How We Met (A Journey of Little Miracles): Madeleine O’Dell-Conui as Told to Sir Jaymes

By Madeleine O'Dell-Conui

When I first came to America in 1967, one of my dreams was to locate my O'Dell relatives from my grandfather's side. My Dad and my aunt Nancy always extoll their Dad with such affection that I always wish I have known him. The first few years in the US was a struggle of daily living, raising 4 children and working full time that my dreams of ever connecting with them faded into oblivion.
In 2012, a premed student from the Santo Tomas University [UST] connected with everyone through facebook with an O'Dell surname with his research into the O'Dell family through Wikepedia, the free encyclopedia en.Wikepedia.org. Charles Wallace O'Dell is a 6th generation O'Dell and it took another Wallace in the family to uncover the family history.

O'dell family...........originally owned by an Anglo-Saxon king; according to Wikepedia in Bedfordshire: O'dell is a village and civil parish in the North of the county of Bedfordshire in England. Originally owned by an Anglo-Saxon king, the barony of Woadhyll was transferred to the Norman Count of Flanders after the Norman invasion.He later changed his last name to Woadhyll, which means, a hill full of Woads, and as time went on the barony was changed to O'dell which was ruled by Barons bearing the name of O'dell. By the 1600's the family had a quarrel and was split into two, leaving the barony without a legal male heir. The quarrel stemmed from religion. The family was divided into the Protestants and the Catholics.
The Protestants moved to Newfoundland in Virginia, bearing the name odell while the Catholics moved to Ireland changing their name to O'Dell to evade
Irish reprisals against the British.Eventually, the Catholics moved to Nebraska and that was the start of the family's story.

Our great grandfather, Wallace Scott O'Dell [1852-1915] married Cora Davis. Wallace Scott died in 1915 and was survived by 8 children and his wife.His
brother could not attend his funeral, and also his son named Thomas Leroy O'Dell nicknamed Roy was in the Philippine Islands at the time of his death in
Nebraska. Our great grand mother, on the left, see picture, and a woman standing is daughter Zoe, the sister of Leroy, and her grand daughter on the right
Wallace Scott O'Dell was for many years connected actively with agricultural interests in Chapman precinct but spent his last years in honorable retirement at Weston. A native of Venango County, Pennsylvania, he was born on the 4th of Feb.1852 and was a son of Alfred and Julia [Van Geisen] O'Dell, native respectively of New York and New Jersey. They were married in Pennsylvania and continued to reside there until Wallace was 17 years old, when the family moved to Saunders County in Nebraska. His father homesteading land 2 and a half miles east of Weston. At that time, the County was in the main, a frontier district and the town of Weston had not been founded yet. Mr O'Dell proved up to his claim and remained there on until his demise in 1909 at the age of 86. His wife died in 1911 at 84 years old.They became parents of 7 children. Wallace Scott is the third child.
Wallace Scott attended School in Pennsylvania and remained at home for sometime after the family left the County. At 25 years of age,he was married and began farming in Chapman precinct, buying railroad land which he improved. He was a successful Agriculturist, being energetic and progressive, and accumulated competence as the years went by which enabled him to retire from active life in 1910. He sold his farm that year and moved to Weston. On July of 1877, Mr O'Dell married Miss Cora Davis, a daughter of Captain William and Nancy [Whiting] Davis. They had 8 children namely; Maud, wife of Henry White of Wahoo, Roy, who was connected with the civil service in the Philippines, Zoe, the wife of Joseph Kriz, Alta at home, Dawn, the wife of Joseph Porter of Wahoo, Wilma, married to George Jackson of Wahoo,Nannie and Alfred, at home.
Mr O'Dell was a republican who changed part

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493101474

Book preview

coverj.jpg

Copyright © 2014 by Madeleine O’Dell-Conui.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013917764

ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-4931-0146-7

Softcover 978-1-4931-0145-0

eBook 978-1-4931-0147-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Illustrated by: Dwight Nacaytuna

Rev. date: 05/14/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

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CONTENTS

Editor’s Preface

Uncle Vic And Auntie Emma

My Sisters, Dad, And Stepmom

The Miracle Of Love

Jules And The Abays

New Life With Jules

Life In The United States

In Retrospect

Moving On

My Progenies All Grown Up

Volunteerism

Retirement

Editor’s Epilogue—But Not The End

More Family Pictures

O’dell History

Random Pictorial Activities

Charms/Cpr

What Is Miracle?

