Edith and Robert marry on August 26, 1946 at First United Methodist Church in Sonora, Texas. A reception follows at her parents’ home.

Robert is enrolled at Baylor College of Medicine (1946) in Houston, Texas. Edith works in advertising as a copywriter for Levee Brothers.

Robert begins residency in San Antonio at Ft. Sam Houston. Edith and Robert’s first child, Jan, is born on October 2, 1950.

A second daughter, Peggy, is born on November 22, 1952, in Berkeley, California.

The growing family moves to New York City in 1953 where Robert trains at The Rockefeller Foundation before going on assignment to South Africa.

The Kokernot family travels to South Africa via stops in Barcelona, Cairo and a side trip to Damascus to visit Edith’s sister, Gertrude. Edith composes her first Christmas letter with details of family and a life abroad.

Living in Johannesburg, South Africa for the next several years (1954 - 1960), Robert continues his work on insect-borne viruses. The family makes several trips throughout the region, including the Krueger National Park, Southern Cape and Victoria Falls in Southern Rhodesia.

Walter Hutson Kokernot, their first son is born on March 21, 1957.

Rockefeller pulls the family from South Africa late fall of 1960 after attempted assassination attempt on Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd.

Robert finalizes his doctorate in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University with a degree in epidemiology.

Diana, the final ‘coconut,’ is born on February 4, 1961, in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Kokernot’s depart for a second Rockefeller assignment in Cali, Colombia in late 1961.

Edith writes a guidebook for tourists and visitors from abroad titled Cali in a Nutshell in 1962.

The family moves Stateside (1963) and relocates to Champaign, Illinois where Robert is appointed a faculty position at The University of Illinois. Edith is involved in various school activities for her four children, attends creative writing classes and hosts foreign students and families, including the Ramen family. 

The family continues with life in Illinois. Edith busy raising children with two in grade school, one in middle school and one in high school. Robert travels frequently for various conferences throughout the country.

Robert accepts job with the beginning of The University of Texas School of Public Health. The family relocates to Houston in the summer of 1968. After more than two decades, Edith and Robert have returned to live in Texas.

Edith’s mother, Edith Knoll Babcock, dies just months after the family returns to Texas, on October 5, 1968 in Sutton County, Sonora, Texas. Her service is held at First United Methodist Church, Sonora, Texas.

Robert’s alcohol addiction becomes more pronounced, and he moves out of the house in late fall 1968 and gets an apartment off Sage Road in the Galleria area. Meanwhile, Edith has a daughter in college, another in high school, a son in middle school, and a daughter in elementary school.

Edith begins work with Kelly Girl Services, a temporary employment agency. Soon after, she secures a position with an independently owned advertising agency.

Edith gets her scuba certification after completing a course at the Dad’s Club YMCA in 1971.

Edith and Robert’s divorce is finalized in May 1972.

Edith’s father, Orville Gorman Babcock, dies on November 9, 1973 in Sutton County, Sonora Texas. His service is held at First United Methodist Church, Sonora, Texas.

In 1974 Edith begins a position at The Institute of International Education in downtown Houston. She works there until 1985. 

Edith becomes involved with various groups including Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club and Al-Anon.

Edith participates in various writing groups at University of St. Thomas and continuing education courses.

A subscriber and avid reader of The Houston Post, she regularly submits (and has published) letters to the editor.

Edith begins her career at The Institute of international Education in 1974 and works at the World Trade Center in downtown Houston. 

Houston hosts the 1977 National Women's Conference in celebration of the International Year of the Woman. Edith transcribes her recollection of the significance of this event twenty years later. 

Edith runs her first marathon, The International Rice Festival Marathon, in Crowley, Louisiana, in October 1977, and she becomes a nationally ranked runner.

Edith participates in a backpacking trip sponsored by the Museum of Natural Science in 1978 and completes a rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon.

Marriage to Bob Grinnell, May 1979 and moves into Edith's home at 34 Patti Lynn Lane, Houston, Texas 77024.

Edith becomes a grandparent with the birth of Jan’s first child.

Bob and Edith purchase the Saddle Butte property in Jackson, Wyoming summer of 1980.  

Edith participates in a Kenneth Cooper study of  'Runners over 50' and completes the Dallas Marathon in 1981.

Bob retires from Mobil Oil Company in his late 50's.

For the first time in nearly twenty-five years, Edith returns to South Africa in November 1984 where Diana has completed her graduate studies at the University of Cape Town.

Edith retires after ten years at the IIE in the spring of 1985.

Construction of their house on Saddle Butte is complete summer of 1985.

Stay tuned for details.....

Stay tuned for details.....

Stay tuned for details.....

Stay tuned for details.....