What can be said of Pam's passions in her later years for her clowning and ukulele groups that isn't already understood by those who were close to her during the past few years?  These passions were easily some of the most powerful of her life, and she took great joy when dressing up as one of her clown characters to entertain at parties or events.  She loved playing the ukulele with her group, and oftentimes would grab a family member to give a solo performance when she wanted to show off a favorite new song.

When our father was beginning to struggle with the early stages of dementia, Pam as "Twinkles" would transform our Dad into "Snikkers" - and the two would hit the town as clowns to support some activity in the community or at the Crystal Cathedral.  They made a wonderful duo, and both enjoyed that special time together.

It was always satisfying to know that Pam felt such joy from these two pastimes.

Pam had a strong religious faith that deepened throughout her life.  She firmly believed the teachings of the Bible, and knew in her heart that she would be taken Home after her passing to a far better place.  Her faith guided the way she acted towards people, and truly helped to give her strength during the many trials she faced during the course of her life. 

She spent over a quarter century involved with the Crystal Cathedral as an usher, volunteer, and Elder in a wide variety of ministries.  She volunteered to help in dozens of performances of the Glory of Easter and the Glory of Christmas, appeared as a clown upon request for church functions, and immersed herself in service to her friends, family and her Lord.

Pam started a button business called "Pam's Pinback Adversements" in the 1970's, and supplied campaign buttons for many political candidates.  She also made buttons for local sports teams after big victories, and acted as a street vendor outside their stadiums.  Of course, being the person she was, she also produced buttons for the charities she loved - oftentimes for free.

The family definitely joined in, designing dozens of humorous or contemporary buttons for many occasions.  We spent quite a few hours designing, laminating, pressing and packaging buttons, and Pam loved every moment of the process. 

Pam followed in her father's footsteps and entered the aerospace industry in the 1980's.  She worked for the Douglas Aircraft Company for several years, finishing her time there on the T-45 Goshawk project.  The airplane was designed to train Navy pilots at sea.

Like many, she lost her position due to corporate downsizing during that time.

Pam studied nursing as her Major when studying at Long Beach City College, then entered the medical field in the late 1960's. 

This profession allowed her to do something she loved the most, to care for others.  She served in many capacities, including hospital patient care, medical transcribing, and working with very ill children in a cancer ward.

Pam was a lifelong Republican, and she attended many national party Presidential Conventions.  Her passion for politics ran deep on the national, state, and even the local level - where she won several elections herself to serve on the Long Beach Republican Central Committee.

She worked passionately on the campaigns for George Deukmejian for Governor and Ronald Regan for President, serving in any capacity she could to help her candidates.

It was her passion for politics that led to the birth of one of her clown characters, Pachyderm (an elephant, the symbol of the GOP).

Pam was a HUGE Los Angeles Dodgers baseball fan in the 1970's, and always rooted for the team and the beloved infield of Cey, Russell, Lopez and Garvey.  She attended and watched games with a passion that was infectious. 

Pam often commented during the 1970's and 80's that if she happened to get cut, she would bleed "Dodger Blue". 

Following her open heart surgery (which was a new procedure at the time) Pam became involved with "Mended Hearts" in Long Beach.  This was probably one of her first volunteer groups, helping and assisting those who had heart surgery, or supporting their family members emotionally.  Pam was heavily involved with Mended Hearts throughout the 70's, and got the family involved in their annual "Cyclethons" - where we got donations and rode our bikes as a huge group around Long Beach to raise funds for the charity.

She always made sure that we had big orange flags on our bikes and plenty of reflectors, just to keep everyone safe.

Pam had just entered her teenage years when I was born.  The first memories I have of Pam's social activities was her involvement with the Girl Scouts.  She truly loved camping in the Great Outdoors with her local Girl Scout troop and earning her merit badges.  I recall that she had a green sash that she wore on her uniform that was full of patches and accomplishments for a huge variety of skills.

At times she would walk around the house in normal clothes, but wearing her green Girl Scout sash, showing off to her family in a teasing way how talented she was...