I beat Roy [Gill] to retirement after over 30 years of employment through counties, school boards, and the State of Florida. I worked as a secretary, clerk-typist or whatever I could get to help us survive the three years Roy was in the Army and then while he finished college. I later worked at our children’s elementary school, first as an aide and later as a teacher when I got my certification. Then I tried the middle school. Oh, dear! That drove me to finish my career in the children’s section of Selby Public Library. And that I loved! I found what I really enjoyed at the end of my career.

I retired in 2004 just in time for Hurricane Charley. For those of us who have always lived in Florida, we know what hurricanes can do. However, knowing is not like experiencing it. What a horror! We had minor damage at our home with trees down and screens shredded, but Roy’s office in Punta Gorda lost the roof and destroyed the interior. They had to move the firm to Englewood in temporary offices during the rebuilding which Roy managed. It is very scary to be without electricity and telephones for over two weeks especially at night when it is dark everywhere. After a week here, Bill and Dottie (Horsburg) Hancock sent their daughter down to bring us the keys to their condo in Venice while they were in NC. Hooray--lights, air conditioning, and refrigeration!

We have two handsome, smart little grandsons who are in Orlando with our son and his wife. Aaron is seven and his little brother, Ryan, will be two in October. Aaron is a reader, like I was, going from one series to the next. He was reading the Hardy Boys in kindergarten and has moved on to books by Roald Dahl, his current favorite author, and anything related to Star Wars. Ryan, with the tutelage of his daddy, knows all the planets and their position from the sun. It is such fun to see them learn and have fun learning! It is so delightful to spend time with them and so relaxing when we get back home.

Our daughter, Jennnifer, has three Shetland Sheepdogs who just spent three weeks with us. I enjoy having them. They always love you and are happy to see you when you come home. We had two Shelties while the kids were growing up so taking care of them comes naturally.

It is hard to believe it has been fifty years since we graduated from high school and equally as difficult to realize that Roy and I have been married forty-seven years. It’s always an adventure and we laugh every day. However, one of my friends still calls him “the man I have in training.”

Husband Roy Gill's bio