The City of Del City and the Del City Chamber of Commerce are proud to announce the annual Armed Forces Day and Shriners Parade is returning on May 15. This long-standing tradition of nearly three decades is one of the largest of its kind in Oklahoma.
Dozens of parade entries have already signed up for what organizers are preparing as a record-breaking turnout. The parade will feature military vehicles, India Shriners, veteran groups, community organizations and more.
The parade will start at 10 a.m. at SE 15th and Sunnylane. It will travel south on Sunnylane to SE 29th, where it will turn east and proceed to Vickie Drive.
Oklahomans of all ages are invited to line the streets in honor and celebration of the men and women serving in our armed forces.
Anyone who would like to take part in the parade is encouraged to fill out the application online at cityofdelcity.com/armed-forces-day-parade.
If you would like to participate in this year’s parade or additional information, please contact Monica Cardin via 405-671-2815 or email [email protected].

Story and photos by Darl DeVault

May 31st is Memorial Day and Oklahoma’s Commander Ernest E. Evans is in the news again 76 years after his heroism and death at the hands of one of the largest Japanese naval armadas put afloat during World War II. His valiant actions in the Battle off Samar against a vastly superior force earned the Shawnee-born native American the only Medal of Honor awarded for this rare surface-ship battle in the war.
Evans’ ship, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Johnston, was sunk in late October 1944 after he repeatedly hurled it against devastating firepower in the Philippine Sea. It was first found in 2019 after the deepest dive to a shipwreck in history. Only in the last month was it positively identified in a second dive by a different group of researchers.
Showing personal initiative, the brave commander was the first of a submarine screen of three destroyers defending six thin-hulled, lightly armed escort carriers loaded with planes. The Taffy 3 task force was attacked by an overwhelming 23-ship Japanese force coming to destroy the Leyte landing.
Upon first spotting the huge Japanese fleet and without orders, the Johnston threw out a smoke screen while sailing at flank speed against an enemy whose largest gun turret outweighed the U.S. destroyer. In a valiant action, Evans and his sailors were able to torpedo a Japanese cruiser while inspiring the other two destroyers to follow him against the enemy.
Evans received shrapnel wounds and lost two fingers when the bridge of his Fletcher-class destroyer was blown apart. The severely wounded U.S. Naval Academy graduate, who grew up in Oklahoma and graduated from Muskogee High School, continued to captain his damaged vessel in battle while shouting orders from the stern. The overwhelming Japanese force soon reduced the ship to dead in the water, and Evans and his sailors abandoned the sinking warship. The Johnston skipper was never found.
The Johnston crew’s bravery in this action, part of the wider-ranging Battle of Leyte Gulf, is credited with convincing the Japanese fleet that it was attacking a much larger force of aircraft carriers. The Japanese commander ordered an unnecessary withdrawal, saving the vital jeep carriers of the Taffy 3 force from certain annihilation.
The Japanese’s four battleships, including the super-battleship Yamato, eight cruisers and a dozen or more destroyers were in route to attack the 200,000 American soldiers of MacArthur’s 6th Army landing on the beaches of Leyte Island. The massive American armada assigned to defend this landing, the U. S. Third Fleet commanded by Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, had been lured away by empty Japanese carriers used as decoys.
In 2019, a few days past the 75th anniversary of the Battle off Samar, researchers from Vulcan Inc.’s research vessel R/V Petrel believed they had found wreckage from the engagement’s famed Fletcher-class destroyer, USS Johnston (DD-557).
