My Brothers and 1^st Cousins. I think your first experience with a “best friend” is learned with your brothers, sisters & cousins. Except one difference, you can leave your friends. I was fortunate, I had two brothers, but wish I had a sister. With my luck though, all my first cousins were female. They made up for the lack of sister existence. The great thing was we all got along. Sure, my brothers and I fought and received discipline for that but all in all we loved each other and had a good time together. My cousins weren’t around as much, so we never fought.  My cousin Shawna on my mom’s side of the family, lives in Texas so we rarely saw her except a few times during the holidays.

Douglas, Jo Ann, David, Kathy, Michael, Flipper

Holidays, Birthdays brought us all together

In the 60’s and early 70’s we used to have great holiday get togethers. We would even have 2^nd cousins, third cousins and so forth. There are a bunch of them and I’ll probably leave a few out by mistake but here we go. On the Avakian side we would have family reunions every year too, so we got to see the other side of the family at least once a year and there were a lot of people there. My Grandmother Si’s brothers and sisters and their spouses, Mike & Lillian Avakian, Dick & Mary, Lucy & Amos, Annie and Mary. Then their Children June & Robert Donny and their daughter Celeste who was my age, Tommy & Marilyn Avakian who were both super nice people, MaryAnn & Jim Lee and their kids James, Scott & Lucy, Earl & Amy Griffith, Bobby Keosheyan who I always liked, and Richard Avakian.

Jim, Maryann & Lucy Lee

There are many others too I have met or conversed with like Linda Avakian, Doris & Henry, Corky Normart, Mary Golder and others. The family I was the closest with besides my aunt and uncle Garvin was Maryann & Jim Lee which I will write more about in Chapter 8 titled: the Early Career Days. Mary Ann was my dad’s first cousin. They were a big part of my life then.

I still remember the nights before Christmas. We would lie in bed whether we still believed or not and try to hear any type of noise that might be Santa or our dad. Sometimes I’d get up early and just look at it them all. My mom would always tell us to get back in bed if it was too early. Is 6am too early on Christmas morning? C’mon mom. We had some of the greatest toys, The Evil Knievel motorcycle you wind up and he jumps ramps and things. G.I Joe with lifelike hair, the tanks and helicopters that went with it. Steve Austin Six Million Dollar man action figure, and many more.

Douglas Normart

born March 30, 1963

Douglas Normart

Douglas was born March 29, 1963, in Fresno, California. His parents William was 26 and his mom Wilma was 25. He married April Powers in the early  80’s. He married Brenda Geston in March 1991. They had one child, his daughter Melissa Lee was born on December 11, 1991, in Fresno, California. She had a strong resemblance as a baby to our mom Wilma’s baby pictures. Doug was born in the Indianapolis house. I remember my Grandmother Doris telling me he was going to walk up to the door and ring the doorbell and ask if his new brother was here. I’m not sure why I remember her saying that but it makes me smile every time I say it so there you go. We lived at this house for about 2-3 years together and then moved to the San Gabriel home where David was born in 1966.

When we were younger Doug, and I did a lot of different things together. Doug was always a curious type of kid, sometimes getting a little too curious. He always managed to escape whatever trouble that would cause though. We had a lot of fun exploring the mountains of Huntington Lake and both cherish the iconic water tower picture I thought was lost and recently found. He was naturally smart in that he could take a TV apart and figure out how to put it back together. When we were living at the San Gabriel home, he befriended a guy named Tim Larson and they have been friends ever since.

Doug took our parents divorce especially hard as he was only 15 or 16 at the time. He got into a little trouble, so my grandpa Osterholtz took him to Texas for 6 months to spend some time with him. I just remember my grandpa saying, “How many times do they say Let the good times roll” that’s not music”. Doug got divorced and then met Laura in 1996 and have been together to this day. He moved to Washington state and enjoys fishing and fixing up his house. They have an assortment of cats, dogs and other animals at their home.

Kathy Garvin

born February 26, 1964

Kathy Garvin

 When Katherine L Garvin was born on February 26, 1964, in Fresno, California, her father, Joseph, was 24, and her mother, Linda, was 21. She loved to ride horses and got her first horse at the age of 6. She was involved in 4H in Clovis and competed in Barrell racing. She graduated Clovis West High School in 1982. She worked at worked at the Fresno Zoo as she loved animals so much.  She also worked at PG&E as a compliance analyst in 1997 and worked there for several years

She met Paul David Linderman at Clovis West High School and went on to marry him in 1986. They had one child during their marriage. Jason Lee Linderman was born Feb 1, 1994. He went on to have a successful career in the Airforce. He went on to marry Stephanie on Dec 3, 2016. Paul and Kathy divorced around 1996.

Paul Married Doug Snyder in 1997. She moved to Bakersfield where they had a nice sized ranch with cattle and many types of animals. She had a fondness for her standard poodle named Maggie. She was a beautiful white poodle. Kathy and Doug divorced in 2007.

Kathy Married Tim Riblett in 2012. She stated she finally found the love of her life. Tim tragically died in a car accident in 2017. Kathy never got over this tragic loss.

