Wednesday, July 22, 2009

60 Years Celebrated

My parents, Dick and Pat, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in April. I am remiss in not remarking on it until now, but it is certainly of a historical, genealogical nature! 

 They married in Peoria in 1949 and moved to Chicago where Dad was working. They remained there until shortly after I was born in December of 1949 and then returned to Peoria, where they both were born and raised. Dad was hired on at Caterpillar Tractor and they settled into married life. They went on to have 3 more children, Mike, Bill, and Sandy. In 1973, Dad was transferred to Marinette WI, where they stayed for 3 years. It was quite a change for them, living up north. They learned to ski while living up there and had many enjoyable ski trips over the years. Bill and Sandy went to high school while in WI, and Bill went on to college in Milwaukee. 

 Mom and Dad came back to Peoria in 1976. Dad retired from Caterpillar in 1986 and they had 23 blissful years of retirement. They spent most winters in either Florida or Alabama, and all spring, summer, and falls in Indiana at the lake. Sadly, during this time, Mom and Dad lost their 2 sons. Bill died in 1990 in San Francisco, and Mike died in 2005 in Peoria. Mom and Dad were blessed with 6 grandchildren: Emily, Maggie, Alex, Mandy, Lee, and Rich. So far, they also have 5 great-grandchildren: Lexie, Chris, Connor, Libby, and Lucy. All in all, 60 years produced much of what life is composed of great joy and sadness, and many, many blessings.

No comments:

Post a Comment