Images of twisted metal, a destroyed deck gun, a propeller shaft, and other less recognizable debris were posted to Petrel’s Facebook page, with a video narrated by Rob Kraft, Vulcan’s director of subsea operations, and Paul Mayer a submersible pilot with the team started by the late billionaire philanthropist Paul Allen.
In late March of this year, a crewed submersible filmed, photographed and surveyed the wreckage of the Johnston off Samar Island on two eight-hour dives. A Texas-based undersea technology company Caladan Oceanic made the identifying dive. Company founder Victor Vescovo, who piloted the submersible, released dramatic video of the shipwreck.
“Just completed the deepest wreck dive in history, to find the main wreckage of the destroyer USS Johnston,” tweeted Vescovo, a former Naval officer.
“We located the front two-thirds of the ship, upright and intact, at a depth of 6,456 meters (21,180 feet),” Vescovo reported. “Three of us across two dives surveyed the vessel and gave respects to her brave crew.”
The expedition found the bow, bridge and mid-section of the Johnston intact, along with two full gun turrets, twin torpedo racks, and multiple gun mounts. The ship’s hull number “557” is still visible, according to a statement by Caladan Oceanic.
The shipwreck is a well-preserved tomb. From Johnston’s complement of 327 officers and men, only 141 were saved. Of the 186 men lost, about 50 were killed by enemy action and 45 later died from wounds floating in the ocean. Ninety-two men—like Cmdr. Evans—got off before the boat sank in shark-infested waters and were never seen again.
Evans’ Medal of Honor citation reads in part: The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Commander Ernest Edwin “Chief” Evans (NSN: 0-70042), United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. JOHNSTON (DD-557) in action against major units of the enemy Japanese fleet during the battle off Samar on 25 October 1944. The first to lay a smokescreen and to open fire as an enemy task force, vastly superior in number, firepower and armor, rapidly approached. Commander Evans gallantly diverted the powerful blasts of hostile guns from the lightly armed and armored carriers under his protection, launching the first torpedo attack when the JOHNSTON came under straddling Japanese shellfire. Seriously wounded early in the engagement, Commander Evans, by his indomitable courage and brilliant professional skill, aided materially in turning back the enemy during a critical phase of the action. His valiant fighting spirit throughout this historic battle will venture as an inspiration to all who served with him.
There were many other brave sailors and airmen from the escort carriers during those three hours of standing toe to toe with the biggest warships ever built. Besides the Johnston, the destroyer USS Hoel was also lost in the engagement. The captain of the USS Heermann, the only U.S. destroyer that remained afloat, became the first destroyer captain to survive engaging multiple battleships in a daylight battle. Only losing four sailors, Commander Amos Hathaway was awarded the Navy Cross for his skillful seamanship.
These actions by the destroyers and those of many other sailors and pilots of Taffy 3 saved the Navy from a near disaster. In addition to all earning Presidential Unit Citations, the sailors and pilots earned 22 Navy Crosses, two Silver Stars and two Bronze Stars for valor in the battle.
Evans was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame in 2009. The following year the Oklahoma Historical Society published a long-overdue account of his life and heroics in a 2010 issue of the society’s historical journal, The Chronicles of Oklahoma.
Lt. Col. (ret.) Steve Reagan of Norman, Okla., has been raising funds for a memorial bust of Ernest Evans to commemorate this Native American naval hero from Oklahoma. The bust is planned to be located in Muskogee War Memorial Park. Anyone interested in information on these efforts or who would like to donate for this memorial should contact Steve Reagan at (405) 312-2270.