She died on January 11, 2023, in Bakersfield, California, at the age of 58

Jo Ann Garvin (Aslaner)

born August 19, 1965

Jo Ann Aslaner

When Joann Garvin was born on August 19, 1965, in Alameda, California, her father, Joseph, was 25, and her mother, Linda, was 23. She played Bobby-sox softball in which her mom Linda coached, and sister Kathy also played in, which their dad Joe coached. The family was busy in those years! Jo Ann also got into barrel racing because of her love of horses. She was also in 4H in the beef program for a few years and did sheep for one year but stopped after having to sell her sweet lamb at auction. She went to Buchanan High School and graduated from Clovis West.

Jo Ann moved to Tennessee where she met Selahattin (Sal)Aslaner. He was born in Dinar Turkey on September 15, 1952, and came to the USA when he was 14 years old. Jo Ann and Sal married in Fresno February 16, 1991.  They moved to Augusta Georgia and Joseph Serefattin Aslaner was born September 12, 1991, and William Idris Aslaner was born there January 30, 1993.  They moved to Aiken, South Carolina, in 2010.

Joseph married Carrington White in 2019, and they have 2 children, Avonlea Vera Aslaner, born February 23, 2020, and Judah Joseph Selahattin Aslaner born February 15, 2022. They have a third on the way to be born December 13, 2024. Joseph and Carrington opened a Psychotherapy service in Brockville which provides a range of services including psychotherapy & addiction treatment.

William married Brooke in December 2022 and have two children, One biological child Lucy Anne Aslaner born November 3, 2023 and one step child Bryson Garrett. William is an Avid golfer.

David Normart

born April 20,1966

Dave Normart

When David S Normart was born on April 20, 1966, in Fresno, California, his father, William, was 29 and his mother, Wilma, was 29. He graduated from Gateway High School in 1984. He married Frances Conway on May 27, 1989, in his hometown of Fresno. They were married for 10 years and divorced in 1999. They have three children. Kaitlin Cheree was born October 21, 1989, Anthony Scott born December 20,1990 and David born June 4, 1994. Kaitlin has five kids, Kelly, Kambria, Kaylynn, Brayden, and Tyryion and one on the way. Lily is also part of the family being Kaylynn’s half-sister.

I always tried to be a good brother but there were a few times I took advantage of being the oldest. I remember telling them both I was going to teach them boxing, I was a lot taller than them, so I got on my knees. We put on the boxing gloves, and I’d hit them a couple of good shots to the face and say, “Keep your guard up”. That didn’t last long.

Another memorable moment was after watching a scary movie where someone was whispering “David…David…” I put on a skeleton mask and hid in my brother’s closet. I started whispering “David…David…” When he opens the closet, I jumped out and screeched scaring the crap out of him. Ahh little brothers…

Despite that David and I were close which is why in 1985 I asked him to be my Best Man in my wedding.

Dave & I, 1985

David took the art gene from our mom and was good at it too. He started drawing at 11 years old. He could draw some pretty cool pieces too; I remember I held onto one of the pieces he drew for me but lost that in my divorce. Never did find it.

One of his first jobs was a drafting job at Irby Innes. He did that for a year but decided he liked working outdoors more so he started remodeling houses and flipping some of them. He earned good money doing this and did it from 1990 – 2009. He got interested in arm wrestling to get into shape and won third place at the Fresno County Fair in 1993, he did this until 1995 until he saw a guys arm snap, then he retired from arm wrestling.

Dave was the Facilities Maintenance Supervisor at Manco Abbott from December 30, 1996 – 2010. He won “Maintenance Manager of the Year” and was awarded the honor by the Mayor of Fresno, Alan Autry who was best known for his role of “Bubba Skinner” in the TV series “In the Heat of the Night”. Dave contracted Fibromyalgia in his legs so he had to leave his career. He decided to be our mom’s caretaker and has been doing it ever since.

M brother Dave has had several hobbies and has the obsessive gene we all share.  In other words, we go all in. he loves the outdoors and likes to put a pole in the water at Shaver Lake and relax and fish.  Like me he loves muscle cars and has had his share over the years, Mustang, Camaro, Challenger and Corvette. He had a cool aquarium setup with even live coral reefs. He would order exotic fish and corals online; he had an amazing setup.

He put together a Koi Pond in the backyard with the help of his son Tony and it looks beautiful. It’s a place he can relax and looks great at night. Aside from that he also has gotten into the art of bonsai. These things bring a sense of calm to his life, and he really enjoys it.

Dave has been in a relationship with Nancy Valdez since August 21, 2021. They met on a Facebook dating site. She was born in Fowler Calif. August 6, 1968. They got engaged November 6, 2022. She is an amazing person and has been amazing for both my brother and my mom.

I’ve always respected the fact that Dave took his kids in the divorce, he has a heart of gold and is a great father and one person I can chat with almost every day.

Life Lessons and What We Learn

This is a condensed version of my life with my brothers and cousins, what did I learn?

–Savor the moments: I’m in my 60’s now and we lost Kathy too early. My relationship with my brother Doug isn’t what it used to be either. Life happens, people change. I feel fortunate I had that moment in time where these people were special to me and still are in many ways. But people change, life goes on and people get in their own lane. I miss those days; it was a lot simpler time then…

-People Change: As kids, we weren’t into politics, finances, love lives or even careers. These things change people. Doesn’t mean it’s bad it’s just something else to put into the mix.

-Keep in touch: These are also people you can usually count on in some way or another. It’s always best to keep in touch with a call or a text or even an “old school”  letter. Means a lot to people.