The Hedrick Family

Right now I may be the “last man standing” in the Hedrick family...I am uncertain as to how many of my step-relatives are still alive. I am an only child from a family that has literally died…my naturally father Roy Clarke in 1962 (I think), my first stepfather Sam Hedrick in 1991, my second stepfather Jimmy Kawasaki in 1994, and my mother in 2015. Remember when I said that mother know best? My mother and my natural father Roy divorced when I was two, and I have no recollection of him accordingly. It wasn't until I did some research on him that I discovered that he died in 1962 when I was four...right around the time my mother married Sam. He committed suicide, had evidently been in a navy psychiatric ward, and he shot himself with a pistol. My suspicion is that she was protecting me from this. My first stepfather Sam died in 1991 of lung cancer, and Jimmy died of prostrate cancer.
Living Alone In Alabama
I have been living in Alabama for nine years now and have acquired many friends there. When I first shared the news of my mother’s passing on Facebook the evening after her passing, most of all of those who commented to the posting left a salutation that included “praying for you and your family”…the only legal family I ever had as an only child was my mother and the three fathers she married. I really didn’t have the heart or propensity to share the fact that I currently have no family (that I am aware of) left in the United States. I suspect that I have an aunt or two left in Japan, and I know I have cousins and nieces there. Two of my nieces visited Los Angeles in the late 1990s, and I remember how much they enjoyed it when I snuck them into a karaoke bar (they were 14 and 15). Other than that, nada. My current friends have encouraged me to explore my family tree, to take a closer look, and I will share my findings later in a different blogpost. Before that let’s address my mother's last relationship and my second stepfather Jimmy.