Family thanks parents on 50th anniversary

Rosemarie and Peter M. Beekhof Sr., celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Oct. 7.

Rosemarie and Pete met in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1956, more than 50 years ago. Pete was new to this country having recently immigrated from Holland.

Less than one year after they were married Pete became a naturalized citizen. There is no one person more proud to be an American than him. In September 1957 they had their first child, Pamela, and in 1961 their second child, Peter, was born. During this time Pete worked for the telephone company for several years and then managed a dairy farm. Rosemarie and Pete had the opportunity to visit California during a New York winter. Rosemarie said, while hanging up diapers barefoot and in her shorts in California she never wanted to go back to New York again. But they did go back - only long enough to sell the house and pack everything up.

In 1963, their youngest child, Kelly, was born in Sylmar, Calif. Pete worked for Lockheed Aircraft Co. for many years in Burbank. Rosemarie was fortunate enough to be able to stay home with her babies. She didn't want nannies or baby-sitters bringing up her kids when it wasn't necessary. Their three children were very lucky to have grown up in an era where moms were still able to stay at home.

In 1965, when Sylmar was starting to get crowded, Rosemarie and Pete moved to Soquel, Calif. Rosemarie had her heart set on a beach house. Then someone told her that the fog doesn't clear until noon and her heart was broken. A friend of theirs was a real estate agent and found six beautiful acres half covered in mighty redwoods. The place had an old house on it that was inhabitable. Rosemarie and Pete loved it on sight and they had grand plans to build a brand new big house that we could all grow up in.

Pete fixed up that old house and the family lived in it for 10 years before they got a big new house. The children's memories of the old house are great. There were times when Rosemarie and Pete had to chase half of the neighborhood kids away just to find space on their own sofa. The little old house is where all the kids on Olive Springs Road hung out. It wasn't surprising to have more than five at the dinner table either. Rosemarie and Pete bought horses so all the children had one and during the summer they rode all over the hills and down to the creek where they took the horses swimming. They didn't need movie theaters or skate parks. Once in a while Rosemarie and Pete would load them into the old Chevy station wagon and they went to the drive-in movies.

Rosemarie and Pete raised rabbits, lots of rabbits. At one time they had more than 3,000 of them. They sold them to places like Stanford for laboratory research. Between the rabbits, 4-H and a horse club, Rosemarie and Pete kept the kids out of big trouble.

In 1987 Pete retired from Lockheed Missiles & Space, Co. in Sunnyvale and moved to Gardnerville to work with Peter doing all the electrical for West Ridge Homes, Inc. Pete worked with Peter for several years before he decided to retire again. Rosemarie and Pete built a custom home in Ruhenstroth in 1993 and have been putting their personal touches on the place ever since. During the summer you will find both of them doing yard and garden work and in the winter Rosemarie is in her sewing room quilting while Pete is up in his wood shop making redwood furniture for the kids or replicas of old wagons, windmills and whatever Rosemarie or one of the kids asks for.

Peter and his wife blessed Rosemarie and Pete with three grandchildren: Amanda, 22, Ashley, 19 and Chance, 12. Kelly did likewise with two grandchildren: Kristy, 17 and Katie, 15. Pam was too busy wandering wherever she could, so the only grandkids they received from Pam have four legs.

What Peter, Kelly and I wish most to express to Mom and Dad is that we have the best parents kids could have, a childhood that we will never forget and one extremely special cross-country trip from California to New York and back. A trip where we moved my aunt, her daughter and grandmother to California. This was more than a moving trip - it was an adventure, an adventure that most of the time had us rolling with laughter. It was the same trip where our caravan got separated east of the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming and we didn't see hide nor hair of dad all day. Finally in Cody, Wyoming, mom put out an "all points bulletin" with the Cody Police Department. The trip was a once in a lifetime experience for all of us.

Mom and Dad, we wish you nothing but the best and can never repay you for all that you gave. We are the fortunate ones to have had you for parents. Here's to many, many more anniversaries.

n Love, Pamela, Peter and Kelly