Foster Mother Makes Career of Caring

At 43, Tina Devonald is a devoted mother. She vows that “until my children are grown, my life is theirs.”

The way things are going, that may be a long time.

Besides her own five children ranging in age from 10 to 21, Devonald has been a foster mother in recent years to 50 others from the Holy Family Adoption Services in Santa Ana.

“I was at a soccer game eight years ago when someone told me about being a foster mother with the adoption agency,” said Devonald, “and I really got excited. I even think our soccer team won that day.”

After discussing it with her family, she filled out the forms and waited a year before the agency gave her a foster child.

“I’ve always been a perennial mom,” said Devonald, who married Frank Devonald, an Irvine computer management consultant, right out of high school. She said she feels “it is unfortunate that many young couples can’t afford to have a mom at home.” Devonald’s mother died when she was 5.

Besides the backing of her children, “my husband is very supportive of me. He knows this is my niche in life.”

“I love what I am doing,” said the Fullerton mother who has yet to hire a baby-sitter for any of the foster children. “These children need one-on-one care. These children need love all the time, and I don’t want to leave them.”

In fact, “I go everywhere with them,” she continued. “I take them to football games when my daughter is cheering and soccer games when my other daughter is playing. I have a twin stroller, so it’s sort of like ‘Have babies, will travel.’ ”

She currently has two foster children in her home.

At times, Devonald has taken some of the foster children with her while she goes horseback riding.

“It’s good for the babies, too,” she said, adding: “I’ve always loved newborn infants and started baby-sitting when I was only 10. I liked to take care of little children.”

While she gets paid from the agency for foster parenting, “it never does cover the expenses of caring for them, but to me it’s really worthwhile,” Devonald said.

Only recently she was given newborns that came from broken homes.

“My own children learn through experience how to deal with young children,” she said. One reason she decided to become a foster parent was so her own children would “see what could happen if they got involved,” she said.

But unlike her own children, “At least we don’t have to put them through college,” she said. “These newborns come into our house and we enjoy them from day to day. Next week it might change.”

The time frame changes from baby to baby--some have stayed just two weeks, while others have stayed a year.

While she is caring for the infants, “I know it will hurt when they leave. But I know there will be another one out there that will need me as much.”

Rudolf Lukes, 87, managed to leave Czechoslovakia 10 years ago and set up a new life and home in San Clemente with his wife, Frantiska. Their sons Paul and Rudy live in the San Fernando Valley.

Rudolf and his brother Hugo Lukes, 79, who still lives in Czechoslovakia, are the only remaining siblings from a family of 10.

Last Sunday, one son took Rudolf to Los Angeles International Airport to supposedly pick up the other son as he arrived from a flight. To Rudolf’s surprise, however, it was Hugo who stepped off the plane. It was the first time the two had seen each other in 10 years.

“We had first checked with our father’s doctor to make sure it was all right to surprise him,” said Paul, who pointed out his father has had five heart bypass operations.

After an emotional meeting, the brothers went to Rudolf’s home to talk about politics in Czechoslovakia and catch up on lost time.

“Disneyland is on their agenda,” Paul said. “Anyone who comes to Southern California has to go to Disneyland.”

Acknowledgments--Stanton resident Bob Keller received the WAVE Award (Western Access Video Excellence) from the National Federation of Local Cable Programmers, Far West Region, for his promotional videos for “The Model Club,” which he produces as part of the North Orange County ROP (Regional Occupational Program) video production class. The program helps scale-model builders improve their work.