"Within this book, you will find many different voices, stories, solutions to problems encountered and unexpected opportunities. There are stories that highlight how being thrown off balance by the unplanned can create choices that lead to a new, more meaningful balance. " - Ellen Gipple
The French Resistance Saved Me from Capture:
The Life and Times of , Sergeant JosephOwens
World War II Escapee
Published in June of 2019, the biography tells the story of Joe Owens who joined the military after graduation from high school. The bombing of Pearl Harbor brought the United States into WWII. The atrocities prodded the every common man into action. Joe among them. As turret gunner aboard a Flying Fortress, Joe was the last person to parachute from his plane when hit by the German Messerschmitt 109. The story is about how Joe and others were saved by the courage and heroism of the French Resistance and how he made a life for himself later.
Available: 815 848 6284--YOU MUST LEAVE A MESSAGE.
I presented 95-year old Joe Owens with his copy of the book on Sunday, July 14th, 2019 at Lake Henry Estates in our community pub with an audience of over 50 residence. June Hauer shared the spotlight with Joe as they greeted many friends. Sadly, June passed to Eternal life in the year 2022. My beautiful friend will be missed.
The storyteller became an author when All About Familywas published in 2014. A heartwarming memoir about people in the small Midwestern town of Beaverville, Illinois. The town was settled in the 1850s and formally founded in 1904. The French community boasts historic St. Mary's Catholic Church at the center of the town. The resilient inhabitants faced hardships and triumphs, faith and healing, and a simple life of hard-work and family unity.
The first segment of the book explains the ancestry of the Lareau and Dionne families who migrated from Quebec, Canada in the middle 1800s. The stories in the midsection are based on interviews of residents, relatives, and past residents. The stories toward the end of the book are a compilation of life and family experiences throughout the years.
More short stories, both fiction and non-fiction will be added to this website. In addition, my hobbies will be highlighted throughout; for example, travel and gardening .
Favorite Garden Shots Just for the Fun of Sharing