the pieces that I had were lost or stolen over the years, the most precious being a small tree with pearls on its branches hanging from a bracelet with a small bird cage around it. Another was a silver ring that had white stone in it. The way he cut it you were amazed when you looked at it on its side -- it looked like winter time with trees. After my grandfather died, my grandmother wanted to be closer to her eldest son, and so she eventually moved to Aitkin, Minnesota where she lived out the remainder of her life.
Her early life was a remarkable one as well. Her mother, Eleanor (Lesh) Serdahl was born in South Dakota where she would eventually meet her first husband, Mr. Lesh. However, after the birth of their two children (Clyde R. Lesh born on November 16, 1917 and Evelyn Dorothy Lesh Briggs born on August 24, 1919) the strain of running a bakery eventually took a toll on my grandfather, and eventually he had to be hospitalized for what remained of his life on this earth. The bakeries still remain in existence and are known as the "Lesh Bakeries." My grandmother then met what would be the only grandfather I would ever know, Roy Serdahl. For many years prior, however, my grandmother loved to spend her spare time playing the piano in a variety of bands, eventually becoming a piano teacher for none-other-than Lawrence Welk. Even though both moved from South Dakota, every year my grandmother and my new grandfather would travel to wherever Lawrence was playing, and he would celebrate her birthday with her, and also have her play in his band. It was an incredible life. When they moved from South Dakota, they moved to Paradise, California which was aptly named. This was about 1960, 1961. Paradise, California is one of the most beautiful parts of the country one will ever see, as soon as you can get past all the red clay. It creates such a horrible mess because there is always red dust everywhere. But if you can overlook it, it is the most incredible (or at least was) place to live. There, my grandmother and grandfather owned a gift shop very much like a Hallmark Store. I loved visiting them because when my parents left to go on a short trip without me, I got to work in the store, help my grandmother wrap packages, and help my grandfather as he fixed watches. I was about six at the time. My grandfather also turned out to be the only watch repairman in town. Too, he made incredible, incredible jewelry from stones that they would find on one of their rock searching expeditions. Each year, they would spend a couple of days visiting us in Marin County, and then off they would go to meet friends with their camper in tow, and in later years truck camper. They would travel all around the United States in search of unusual stones that my grandfather would then bring home and carefully and meticulously cut, polish and set in some of the worlds most incredible settings. Some of the pieces eventually found their way into the collection of Elizabeth Taylor and other movie stars and celebrities. Unfortunately the pieces that I had were lost or stolen over the years, the most precious being a small tree with pearls on its branches hanging from a bracelet with a small bird cage around it. Another was a silver ring that had white stone in it. The way he cut it you were amazed when you looked at it on its side -- it looked like winter time with trees. After my grandfather died, my grandmother wanted to be closer to her eldest son, and so she eventually moved to Aitkin, Minnesota where she lived out the remainder of her life.
A remarkably beautiful woman throughout her life, Evelyn ("Lynn") was probably one of the first "house flippers," which was a blessing as well as problematic. For a young child, moving from home to home every year, it began to wear on the nerves, and made life a bit more difficult to deal with since it also meant enrolling in a new school almost every other year. However, as I grew older, I would come to realize that this "venture" afforded us to live in larger and larger homes, each more beautiful than the next. Unfortunately, it wasn't sufficient enough to save a marriage. Lynne was also an incredibly talented hair dresser and had she been permitted to continue work after adopting a son, might have been a real contender to some of the hair stylist in existence today. Before marriage, she owned a very successful beauty salon in West Portal, a suburb of San Francisco. There, she employed at least a dozen other beauticians. After her divorce, she eventually moved to Carmel, California where she lived out the remainder of her life.
