Jay and I grew up in New Jersey and met at college. On our first date we discovered we had attended the same church when children. Three years later we were married by the same priest who had been present during our confirmations. We married while Jay was in the service and went our separate ways when he received orders for overseas. I headed back to New Jersey from Georgia and began my career in teaching. Upon Jay’s return to civilian life, he was employed by Met Life for 29 years in Human Resources and Financial Services. He wanted to stay by the coast while we raised our family, so he chose to commute each day to NYC by train two hours each way. I am grateful for his choice. After Met Life, Jay worked as a broker for Morgan Stanley and TD Waterhouse.
We have three sons who are married (NC, CA, NJ) and each has a son and a daughter. Our grandchildren range in age from 18 yrs. down to 7 mos. All are sweethearts!
After we both retired, we moved to Carolina Beach. Twelve years later it was time to downsize so we packed everything up and moved 10 minutes away to Wilmington. After a year we packed up everything again and moved out for renovations. Five months later we moved back in and are still unpacking. Jay said he is never ever moving again!
St. Paul’s is the first and only church we attended in Wilmington as there was no reason to look further. We joined when Randy Green was Interim Priest. Jay has served on the vestry and is an usher. I seem to have gravitated toward the food. I prepared Wednesday lunches, helped stock the freezer, and contributed to Sunday receptions. I am also an usher.
There is something very, very special about St. Paul’s. The beauty of the church itself, the wonderful congregation, the breathtaking music, the heavenly spiritual aura of the service itself. … Each day we thank God for His omnipotent grace and all the blessings of this life. We are truly blessed.