The Schooner birthday lunch is always a festive occasion.
Whew – and there it went, the Season! I have lived long enough now to remember how the “old people” used to say the days fly by and the youngsters thought naps and Church and drives to the beach and dentist appointments lasted forever. And Ric and I have lived long enough in Schooner Village to have gone from being among the younger set to being among the seniors, to have lived through two iterations of the Wheelhouse, to note the prices go up and The Landings culture gradually change in subtle and not so subtle ways.
But what has never changed in 25 years is how special the people are. Among the seniors, we’ve lost loved ones like Jack Rasmussen, Bill and Barb Riggs, and Judy Woodford, and we have seen folks need to go north due to health challenges like the MaGuigans and Schornsteins. And Hugh and Nancy Sims are in a kind of limbo, their transition marked at a fun party at the home of Al Wagner and Carole Lundgren. But then there comes the blessing of the newcomers – the next generation – the Kentucky crew, the “other Wilsons,” the migration from Windjammer and other villages! And the glass is full again.
I don’t have to look beyond my own door to have seen how the community comes together. I witnessed it in action in a recent medical emergency. Annie Fox and Crystal Day got me to the hospital via ambulance, Barb Curioso and Crystal got me to my surgeries and Jan Perkett got me home. Theresa Brooks went to the doctor with me and translated doctor speak. Meals came from Jan, and the Nahnsens, the Apontes, the Ockerlunds including one of Jonnie’s renowned key lime pies. Flowers, hugs, cards, calls and messages from many neighbors. Offers to do errands. And critical advice from survivors that restored my balance and optimism for the future.
Again, when Jonnie and Fred Ockerlund moved to Brookdale this season, many folks helped them and their family with a challenging and inevitable move, Theresa and Milt, Rick and Annie Fox, the Cheffs, the Mullarkeys, etc. And just in time. Fred, whom I fondly called Grumpy, passed away in a local rehab facility on May 14.
Fred and Jonnie would have celebrated an incredible 75 years of marriage on June 17. They came here to their Schooner home in 2005 to join Ludington, Michigan friends, Jack and Shirley Rasmussen. They had three children (Bill, Rick, and Sara who lived with them for several years), eight grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
They enjoyed a full life with family and friends here and in their beautiful home on Hamlin Lake in Michigan. Fred was an architectural engineer and always had a project in the works! He raced vintage cars, factory built in the ’60s and ’70s, played golf and loved boating. He was a diehard Chicago Cubs fan and lived long enough to see them win two national championships. He was always active over the years in village and Landings projects, never hesitating to speak (or write) his mind! He will be missed.
As life moves on, lots of our residents are traveling this summer. Among others, the Nahnsens are going to spend a long weekend with family at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island to celebrate Margie’s 80th birthday (November 14). Jackie and Larry Wagner will be taking some breaks in June to visit their oldest son, Jimmy, in Chicago. Linda Tucker will be going tenting and boating at her Lake House in Michigan; and Chris Dixon (always on the road!) will be visiting in upstate New York, Chicago in July, and on Cape Cod (Hyannis, Mashpee, Osterville); Crystal Day visited family in Colorado in May and she and Scot will be going on a cruise in Greece this summer.
Locally Maria and Phil Aponte’s family will be coming to Florida to help celebrate their parents’ 67th wedding anniversary. Enjoy the summer wherever you may be!