Our Life enrichment coordinator, Laura Leehan is an avid collector of thrift shop art and her office has literally been transformed into a small art gallery. Two years ago she purchased an original painting of wild pink roses at the Salvation Army for $17. Several weeks ago Laura took notice of a painting in a residents apartment that bore a striking resemblance to her pink roses.
Upon closer inspection she realized that the signature in the lower right corner of the painting, “Julie 79” was identical to the signature on her painting. She rushed to her office, grabbed the painting off the wall and could not wait to show Julie! Julie was thrilled to see her long lost art work and told us that in 1979 she began painting flowers. It was a brief but prolific season for her as an artist and most of her work was sold or given away. I would not be surprised if there are more pieces out there that may just catch your eye at the neighborhood second hand store or garage sale! It was such a joy to see Julie reunited with her beautiful painting and when Laura offered to return it to her, she declined and insisted that Laura keep it.

The names of eleven law enforcement officers and one canine partner who died in the line of duty in Oklahoma were recently engraved on the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial in Oklahoma City. Their names will be dedicated during the 53rd Annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial Service, which is scheduled for the morning of Friday, May 7, 2021 at 10 a.m.
The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial is the oldest state memorial honoring its fallen officers in the United States and was dedicated May 15, 1969. The non-profit memorial organization is totally funded by donations. Over forty percent of all the Deputy U.S. Marshals who have died in the line of duty in the United States died in what is now the state of Oklahoma and are honored on the state’s law enforcement memorial.
Five of the officers, who died in past years, had not been added previously as the memorial was still researching their circumstances to confirm their death as line of duty.
The memorial is located on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters, 3600 M. L. King Avenue in Oklahoma City.
The eleven fallen officers and one canine partner being added are:
Jesse Whitfield Morris, Deputy Sheriff, Washita County, died February 3, 1910;
John Sanders, Deputy Sheriff, Adair County, died September 14, 1915;
W. H. Corder, Deputy Sheriff, Ottawa County, died October 23, 1917;
Raymond Thomas “Buck” Boston, Sheriff, Montgomery County, Illinois, died July 23, 1947;
Dale Maloy Harbolt, Special Agent, ATF, U.S. Treasury Department, died June 7, 1976;
John Chukwydiut Okafor, Corporal, Detention Officer, Tulsa County, died April 15, 2020;
Craig Vincent Johnson, Sergeant, Tulsa Police Department, died June 30, 2020;
Jeffery Wade Sewell, Captain, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, died September 26, 2020;
Jerad Matthew Lindsey, Officer, Tulsa Police Department, died October 28, 2020;
Billy Dewayne Allen, Sr., US Dept of Defense – Ft Sill Police Department, died December 6, 2020;
Lindal “Dewayne” Hall, Chief Deputy, McIntosh County, died December 14, 2020;
Canine Oli, Muskogee Police Department, died July 1, 2020.
For more information on these officers or the other over eight hundred officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site:
www.oklemem.com

In any given year, Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City’s more than 300 volunteers log thousands of hours in service to our co-workers and patients. But for more than a year, almost all of those efforts came to a halt because of the pandemic. While some volunteers continued to knit baby caps for newborns from home and assist in vaccination clinics, most were unable to do the jobs they love. Now, as COVID-19 cases hit new lows, volunteers are eager to get back to work and serve.
“So many of our volunteers serve at Mercy because they truly feel they are called to do this work, and when they couldn’t serve during the height of the pandemic, it was a real challenge for them personally,” said Mel Henry, manager of volunteer services at Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City, recognizing their contributions during National Volunteer Week. “They are often the first and last faces our patients and visitors see as they come in and out of our facilities and they are dedicated to plugging in and helping wherever they are needed. They do so much, and we have missed them tremendously.”
Mercy’s volunteer program was put on hold in spring 2020 as the pandemic began. A few volunteers were welcomed back in November, and more are returning feeling more comfortable after receiving their vaccination.
“Many of the jobs they did on patient floors before the pandemic are not available due to strict COVID-19 precautions, but these volunteers are so selfless that they always tell us to put them wherever they’re needed,” said Henry. “We’ve also been able to create new ways to serve throughout the hospital at screening stations, in the pharmacy and co-worker health.”
Around 100 of the approximately 300 volunteers have already returned to service.
“Our volunteers are truly invaluable,” said Jim Gebhart, president of Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City. “Many of our volunteers may not be able to return to our halls anytime soon, mostly because they have underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk for the virus. We are hopeful that others in the community will step in to serve and sign up to volunteer.”
Mercy volunteers include teenagers who want experience in the medical field, middle-aged people looking to give back, seniors who want to stay active and people with disabilities learning job skills. Volunteers commit to as little as one hour a month to as much as 40 hours a week. There are myriad ways in which volunteers serve.
“Studies have shown that when people volunteer, they improve physical health, reduce depression, increase self-worth and are likely to be more connected to their communities,” said Dr. Katherine Garland, an internal medicine physician at Mercy who has long believed that volunteering is a prescription for happiness. “Benefits can be seen at any age, but older adults who volunteer one to two hours a week experience lower rates of depression and an increased lifespan.”
To learn more about volunteering at Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City, click here to visit mercy.net or call (405) 755-1515.

