GIGI CELEBRATES CENTENNIAL
Barbara King is looking forward to her big day.
Born on February 12, 1924, King (whose maiden name is Shields) was born and raised in Mendocino County- the youngest of 13 children. “She doesn't have a middle name,” notes Tonya Roysum, Barbara's granddaughter. King is Barbara's maternal grandmother. “She told me her parents said that by the 13th child, they'd run out of names,” Roysum smiles.
Barbara's family calls her Gigi. “She did not want to be `Grandma.' I was not allowed to call her Grandma,” Roysum grins. “She couldn't be `Nana' because her mother-in-law was Nana. She has five generations under her, so technically she should be a three-g Gigi,” she smiles.
Gigi's father worked on the highways in Willits and Ukiah, so she grew up in both cities and lived in Hopland for a time. Except for her husband Bob King's stint in the military, Gigi and Bob spent their entire lives in Mendocino County. “My grandfather owned Bob King's garage in Talmage,” says Roysum. Gigi raised two children and worked at Ukiah High School- first as a switchboard operator and then in the attendance office until her retirement approximately 30 years ago. She loved her job and the many students she got to know over the years.
Bob and Gigi were married for just shy of 75 years. Bob passed away ten years ago, and more loss followed. “On the day Gigi lost her last surviving sibling, my mother found out she had ovarian cancer. It was a lot of loss in a short time,” says Roysum.
Gigi was game for adventures. Her first date with Bob was on the back of a motorcycle. “They travelled with a motorcycle group, camping out and pitching tents.” Bob was part owner of a co-op plane, and Gigi was comfortable being airborne. “They had a sailboat that they kept at Clearlake. Then they got an RV and did a lot of traveling.” Gigi loved to travel. Her favorite place was Hawaii. “She and my grandpa were able to housesit at a rental property in Hawaii for six months,” Roysum continues.
“I didn't dare tell my mother about that motorcycle,” Gigi notes.
Gigi loved to read and sew. “They didn't have much money when my mom was growing up, so Gigi made all my mom's clothes. She also knitted, and following retirement she took up tole painting. I just found some of my mom's clothing Gigi made back in the 60's. She was really astonished to see those outfits,” says Roysum, who is also a very accomplished seamstress. “My mom never took up sewing, so I told Gigi it must have skipped a generation.”
Gigi lives with the Roysum family- Tonya and her husband Ron, who many know as Hopland Fire Battalion Chief and the owner of Rescue Solutions. Gigi has reluctantly come to terms with giving up some of her independence, smiles Roysum.
“Gigi was driving up until four years ago,” Roysum explains. Right before the pandemic, Gigi noticed some balance issues which resulted in surgery -a cervical spinal fusion. A serious operation for younger people, Roysum was concerned about Gigi's potential for recovery. “Once she made the decision to have the surgery, we did it within three weeks.” Following the surgery, Gigi's health began to deteriorate. “Because of the pandemic restrictions, I had to drop her off and leave her at the hospital, which was really hard for me. In the past, I was always with her for every medical procedure.”
Following her surgery, the decision was made to move Gigi into the Roysum household. “She never made it back to her home. She keeps wanting to return to her house, and I keep reminding her that the last time we went there, she got depressed because her furniture is all here with us,” smiles Roysum.
Gigi played an enormous part in saving Roysum's life. In December of 2022, Roysum was stricken by a profound illness: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. What started out as some minor swelling and difficulty breathing ended up with
Tonya being airlifted to one of the most sophisticated pulmonary hospitals in the United States. She was intubated and hospitalized for many weeks, and her recovery is both miraculous and still ongoing.
“When my mom was dying, she was ok with letting go, except for not wanting to leave Gigi. I made her a promise that I would take care of Gigi. When I was sick, I was more concerned about Gigi than myself.” At one point during Tonya's illness, she saw her deceased mother and grandmother waiting for her, but she knew her responsibility was to remain on Planet Earth and continue to care for Gigi.
“Sometimes Gigi still can't believe she's still alive, and she does mourn the loss of her core family. When she says that, I say to her, `What am I? Chopped liver?' Tonya laughs. Gigi derives a lot of pleasure from her grand, great-grand and great-great grandkids, and Tonya's 15-year-old dog, “who is older than her,” she smiles. “She loves Ron to pieces- probably because he makes her a very nice cocktail.” At this juncture, the family lets Gigi eat whatever she wants. “If she wants a banana split for dinner, that's what she gets. She definitely enjoys her sweets!”
As Battalion Chief of the Hopland Fire Department, the Roysum household is often packed with lots of “cute fireman,” as Gigi describes them. Tonya has plans for two birthday celebrations so the entire family can attend.
“We're going to have cupcakes, her favorite Bundt cake and fruit salad, because she loves fruit. She's going to eat, drink and be merry.”
Following the death of her husband, when she was about 95, Gigi decided she wanted to take one more motorcycle trip.
“My cousin Ruthie and her boyfriend got Gigi on the back of a Harley- with no back rest! They drove her up to the redwoods and she rode for about an hour and a half, tipping her head back so she could see the trees.”
When asked to reflect on her own life, Gigi says, “I'd like to have been more mobile living this long, instead of being glued to a chair, but I can still walk.” Her only unfulfilled wish is that she'd hoped to visit the birthplace of her father in Ireland.
Gigi's independent spirit has sometimes chafed at the restrictions brought on by aging. She loved to go to the Elks Lodge with her girlfriend to have a drink and eat lunch. Her driver's license was renewed until her hundredth birthday. “She recently gave me a bad time,” says Tonya. “She said, `You know, my driver's license is still valid. It's not Monday yet.”
All of us at the Ukiah Daily Journal wish Gigi the very best of birthdays.