divorced

Papa’s World – FORTY FOUR YEARS – time flys!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

June 25th. 1982- on our wedding day.

Our life together started with two sets of children.

This was the second marriage for both of us.

Sherry had two young daughters –

Debby – the oldest – is 7 or 8 years old.

And Tammy is 4 years old.

My two boys were Troy – the oldest – 14 or 15 years old –

And the youngest – Shawn – is 9 or 10 years old.

The boys stayed with their mother while the girls stayed with Sherry.

We lived way up at the end of the East Windfall Road.

About ten miles to the school and just over the hill from Olean, N.Y.

But we were in the far corner of the Portville school district.

The driveway was 1/10th of a mile long.

Good for sled riding in the winter –

But the rest of the time, I had to mow it up and down both sides.

That first year was with a gas push mower, and then we bought a ride mower.

All told, over an acre of lawn to mow, up and down, and part on a side hill.

That first year- it would take me three days – rest one day –

And start over again.

Way up back – we had a fire pit.

There were only two neighbors –

One we could see across the valley and hill-

And one at the very end of the driveway.

There was another family up the hill out of sight-

They had a couple of children who were friends of the girls.

Other than that, country living.

Any events or church –

Was at least a ten-mile drive.

The girls became involved in sports, and I would pick up the boys every other weekend.

Which was a 18 mile drive one way.

Money was scarce-

So we planned day outings to parks – state parks –

Packing food –

Looking back, we did not seem to care that we had no money –

We made the best of everything!

We were busy with work, the kids, church, and the church youth group.

All four were in the youth group.

We took camping trips with the youth group.

A canoe trip down the Alleghany River –

The boys went, but the girls did not go.

Church became a big part of our lives.

Many activities for us as a family since the divorce-

We had each other, and to this day-

We still have church in our lives and each other.

We lived out in the country for about five years.

But – we yearned to get closer to the church and the school and to my sons.

We found a house in Pleasant Acres Drive just three miles from the school.

We were still in the Portville school district.

We were also about three miles from the church.

My oldest son had graduated from high school.

But we still did things as a family with my youngest son.

Here is where we met our decades-old friends –

The McBrides – Buck and Cindy!

Cindy, Buck, Sherry, and Papa.

We were neighbors until mid 90s, they moved to the Wilmington, N.C. area.

We stayed in touch –

We visited them in N.C. several times.

Then we started touring the country with them.

Eventually out of the country.

During these times and after –

We transferred to NVA!

The kids had all graduated and from college.

We were empty nesters.

Within two years –

Both girls had followed us to NVA.

The boys stayed in NWPA.

Debby had married, and they had Maddy –

Less than a year old.

They all stayed with us until they found their own homes.

We still visited Buck and Cindy and were still friends with Dottie and Jim

Both from Eldred and I had known them before Sherry.

To the left- Debbie, a friend of Jim and Dottie.

Then Cindy and Sherry- Buck and Papa.

Cindy and Buck knew Jim and Dottie before us.

But I grew up with Jim and Dottie in Eldred, Pa.

Jim and Dottie met Debbie after they moved to Va. Beach area.

Sherry – Jim and I all worked for American Olean Tile-Dal Tile.

We are all still to this day –

Get together at one anothers homes.

Jim and Dottie have since retired and moved to the northeastern coast of N.C.

FRIENDSHIPS that have lasted for decades.

A drink from our Juice Plus supplement!

I use it as a replacement for a meal.

If interested, at no obligation-

GO TO: www.https://sfitzsimmons.juiceplus.com

Here’s to you!!!

FORTY FOUR YEARS LATER!

Our road is well-traveled.

We have since bought, sold, and built houses.

We now live in SENC-

Ocean Isle Beach – Cameron Woods Community.

Close to the border of S.C.

WE ARE 38 miles from Buck and Cindy-

Time goes on.

Thank you for reading –

PAPA’S WORLD-

My site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SITE-

IT IS ALL FREE!!!!!

Papa’s World – The Old Man!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

Here I am – closer to 80 than 70!

My life has had its share of ups and downs.

Early childhood growing up in a little town where everyone knew your name (AND PARENTS)!

Roller skating – riding my bike!

Playing kick the can –

Being home when the street lights came on!

Sneaking corn silk in a corn cob pipe!

Apple trees providing ammunition for passing rail cars full of coal!

Neighborhood kids – playing tackle football at the park!

Yes – I had a good early life!

Senior year – played the first game of football and then was in a car accident.

It was the year that “NAM” was on everyone’s mind.

1966!