Enjoy summer sunsets, cool cocktails and wondrous wildlife at the Zoo’s annual 21 and up event series

Join the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden every Thursday evening beginning May 6 through June 24, from 6 to 10 p.m., for the second-annual Sip and Stroll presented by COOP Ale Works, 1800 Tequila and Kraken Rum. Guests 21-and-older are invited to explore an outdoor path that spans the majority of the OKC Zoo to discover amazing animals from around world and delicious drinks along the way. The Zoo will host a special PRIDE Sip and Stroll event on Thursday, June 24, with exclusive drinks and activities.
During this summer event series, guests can stop and enjoy one of six watering holes with two brand new locations. Each watering hole features custom cocktails inspired by the world’s wildlife and wild places including Zimbabwe, Guatemala and Belize. Guests will also have an opportunity to learn what the Zoo is doing to protect and preserve the natural world through global conservation partnerships with the Wildlife Trafficking Alliance, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and Turtle Survival Alliance. Guests can also enjoy the full menu of tasty favorites available for purchase at the Lotus Pavilion and Best of Oklahoma.
“We are really excited to host Sip and Stroll again this year after last year’s success,” said Jenna Dodson, OKC Zoo’s events manager. “This series gives the 21-and-up crowd a unique way to connect with friends, while exploring the Zoo and learning about wildlife and conservation.”
While the majority of the Zoo will be open for exploration, the giraffe loop and Oklahoma Trails will be closed for guest safety. As part of the event, guests will be able to purchase tickets to enjoy access to Flamingo Mingle, Stingray Bay and the Endangered Species Carousel.
Early bird tickets are available now for ZOOfriends members through Sunday, April 18. Tickets go on sale to the public starting Monday, April 19. Limited VIP admission is $40 per person and includes early entry to the event, a special sea lion presentation, Stingray Bay and Explorikeet Adventure plus, access to DINO SAFARI, an immersive experience featuring life-sized dinosaurs. General Sip and Stroll admission is $25 per person. Purchase admission early and receive $2 off per person through Sunday, April 26, with the code SIPANDSAVE. Learn more about the event and purchase tickets at okczoo.org/sipandstroll. Event entry times are spaced every 15 minutes to allow for maximum social distancing. Attendance is limited to 1,200 guests per night. Once checked in, guests are free to stay throughout the duration of the event.
Attendees can also pre-purchase a Drink Passport, good for one 5-oz featured drink sample at all six water holes for an additional $30 per person. Additional beverages will be available for purchase, including domestic beer, wine, mixed drinks, soda and water. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at okczoo.org/sipandstroll. Sip and Stroll tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable, and the event will be held rain or shine.
Safari-fy your summer with Sip and Stroll! Located at the crossroads of I-44 and I-35, the OKC Zoo is a proud member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the American Alliance of Museums, Oklahoma City’s Adventure District and an Adventure Road partner. Regular admission is $12 for adults and $9 for children ages 3-11 and seniors ages 65 and over. Children two and under are admitted free. Stay up-to-date with the Zoo on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and by visiting Our Stories. Zoo fans can support the OKC Zoo by becoming Oklahoma Zoological Society members at ZOOfriends.org. To learn more about these and other happenings, call (405) 424-3344 or visit okczoo.org.