Author’s Biography

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Sir Jaymes Capsule Reviews

Pictorial Service to Family and Friends of Mila and Cris J. Balugay

How We Met—A Journey of Little Miracles

Madeleine O’Dell-Conui as told to Sir Jaymes

EDITOR’S PREFACE

This memoir covers a vast chronology of interweaving personal recollections. Her anecdotes spotlight the romantic and emotional aspect of her life that provides an entertaining journey, a journey of little miracles. When Madeleine asked me to be her coauthor, I was flattered and my little ego was raised, understandably, but I could do so little to a well-written manuscript, and the only thing left for me to do is present her mission statement in her own words for enhancement: Write a story of how people meet each other, how they develop a spark into romance, growing into a relationship, into binding each other into marriage to seal their love and commitment to one another, which in itself is a miracle.

This is Madeleine’s story.

A story of romance, sufferings, and sacrifices which strengthens the soul, which in turn blossoms into an evolved person, another miracle. A story of a journey into life with all its adversities and hurdles and joys in one breath, meeting angels of every kind—one after another with a special role to ease the pain, maybe relieve the pressure with laughter, while some angels called friends who are thrown in into one’s path at an exact moment of need. If it isn’t a miracle, what is?

A story which produces a fascination, a rapture translucent enough to capture a lost soul. A story of youngsters, our children, growing and changing in front of our very eyes, with distinct attributes and charm glowing and seeking their own identity—another miracle of life. A story that chronicles life with excitement and also with deep sorrow, blending with the changing winds of life, with as many colors of the rainbow, or ocean-filled tears of pain and sometimes, a place of laughter, a heart bursting with contentment and pride and a feeling of serenity when hearing Sunday sermons.

Ah, for such is life, a stage, and we play the role as best we could.

diamond.jpg UNCLE VIC AND AUNTIE EMMA diamond.jpg

Philippines, Thursday, May 29, 1952

We all just came walking from church at six thirty in the morning. My grandmother, uncles, an auntie, and my older sister Marlene all gathered in the kitchen preparing for a special meal. In the living room, flowers neatly adorning the mantel, curtains hanging on otherwise bare windows, waxed and polished floor, image mirroring the furniture setting, were clearly pleasing to the eye. We were all waiting for the coming home of Uncle Vic along with his bride. There was music blaring from a tiny radio, enchanting everyone with Moonlight Bay, a sailing song so appropriate for Uncle Vic who enlisted with the United States Navy for ten long years. The melody we were sailing along on moonlight bay—halted from my hearing muffled with the noise and laughter, as I walked into the living room filled with commotions, hugging and kissing, and there I saw a tall and beautiful imposing figure with golden wavy hair and velvety white skin. I was awestruck. I could not remove my eyes off her. I was tantalized. Then she came toward me. You must be Dahl. I have heard so much about you. And opening her purse, she took out a glittering hair clip. She kissed me on the forehead, and I felt lifted up to heaven. Looking up at her with Uncle Vic by her side, Auntie Emma was just as tall as him who was very tall for a standard Filipino height, must be because his dad, who died during the Spanish-American War, was Spanish.

As she was whisked away with my other relatives, my twelve-year-old mind was puzzled and bewildered and still figuring out how love works when my sister came and showed me her beautiful pin with shining colored stones. She was out of breath as she spoke, I know where they met. Oh, how romantic. I know it is love at first sight. They met at our distant cousin Isabel’s birthday party. They were friends in college, and Uncle Vic was on furlough. Oh, it is so wonderful to be in love. And she giggled and shrieked. They met in Philadelphia. Oh. With starry eyes, she took off still in a daze.

diamond.jpg MY SISTERS, DAD, AND STEPMOM diamond.jpg

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1940-1950, my grandmother’s bathroom

My sister, two years older than me, bragged as if she was part of the conversation. At that time, in the provinces, children were not supposed to participate in adult conversation because it was considered rude or impolite. One could be seen but not heard. The adults expect one to be at play or doing homework or at best in one’s own room. This was so in most Filipino homes like my grandmother’s. I do not know if it was a Filipino culture or the Spanish legacy of aristocracy.

We were visiting my