One day Ellen suggested they just go out and look on their own. Maybe there was something the agent was missing. Lo and behold, they turned into a 50-home neighborhood called Fairwinds on the Severn. And the neighborhood was beautiful. Better yet, there was a house for sale by owner. They took down the number on the sign, contacted the owner, and soon had a home tour. They loved it! And the current owner said, "Oh, by the way, you must come down to the water so I can show you what is there."

Amazing: There was a community waterfront area on the Severn River that had a dock, a community house, a swimming pool, and a beach. That was it. Mom and Dad were sold!

Mom and Dad loved living in Fairwinds, one of the small neighborhood communities in an area of Maryland called Severna Park. The community waterfront was sort of the center of the social life. There was an annual crab fest, fishing and crabbing from the dock, boating (Mom and Dad at one point had a motorboat that was fun for waterskiing and at one point they had a sailboat for enjoying looking at the properties along the Severn), and - of course - swimming. There was a social committee, card clubs, and a security committee where the men would take turns about once a month to "patrol" the properties.

Mom and Dad had wonderful neighbors: Lois and Bob Luke, Lil Eiring, the Tisdales, and many others. They improved the inside of the home by paneling a large portion of the basement into a family room. On non-paneled side of the basement, Bill had a Ping Pong table, and many hours were spent there in friendly competition.

They enlarged the patio on the outside, and added new plants and shrubs. The geraniums around the patio were especially beautiful. They found a yard man, Mr. Stewart, who did the mowing, raking, and trimming so their yard always looked nice. Jay and Bill had fun in the yard with golf chipping contests using golf Whiffle balls.

Mom found employment in the Facilities Office of the Naval Academy, and Dad was a much respected Comptroller for Mercy Hospital in Baltimore. There he instituted some basic financial accountability procedures that were greatly appreciated by the senior management. The home was in a good location, close to Baltimore where they could visit with Elaine's family and also go to watch Orioles Baseball, and not that far from the beach at Ocean City where they regularly vacationed during the summer.

Ultimately Dad retired to enjoy golf three times a week at nearby Fort Meade with his golf buddies. By this time both Jay and Ellen were married, so Bill and Elaine spent many pleasurable years traveling with friends and also joining Jay and his family during their two tours in Germany. For seven years they wintered in Florida.

It was with great sadness that Elaine and Bill sold their home in Fairwinds – Bill's Alzheimer's had progressed to the point where Elaine needed help managing him. They moved to a community called Riverhills in Valrico, Florida, very close to the home of Jay and Bonnie.