Her early life was a remarkable one as well. Her mother, Eleanor (Lesh) Serdahl was born in South Dakota where she would eventually meet her first husband, Mr. Lesh. However, after the birth of their two children (Clyde R. Lesh born on November 16, 1917 and Evelyn Dorothy Lesh Briggs born on August 24, 1919) the strain of running a bakery eventually took a toll on my grandfather, and eventually he had to be hospitalized for what remained of his life on this earth. The bakeries still remain in existence and are known as the "Lesh Bakeries." My grandmother then met what would be the only grandfather I would ever know, Roy Serdahl. For many years prior, however, my grandmother loved to spend her spare time playing the piano in a variety of bands, eventually becoming a piano teacher for none-other-than Lawrence Welk. Even though both moved from South Dakota, every year my grandmother and my new grandfather would travel to wherever Lawrence was playing, and he would celebrate her birthday with her, and also have her play in his band. It was an incredible life. When they moved from South Dakota, they moved to Paradise, California which was aptly named. This was about 1960, 1961. Paradise, California is one of the most beautiful parts of the country one will ever see, as soon as you can get past all the red clay. It creates such a horrible mess because there is always red dust everywhere. But if you can overlook it, it is the most incredible (or at least was) place to live. There, my grandmother and grandfather owned a gift shop very much like a Hallmark Store. I loved visiting them because when my parents left to go on a short trip without me, I got to work in the store, help my grandmother wrap packages, and help my grandfather as he fixed watches. I was about six at the time. My grandfather also turned out to be the only watch repairman in town. Too, he made incredible, incredible jewelry from stones that they would find on one of their rock searching expeditions. Each year, they would spend a couple of days visiting us in Marin County, and then off they would go to meet friends with their camper in tow, and in later years truck camper. They would travel all around the United States in search of unusual stones that my grandfather would then bring home and carefully and meticulously cut, polish and set in some of the worlds most incredible settings. Some of the pieces eventually found their way into the collection of Elizabeth Taylor and other movie stars and celebrities. Unfortunately the pieces that I had were lost or stolen over the years, the most precious being a small tree with pearls on its branches hanging from a bracelet with a small bird cage around it. Another was a silver ring that had white stone in it. The way he cut it you were amazed when you looked at it on its side -- it looked like winter time with trees. After my grandfather died, my grandmother wanted to be closer to her eldest son, and so she eventually moved to Aitkin, Minnesota where she lived out the remainder of her life.
Her early life was a remarkable one as well. Her mother, Eleanor (Lesh) Serdahl was born in South Dakota where she would eventually meet her first husband, Mr. Lesh. However, after the birth of their two children (Clyde R. Lesh born on November 16, 1917 and Evelyn Dorothy Lesh Briggs born on August 24, 1919) the strain of running a bakery eventually took a toll on my grandfather, and eventually he had to be hospitalized for what remained of his life on this earth. The bakeries still remain in existence and are known as the "Lesh Bakeries." My grandmother then met what would be the only grandfather I would ever know, Roy Serdahl. For many years prior, however, my grandmother loved to spend her spare time playing the piano in a variety of bands, eventually becoming a piano teacher for none-other-than Lawrence Welk. Even though both moved from South Dakota, every year my grandmother and my new grandfather would travel to wherever Lawrence was playing, and he would celebrate her birthday with her, and also have her play in his band. It was an incredible life. When they moved from South Dakota, they moved to Paradise, California which was aptly named. This was about 1960, 1961. Paradise, California is one of the most beautiful parts of the country one will ever see, as soon as you can get past all the red clay. It creates such a horrible mess because there is always red dust everywhere. But if you can overlook it, it is the most incredible (or at least was) place to live. There, my grandmother and grandfather owned a gift shop very much like a Hallmark Store. I loved visiting them because when my parents left to go on a short trip without me, I got to work in the store, help my grandmother wrap packages, and help my grandfather as he fixed watches. I was about six at the time. My grandfather also turned out to be the only watch repairman in town. Too, he made incredible, incredible jewelry from stones that they would find on one of their rock searching expeditions. Each year, they would spend a couple of days visiting us in Marin County, and then off they would go to meet friends with their camper in tow, and in later years truck camper. They would travel all around the United States in search of unusual stones that my grandfather would then bring home and carefully and meticulously cut, polish and set in some of the worlds most incredible settings. Some of the pieces eventually found their way into the collection of Elizabeth Taylor and other movie stars and celebrities. Unfortunately the pieces that I had were lost or stolen over the years, the most precious being a small tree with pearls on its branches hanging from a bracelet with a small bird cage around it. Another was a silver ring that had white stone in it. The way he cut it you were amazed when you looked at it on its side -- it looked like winter time with trees. After my grandfather died, my grandmother wanted to be closer to her eldest son, and so she eventually moved to Aitkin, Minnesota where she lived out the remainder of her life.
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