Just sold our much loved home of 49 years in Virginia, and relocated to Arizona where family is, and more family is close. I can’t say enough about how wonderful my family is, both here, and in Virginia.
My husband of 62 years has just retired at 85, and is struggling with health issues. I intend this blog to record his amazing life as I experienced it. A biased view, I know. I’m allowed to be biased here. 🤗. Here’s just a bit of abbreviated career moves, that I just telegrammed to my youngest granddaughter who didn’t recall any of this, because she’s too young. Thankfully, she’s no longer critical of him.
“I thought you’d like a different perspective on this grump you lose patience with often. After joining the Navy at 17 and finishing high school in service, as uncle Larry did as well, he served 10 years and met and proposed to me when he was 23, and still had four more years to go. He asked one Saturday, and during the week, he got an apartment, filled it with furniture, and food, and on my wedding night, he took me home.
To my own home.
First in my life, and I was naturally shocked.
Who does that? Who would do that in today’s culture?
Then when he got out, he went to work for John Hancock selling insurance. Rose to supervisor in no time, and from there, took his young family to first the Philadelphia area, and after that, to New Jersey. And when he had done a great job there, training and supervising agents, they send us to Massachusetts where your mom was born, as a General Agent in charge of the entire Springfield office. After a number of years up there, he moved his young family to Virginia, and took over as General Agent running an office in suburban DC! Quite a prestigious opportunity. After a number of years while his family grew up to college age, he needed more money to send them to college, so he gave up that position, and went into “personal production” meaning writing business himself. He broke away from just life insurance, and formed a partnership with three other guys, bought his own office building, ran that office, while becoming president of the Northern Virginia Association of Life Underwriters. He did an amazing job for the association, and as a result, with all the credentials he already had, he was elected president of the entire state of Virginia Association of Life Underwriters! And went on to be on the prestigious board of the National Association of Life Underwriters AND on the board of the Association of Health Insurance Agents. He won trips to the Mediterranean, to Singapore and Thailand with a top off in Hong Kong, and several meetings in foreign countries and different states across the country.
He was a big shot! Not just a crabby old man.
And because of his hard work, *I* got to study art, and do my painting and sculpture while my kids were in school. And I got to explore computers, Fidonet, etc., long before Windows and graphical interface even existed. I had opportunity to do what I wanted all my life BECAUSE of him, with his blessing.
bAnd when someone needed to homeschool grandkids, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime! Some of the most fun years of my life! I know it seems like he’s a jerk at times, and he’s difficult! But he’s never EVER been helpless before, EVER! That’s really hard. I’ve NEVER had to step up and take charge of everything, and that’s also hard. But I do it because I love him, and everything he’s done for me! I owe!
And it bothers me no end to see him in such a state. So, keep all this in mind when you want to blow up at him. He’s been *the rock solid of this family* his entire life! He needs us now.
Love ya.”