The Americans Stole Grandma Marty!!! :))

Margaret Jean Hein, right, from Canada, sang with the Valley Vocals group as well as became a new citizen during the Naturalization Ceremony. (JAMES WOODCOCK/Gazette Staff)

New Americans celebrate citizenship

By CLAIR JOHNSON
Of The Gazette Staff


A love affair that blossomed over the Internet between a Canadian and a Montanan grew Thursday to love of country when Margaret Jean Hein became a U.S. citizen.


"I came here in 2000 to marry the man of my dreams," Hein said. "Being a Canadian, I've always considered the United States to be my neighbor and my friend. And today, I decided to make it my family."


Hein, from Windsor, Ontario, and 30 other people from 16 countries became naturalized citizens during a ceremony in U.S. District Court.


When Hein received her citizenship certificate and a small American flag, friends stood and cheered.Friends and family of all the new citizens applauded, took photos and waved flags in honor of the joyful occasion. Afterward, the new Americans exchanged hugs and congratulations over punch and cookies in the lobby outside the courtroom.


Hein also participated in the ceremony as one of the Valley Vocals, a six-person choral group she organized among friends and co-workers at Valley Health Care and Rehabilitation Center. The group sang "The Star-Spangled Banner," "God Bless America" and "America the Beautiful." Hein dabbed her eyes as she sang.


Hein met her husband, Rick Hein, who works for Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. in Billings, through the Internet in 1998. The two chatted online before meeting in person nine months later. Rick proposed in 1999. Margaret - who goes by Marty - moved to Billings as soon as the paperwork got approved, and the couple married.


Although it was difficult to leave Canada, where she had lived with her family all of her life, Hein said of Billings, "I fell in love with the place and the people."


Being a citizen means being able to vote, something Hein is eager to do.


"I was a big voter in Canada," she said. "I really missed that."


Voting, said U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull in welcoming comments, is one of the rights he encouraged new citizens to exercise. He noted the voter registration cards enclosed in their packets. "Use them," he said.


Cebull called the United States the "finest country in the world" because of the freedoms its citizens enjoy, including the right to free speech, to vote and to serve on a jury. America remains free because of the service of the armed forces, he said. "So when you see an armed forces member, thank them." The ceremony opened with the presentation of the colors by members of the Marine Company D Anti-terrorism Battalion. They stood ramrod straight at attention as everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance.


Alan Puckett, district adjudication officer for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Helena, read the names of all those seeking citizenship, and Deputy Clerk of Court Heather McLean issued the oath of allegiance.


Those becoming U.S. citizens included Ana Aydee Hendrickson, Maribel Magana, Maria Maya, all of Mexico; Sharon Ann Anderson, Catherine Joyce Bailey, David Arthur Cherry, Delmer Edward Cox, Bruce William Francis, Christopher Arnold Graham, Margaret Jean Hein, Patricia Anne Zitzer, all of Canada; Carlos Pablo Butler, Panama; Olya Mokina, Russia; Damaris Elisabet Chapman, Finland; Lixu Zhang, China; Kledia Goga Colenso, Albania; Andleeb Ghaffar Dawood, Suzanne Smith, Dawn Smyre, all of the United Kingdom; Ireneo Tumali De Guzman, Rosalie Encoy Myers Cynthia Rozal Pluhar, all of the Philippines; Julia Jayne Kern, West Indies; Maria Cornelia Min-Muskens, Netherlands; Leona Jane Omeara and Rosalind Joan Pattyn, England; Aiyappa Muthanna Palecanda, Lakshmi Aiyappa Palecanda, India; Louise Amanda Payne-Zindell, Australia; Mari Smith, Japan; and Baerbel Stuetzle, Germany.


Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.

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Okay, so they didn't really steal my mom--she went willingly. :)) I know she was really looking forward to this event, and it's nice how they made her a focal point of the newspaper story (and she also spoke on TV). Congratulations, Mom! I hope those Americans appreciate you as much as WE do. :))