wilhelmina foster had left home when she was sixteen and after running around and coming close to getting in trouble two or three times , she had lied about her age and joined the wacs a couple of years after the end of world war ii.-she was stationed in france for a time and there met and fell in love with a frenchman named jacques gardinier.-although he had french citizenship , his mother had been an american from kentucky and he had american citizenship , as well. -- he had joined the u.s. army as his father had after marrying his american wife , jacques ' mother , eve miller.-wilhelmina and jacques were engaged to be married but there had been an auto accident and wilhelmina told penny how jacques had been fatally injured in the fiery crash.-jacques had written to his mother earlier about his and wilhelminas impending nuptials and after his death , jacques mother had written and invited her to come to live with her on the horse farm.-wilhelmina had stayed in the womens army corps for another twenty years but had visited mrs. gardinier often during those years.-upon her retirement from the military she had gone there to care for eve gardinier during her final years.-since jacques had been an only child , his mother had no one to pass the farm on to and when she had died three years ago , she had left everything to wilhelmina .