In the last words of her memoirs, Estelle wrote:

Dear Reader,

Before ending I would like to ask you to forgive my bad writing, the bad spelling, and words misplaced as you read. I never went to English school. What I know today I learned this day myself, and it’s very poor. Maybe one day I will have My Valley of Tears typed with a typewriter by someone who can spell and put my words at their place.

So thank you if you had the patience to read it through. You will have my benediction, and I love you all.

The End

As her grandson, I am undertaking this task as a labor of love. I no longer have a typewriter, but I do have a computer with a spell checker and I’ll do my best to eventually get Estelle’s words in the right places. — Rick