I am the proud son of a most loving mother who performed as a concert pianist throughout much of her life.  Though she passed away in 2024, she created a legacy with her life and the love of her family. 

She was once Miss Oklahoma and played piano for the Miss America pageant.  She and her piano duo partner, Ellen Jayne Wheeler, later performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. for the nation’s bicentennial in 1976.

As I grew up, I often went to sleep listening to her practice, which would often last 3 hours at a time.  She taught me the necessity of a disciplined approach to one’s art, and she brought our family the wonderful music that filled our lives!

Many of the piano clips in “The O-Z: Conception” are pulled from her CD “Popular Piano Classics with LaDonna Meinders.”.

A Legacy as a Writer

MY mother also loved the written word.  She was a writer herself, with 6 works registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, including “Leaves in the Wind,” “Angel Hugs,” “Angel Hugs for Cancer Patients,” and “What Would You Do if a Kangaroo…and other poems for children.”