By Nick Thomas

While some entertainers are renowned for their personal and professional demands while working, Ruta Lee never aspired to be a diva. Acting nonstop in film, TV, and theater since the early 1950s, she tackled projects with professionalism.
“There was no time to throw fits because you had to work quickly as you rapidly went from job to job,” recalled Lee from Los Angeles.
Off-screen tasks were also approached with her trademark zeal. In 1964, she called the office of the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to secure the release of her 90-year-old Lithuanian grandmother held since World War II in a Siberian internment camp.
A decade earlier, Lee approached her first film role as one of the brides in “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” with similar resolve. “During the dance audition, the producers and director asked me to show them something folksy. Because of my Lithuanian descent, I danced up a storm with a polka and got the role.”
She was paired with gifted dance partner Matt Mattox in the beloved MGM musical and remembers one rehearsal.
“He lifted me high off a bench and I sprained my ankle when I landed. So I learned most of the choreography from a sitting position, but still managed to do most of the dancing in the big barn-raising number.”
Many stories from the actress’s career and life can be found in her April 5 autobiography “Consider Your Ass Kissed,” the edgy-sounding title merely reflecting the genuine gratitude she feels for the people she worked with. She also celebrates a birthday this month, turning 86 on May 30.
A quick study, Lee learned an early valuable lesson in on-set protocol when she boogied her way into one of her first TV roles – a 1953 episode of “The Adventures of Superman.”
“It was a short dance scene in a café and I decided to rehearse during lunch hour,” she explained. “But when I plugged in the record player, someone grabbed me and said, ‘you can’t do that, you don’t belong to the electrician’s union!’”
Lee went on to make hundreds of appearances in TV series as well as games shows such as “Hollywood Squares” and “High Rollers” (as Alex Trebek’s dice roller), but westerns were a favorite (see www.rutalee.com). And while many cowboys chased her, only one came close to catching her off-screen.
“Most of the dating I did was for publicity purposes and never had any real romances with actors except Eric Fleming from ‘Rawhide.’ What a darling man, but the most he got was a goodnight kiss!”
Her serious relationships were always with businessmen, she says, not show business men. In the midst of her rising career, Lee met Texas restaurant executive Webster B. Lowe, Jr., and the couple soon married. They were together for 46 years until his death last year.
Lee has also been a tireless voice for charitable organizations such as the Thalians raising millions of dollars through her leadership role to support people with mental health problems, including returning veterans (see www.thalians.org).
And then there was that phone call to Khrushchev’s office to rescue her Siberia-bound grandmother.
“Within 48 hours we were flying over to bring her back to America. So I’ve had an interesting life and I’m always involved with something. It’s been a long, wonderful, and fruitful career.”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 850 magazines and newspapers and is the author of “Raised by the Stars: Interviews with 29 Children of Hollywood Actors.” See www.getnickt.org.

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 850 newspapers and magazines. See www.getnickt.org.

During my music therapy internship at a state facility for teens and adults with mental illnesses, I learned that many of the adults we served within the facility, who were there largely because they had been charged with crimes, shared the foster care experience of my teens.
Most of my teens had been through about 14 different placements by the time they got to our facility and had developed negative coping mechanisms due to their life experiences. No one had taught them how to process their emotions or trauma, which would come out in explosive tantrums. Like my adult patients, they also had no one in their lives who was there just for them, but only staff who went home at the end of each shift. Can you imagine what being raised in an institution instead of a family and not having even one consistent parent could do to a person’s psyche? It turns out, it gives you no way to learn about love and respect for others.
I decided I wanted to make a difference and break this cycle. I saw that trying to understand the “why” behind their coping mechanisms, connecting and showing unconditional love (especially after behaviors meant to drive you away) brought about significant changes, even healing. As soon as I learned about Therapeutic Foster Care (TFC), I knew I wanted to be involved.
TFC serves children in loving home settings instead of institutions, equipping foster parents to help children work through the trauma they’ve experienced. TFC homes receive more intensive services – weekly family and individual therapy for the child, an on-call team of therapists to help in times of crisis, monthly respite to give tired foster parents time to rejuvenate, and trauma-based trainings to help parents understand why children have developed these negative coping mechanisms and help reframe them in a more positive way.
As a TFC parent, I have seen my house walls torn apart because something I did unknowingly triggered memories of past abuse. As anger shifted to tears, I’ve had children melt into my arms and let me hug them as they deescalated from their meltdowns. I’ve seen them work hard to pay me back for damages after I didn’t kick them out like so many had done before, and start to develop personal responsibility and a mutual respect for others.
As a TFC parent, I’ve seen kids and teens learn to identify the feelings underlying all of their anger. This has often been fear and sadness, which, when allowed to fester, become depression and anxiety. I’ve gotten to know my kids for who they really were and found them to be sweet, incredibly loving children who were just hidden underneath the walls they’d built to protect themselves. I got to truly connect to them in a way no one else had, and watch them learn to trust others.
Being raised in a home instead of a hospital or group home taught them what being a part of a family is like. They learned how to care about others and how their actions can hurt someone. They learned self-worth because someone was willing to love them instead of just focusing on their behaviors. I saw them excel in school, work and activities and start to make healthy relationships. These are things that don’t readily happen in institutions.
If we want to make our society a safer place, we need to teach kids how to love. As a TFC parent, you can teach by example and be a part of truly changing the world, one child at a time.
It takes all kinds of people to serve children and help them become healthy and whole again. Why not you?
Amanda Martindale is a Therapeutic Foster Parent with Choices for Life Counseling and Foster Care in Oklahoma. To learn more about Therapeutic Foster Care or apply to become a certified TFC foster family, visit beaneighbor.ok.gov, or call 1-800-376-9729.

