Happy Birthday Mom, also known as CB, or Lucille Kate Taylor Kinsella

March 21st—Spring officially arrived last night, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief that we have survived MOST of this cold and snowy winter.

But, we here on the cousins blog have more important events to celebrate—namely, my mother’s 84th birthday!

Little Lucille has come a long way from her summer days helping Adin milk cows in Center Lisle, suffering through two bouts of scarlet fever (and so getting her never-been-cut red hair sheared extremely short—so the long hair did not drain her energy), working in the fields during WWII to help the war effort (and thereby gaining her long-time nickname of ‘CB’ because she worked as fast as the legendary racehorse Sea Biscuit), and in 1949 marrying John Joseph Kinsella in Waterloo, NY.

I think we can all tell numerous stories of my mother, but today, I thought I would help celebrate her birthday by giving a short rundown of her eight children and their families, thus helping cousins place us all when you see the ‘Kinsella’ name in a story on the blog. For almost fifty years, Mom and Dad lived in West Irondequoit, a northern suburb of Rochester, NY. About five years ago, they moved to a smaller home in Greece, yet another Rochester suburb. But, back to the kids:

Picture Two: Kinsella Family, 1969—Back Row—Tim, Dan, Sue; Middle Row—Pat, Tom, Jack, CB, Beth; Front Row—Jim, Chris

Susan Ethel Kinsella, their first child, arrived in 1951. She now lives near San Francisco. Her son Alexander Brown Kinsella graduates from high school this June.

Daniel John was born in 1952. He married Liz Lehmann and they both live in Fairport, a suburb of Rochester.

Timothy James was next, born in 1955. He married Rosemary Holz in 1976. They live in Liverpool, NY. Their oldest is Kristin, who married Tim Walker. They live in Clay, NY with their two young children, Cameron and Leah—Mom and Dad’s first great grand-children. Paul is Tim and Rose’s middle child, born in 1982. He married Angela Cooper last summer, and they both live near Los Angeles. Matthew, Tim and Rose’s third child, was born in 1985. He lives in Baldwinsville, NY with his long-time girl friend, Gina Herzbrun.

Patricia Ann was Jack and CB’s fourth child. I married Glenn Herdeg in 1983. In 1987, our oldest, Brian was born. He will be marrying Gina Marzullo this summer. Alison, our middle child, was born in 1989. She graduates from college this May. Nicholas, our youngest, was born in 1991. He is a freshman at CU Boulder.

Thomas Edward was born in 1959. He works in NJ and lives in Absecon with his long-time love, Christine Farina.

Elizabeth Ruth was born in 1961 and she is married to Takeshi Sakanishi. They live in Chiba, Japan.

James Matthew was born in 1965. He is married to Jill Miller and they live in Greece, NY, a few blocks away from Mom and Dad. Their oldest daughter, Madeline, was born in 2000, and Kelly was born in 2004.

Christopher Paul was born in 1968. He is married to Jen Dalle and they live in Cicero, NY with their four children (and yes, various assorted pets). Their oldest, Margaret, was born in 1997, Bridget in 2000, Patrick in 2003 and Joseph in 2005.

Ma, we love you! Have a terrific Birthday—we wish you energy, health and peace as we ALL surround you with our love and gratitude.

Picture Three, 2009 : Back Row, Left to Right—Tim Walker, Angela Cooper, Paul Kinsella, Gina Herzbrun, Matt Kinsella, Christine Farina, Tom Kinsella, Sue Kinsella, Alex Kinsella, Liz Lehmann, Dan Kinsella, Gina Marzullo, Brian Herdeg, Glenn Herdeg
Middle row: Kristin holding Cam, Tim Kinsella, Rose Kinsella, Jim Kinsella, Jill Kinsella, CB, Jack, Chris Kinsella, Jen Kinsella holding Joe, Pat Herdeg, Alison Herdeg, Nick Herdeg
Front Row: Maddy, Kelly, Bridget, Maggie, Patrick

Picture Four: Ma and Pa and the crew walking up to dinner, 2009