Leonard's Story: December 10, 1956

Hazel saves the drafts of her letters to Leonard, Pat, and Pat's Aunt Be and Uncle Dave. In them we learn of Leonard and Pat's decision to divorce and of the difficult year they have had with each other. It is clear they are no longer in California, perhaps in Madison, Wisconsin, where Leonard might have been interning after graduation from USC Medical School.

Hazel mentions in passing that they now have a color television; Arnold's family would not get a color TV for another dozen years. 

Bill and Hazel keep their word treating Pat as a daughter. While she was not around family gatherings when Leonard was (and especially once he remarried), she remained a close friend to Laura and later when Arnie and Newlin moved to Los Angeles, she stayed in close contact, occasionally babysitting the their young children. Arnold and Newlin always visited her on our trips back to California. And Bill and Hazel made a point of including her in their will.

Pat remarried later in life (becoming Pat Mattison) and still lived in Los Angeles after all those decades. When Laura struggled with cancer in the 1990s, Pat and her second husband took care of Laura's finances, and after her death, part of Laura's estate. Here is Pat in 2006, around age 84, still imbibing and enjoying life:

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Leonard's Story: June 11, 1955 Graduation USC

Leonard graduates from the University of Southern California on June 11, 1955. The family celebrates at the Louisiana Restaurant in Los Angeles. Included in the party are Pat's Uncle Dave and Aunt Be and Laura's best friend Virginia Rowley, as well as a couple I cannot identify, perhaps friends of Leonard and Pat's or Pat's relatives.

Pat's Uncle Dave and Aunt Be, unknown, Leonard Nevis, Pat Nevis, unknown, Laura Nevis,
Hazel Nevis, and Virginia Rowley at the Louisiana Restaurant, June 11, 1955

unknown at far left, Pat's Uncle Dave, Bill Nevis, unknown seated & standing, Hazel Nevis,
Laura Nevis, and Hazel Nevis at the Louisiana Restaurant, June 11, 1955

Laura's best friend Virginia Rowley, Louisiana Restaurant, Los Angeles, July 11, 1955

Leonard Nevis, Pat's Aunt Be and Uncle Dave, and Pat Nevis, Louisiana Restaurant, Los Angeles, July 11, 1955

Virginia Rowley, Patricia Nevis and Laura Nevis at the Louisiana Restaurant, Los Angeles, July 11, 1955

unidentified family or friends at the Louisiana Restaurant, Los Angeles, July 11, 1955

Leonard Nevis with parents Hazel and Bill Nevis and sister Laura Nevis, Louisiana Restaurant, Los Angeles, July 11, 1955

Pat's Aunt Be and Uncle Dave, Leonard Nevis, Bill Nevis, Pat Nevis, Hazel Nevis, Laura Nevis,
unidentified, and Virginia Rowley at the Louisiana Restaurant, June 11, 1955

Leonard once told me about a couple of boatwrecks he was in. I recently encountered an article of a boat rescue reported in the April 4, 1955, edition of the Press-Courier (Oxnard, California), when Len was still a student in USC Medical School:

Press-Courier, April 4, 1955 

Here are a couple of photos of Laura from around the same time:

next post  Arnold and Newlin: 1955 Niagara Falls 

previous post  Arnold and Newlin: 1955 Mother's Day

first post in Flashbacks  How the Nevis family came to California

first post in Arnold's Story  July 1943

first post in blog  Leonard's Story: May 29, 1943