Chris has fond childhood memories of growing up on her farm in Missouri, but Chris calls San Francisco her home. She adopted her extended family at Kensington Place in the Spring of 2019. We just love Chris. She is sweet, friendly, eager to meet friends and has great stories! Her given name is Nina, which rhymes with her twin sister, Ina. Chris decided early on that she needed to go by her middle name. She and Ina didn’t need to share everything after all! She dared to be different, but not too different! These two were inseparable in childhood and carried their adventures into their adulthood, travelling the world as TWA Stewardesses!
Chris “The Word Traveler”
Chris was a Stewardess at TWA alongside her twin sister Ina at the young age of 19. Like starlets under contract to MGM, stewardesses were told how to stand, how to walk, how to style their hair, how to make themselves up. Their “look” was as polished as the marble in a corporate lobby, and quality control was no joke. A woman who flew for TWA , aside from garden-variety as forgetting one’s hat or getting caught smoking in uniform, stewardesses could be suspended if their milky complexions were darkened or freckled by too much time in the sun~ explained Chris. As a former stewardess Chris recalls a funny time having switched a flight with her twin Sister Ina to go on a date with her future husband Jim. The crew never knew it was Ina instead of Chris working! She and Ina did this many times, but they finally got caught when Ina accidentally signed her own name. Oops!
Finding Love in the Friendly Skies
Working for TWA was a Privilege and Joy with fond memories. However, her career ended shortly in the movement of women entering the work force. Why you ask? Well, TWA had strict guidelines which required Stewardess to be single. Yes, Chris fell in love with her Pilot, Jim. Chris and Jim got married and lived happily every after, raising their family and enjoying wonderful times.
This picture shows TWA’s first 3 sets of twins to fly TWA. Chris and Ina are featured in the middle of the photo. If you search TWA Twins on the web, you will see that the tradition continued. At one time TWA had 5 sets of twins! Imagine the pranks those twins could play!
As a career Stewardess, Chris is often asked which destination is her favorite. Chris’s answer? “Arizona. It’s best known for the Grand Canyon.”
At Kensington Place, we love and care for our residents as our own family and we feel privileged to have Chris as part of our Kensington Place Family! We are privileged to learn the rich experiences of our residents’ past and excited to create many more meaningful memories together.