Pam was exposed to music from very early childhood due to her sister Sally (6 1/2 years older) who was already taking violin lessons. My understanding was that Sally continued to play in groups until her early 80’s. She just passed away only 2 1/2 months after Pam on Christmas Day 2020. In a way, it’s sad that Pam only saw her sister once in the last 40 years. They communicated but were living much different lives with extremely different values.

When Pam turned 7 years old, she took piano lessons for several years but performing instrumental music was not her forte.

Actually, if she had had her choice in life, she would have loved to be a dancer on Broadway! We saw Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera and others, but the most fun we had was at the play “Cats!” in London. We were sitting in front row seats and as the opening song began, a panel at Pam’s feet slid open and an actor Cat crawled out, purring and pushing against her legs, trying to get down the aisle and up onto stage. We saw several other performances in person and on stage and we watched their corresponding movies several times, including “A Chorus Line”.

In a way, it was a gift she gave me, having shared this part of her life’s dreams.

The next musical enjoyment of her life was to listen to singers. They filled her with joy and helped her soften her sadness. I believe the major example of that softening came from Frank Sinatra, especially “Only the Lonely”. No other performer had that much effect on her. Pam went with her neighbor, Joyce Murphy, to see Sinatra in Los Angeles. She also liked Ella, Miles Davis, Sting, the Beatles, James Taylor, Joan Baez and we had a common interest in many others.

We shared an interest in concerts with our friends, Karen and Wally Owens and had many picnics at the Hollywood Bowl. With Ardy and Will Radig, she went to the new Disney Concert Hall to see Gustavo Dudamel conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. In Lompoc, we went to hear Diana Krall sing at the Santa Barbara Bowl with Carol and Bo. And we went again to hear Tony Bennett. In every city we lived in and visited, we tried go to their concert halls. When we moved to Seattle, we saw several classical concerts in its concert hall.

For our 38 years together, concert music was always a special part of our entertainment.

The most exciting musical enjoyment was a trip picked out by Pam to Salzberg, Austria around 2006. They were celebrating Mozart’s 250th birthday. We got tickets to a concert up in the 1,000 year old fortress Hohensalzburg Castle, , shelled in a very old war. The performer’s were a Munich string quartet. Another wonderful time was when she went to see David Bowie twice with her son’s Brett and Greg. She also took Brett to “Beatlemania” in his early teens. Those were also exciting musical experiences.

Our favorite piece is Vivaldi’s 4 Seasons and all of Aaron Copland’s compositions. Listening and enjoying musical entertainment was a special part of our love for each other.