Donald enlisted in 1963 in the US Coast Guard, and was stationed in Monterrey, California, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Florida, and San Diego and San Francisco, California during his career. In 1979 he received his 100 ton Ocean Operator License. He rose in rank to Boatswain's Mate First Class, and was captain of the Coast Guard 82-ft search and rescue vessel Point Brower, out of San Diego. In 1980 he moved aboard his personal boat, the 40-year-old ketch Poppy in San Francisco, where he lived until his retirement in July of 1983.
In retirement, he skippered the excursion boat Thunderbird on Lake Tahoe, California. The Thunderbird was a classic cruiser built in 1940, powered by two 1000-hp Allison aircraft engines that could propel her to 70 mph at partial throttle.1
Ellie received her secondary education at Morse High School in Bath, Maine, and attended the University of Maine at Orono, where she graduated in 1955 with a bachelor's degree in home economics. She was employed by Central Maine Power Company in Rockland for many years following her graduation. Although she was pregnant several times, she never was able to carry a child to full term.
She lived most of her married life in Cushing, Maine, on the shore of the St. Georges River, where she led an active outdoor life.
Rae attended Cony High School in Augusta, Maine, where she was active in music, photography, and church affairs, and graduated in 1950. She studied nursing at the Winthrop Community Hospital, and earned her certificate as a licensed practical nurse in 1955.
She enlisted in the USAF November 7th 1955. From her home station of McGuire AFB, Trenton, NJ, she flew to overseas bases transporting soldiers and their families, and on one memorable occasion, Hungarian refugees. In the Air Force, she met fellow serviceman S/Sgt Ed Morris, whom she married in 1958. They traveled throughout the US and spent 2-1/2 years at Ramstein AFB in Germany. When he retired, she and Ed moved to Hobbs, NM, where she was an ardent member of the Faith Assembly of God and an active participant in its affairs.
She survived a bout with breast cancer, which had taken her mother. Rae, who also liked to be known as Joan, maintained her interest in music and photography throughout her life, and was proficient with many musical instruments, including the piano, saxophone, drums, and electric guitar. She died of pneumonia eight years after her husband's death.