* As of this advisory, there are 447,393 (115 new today) cases of COVID-19 in Oklahoma.
* 238 is today’s 7-day rolling average for the number of new cases reported.
* Today’s Provisional Death Count (CDC/NCHS): 8,230
* Additional hospitalization data can be found in the Hospital Tiers report, published evenings Monday through Friday.
* Register online to receive a notification when you’re eligible to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at vaccinate.oklahoma.gov, or locate other vaccine opportunities at vaccinefinder.org.
* For more information, visit https://oklahoma.gov/covid19.html.

*The total includes laboratory information provided to OSDH at the time of the report. As a result, counts are subject to change. Total counts may not reflect unique individuals.
***The purpose of publishing aggregated statistical COVID-19 data through the OSDH Dashboard, the Executive Order Report, and the Weekly Epidemiology and Surveillance Report is to support the needs of the general public in receiving important and necessary information regarding the state of the health and safety of the citizens of Oklahoma. These resources may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be used in any way that would determine the identity of any reported cases.
Data Source: Acute Disease Service, Oklahoma State Department of Health. *As of 2021-04-27 at 7:00 a.m.

Dear Savvy Senior, I’ve been told that my two children, ages 14 and 16, may be eligible for Social Security when I file for my retirement benefits. Is this true? What can you tell me? Viagra Daddy

Dear Viagra,
It’s true. If you’re age 62 or older and are still raising young children, there’s a Social Security benefit strategy that can put some extra money in your family coffers.
Here’s how it works. When you file for Social Security retirement benefits, your minor children can get money on your work record equaling half of what you would receive at full retirement age, now gradually rising from 66 to 67. Even if you were to take a smaller benefit by claiming earlier, your kids will still get half of your full-retirement age amount.
To qualify, your daughter – whether she’s biological, adopted or a stepdaughter – must be unmarried and under age 18. Kids that are over 18 but still in high school, can collect too until they graduate or turn 19, whichever comes first. (Other rules apply to kids that are disabled.)
But that’s not all.
Because one of your children is only 14, your wife (if you’re married) can collect Social Security benefits on your work record too, and it doesn’t matter if she’s just 40 years old. The minimum age requirements to collect retirement benefits (62) or survivor benefits (60) does not apply when it comes to collecting benefits as the caregiver of a young child. The spouse’s benefit, which is also worth up to half of your benefit, will stop when your daughter turns 16.
But note that there are limits to the amount of money that can be paid to a family. The Social Security “family maximum payment” is determined by a complex formula and can range from 150 to 180 percent of your full retirement benefit amount. If the total exceeds that, each person’s benefit, except yours, is cut proportionately until it equals the maximum.
Here’s an example of how that’s figured. Let’s say, for example, that your full retirement age benefit is $2,400 per month. That would make your family maximum benefit (according to the Social Security formula at SSA.gov/oact/cola/familymax.html) roughly $4,200 per month.
Subtract your $2,400 benefit from the $4,200 family maximum benefit, which leaves $1,800. That’s the monthly amount that can be split between your two children – $900 each. If your wife wants in on it too, the individual checks are smaller, at $600 a piece, but the family amount is the same.
You should also know that minor children can collect up to half of a disabled parent’s Social Security disability benefit. And if the parent dies, they will get a survivor’s benefit, which is up to 75 percent of the deceased parent’s basic Social Security benefit.
To learn more, see the SSA publication (No. 05-10085) “Benefits for Children” at SSA.gov/pubs/EN-05-10085.pdf.
One Caveat
Social Security benefits for your kids may not be available before full retirement age if you are still working. In 2021, you will lose $1 in benefits for every $2 earned over $18,960, except in the year you reach full retirement age. In that case, the earnings limit is $50,520, with $1 in benefits withheld for every $3 earned over the limit.
If you lose your benefits, your dependents also lose theirs. You can recoup those payments later, but your kids can’t.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.