I spent 51 days in the hospital – 41 days with a catheter.

I did not know if I would ever walk again.

My girlfriend was pregnant- I was married at 17 in a wheelchair!

In the living room of my parents’ home.

My first son was born in January of 1967!

I was learning to walk again.

Months went by – a wheelchair turned to crutches.

I was reclassified for the draft-

Married, child, and unable to pass the physical.

I was young, growing up fast!

I had to graduate, find a job to support my family, and there was no college option.

Meanwhile, I had a cane.

I managed to walk for graduation.

One week later, I was hired at the American Olean Tile company!

They took a chance on me –

Mainly because my wife’s mother worked there!

They hired me for the summer.

I had a family!

NAM was no longer a worry, but surviving was.

At the close of summer –

I lived just down the street from this museum!

They decided to keep me on and put me on second shift!

I would get ten hours of overtime every week!

My father, who was part-owner of the Western Auto –

Had retired from the South Penn Oil Company-

Managed to get me an apartment over the store to rent.

We moved from their home in September to the apartment and lived there for five years!

About six months before the ’72 flood –

We bought a church and parsonage!

The Methodist church on North Main Street in Eldred,Pa.

Just a stones throw from where I grew up!

In December of ’71 –

My second son was born –

We had moved into the house and had started converting the church into apartments.

My father had passed away in 1969 from cancer-

My mother was raising my younger brother –

And in June of 1972 –

Hurrican Agnes –

The main street was flooded with 12 to 15 feet of water –

The apartment where we had been living –

Well – it was a mass of flood waters in front and only way in or out was by boat!

We had ducked a bullet.

We worked tirelessly helping those in need.

We had to get baby formula by helicopter flown in until that was impossble!

I never went back to work for three or four weeks.

But – after the darkness –

We saw the light –

We survived.

Two sons – one five and the other about seven months,

Life was going on –

And was about to go on first shift after six and one half years on second!

Life went on –

But the marriage didn’t.

We sperated and divorced.

The boys were 13 and 9!

I continued to work for AOTC –

For a total of 47 1/2 years.

I found and married my current wife Sherry –

On 6-25-1982!

She had been married before and had two daughters.

I was their step day but they were like daughters to me.

They were younger than my two sons –

We had a family of four –

But the boys lived with their mother and the girls lived with us.

Sherry also worked for AOTC and retired with 32 years!

The Comapny later became –

DAL-TILE and Ameiracn Olean Tile Company –

Owned when we retired by Mohawk!

We had a combined 79 1/2 years of service.

We raised the children and we bought and built a combination of six houses!

Cindy – Dottie – Sherry – Buck and Jimmy –

Dottie and Jimmy have been my dear friends before I met Sherry.

Buck and Cindy knew them and were our neighbors while we lived at –

Pleasant Acres Drive in Portville, N.Y.

Dottie from whe I knew Jimmy and her –

And I attended their wedding.

On our journey through life –

Twenty years ago –

We started a health and nutrition business on line.

To this day-

We still run this business that provides us with additional income in retirement.

If this interests you –

You can contact us through this website –

https://sfitzsimmons.juiceplus.com

It is $50.00 a year to have your own business –

Your own website and all you do is send the orders in or they do it themselves over the website!

They process the order – Bill it – collect it and ship it!

Monthly you get a paid commission –

And they direct deposit it into your account!

And you help people to get a healthy nutrition of –

FRUITS – VEGETABLES – BERRIES and OMEGAS!

The GOOD WITCH and the OLD MAN!

I hope this gives some insight into my life.

It has had ups and downs-

But –

I have lived a good life.

I am happy,

And all the good and bad has given to me,

That life I have lived!

The life we have had –

Plus the friends and their daughters and Sherry’s daughters!

Thanks for reading –

PAPA’S WORLD –

My site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

SUBSCRIBE – IT IS FREE!

Papa’s World – The life we make together!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

We first started dating close to forty-five years ago.

We were both married before – divorced,

And had two children each.

My two sons and her two daughters.

My sons stayed with their mother,

And her two daughters stayed with their mother.

Times were tough –

We lived paycheck to paycheck way out in the country.

The driveway was 1/10th of a mile long.

Wintertime – the kids would sled ride down it!

It would take me three days mowing and then almost start over again on certain parts.

But – we were happy!

We did cheap long weekend trips with the kids,

Sometimes, we camped in a tent, and her parents had a fifth wheel.

Those were days of not eating out but packing lunches and cooking on a grill with charcoal.

Many fond memories.

The kids grew up and married.

Here is Debby – with her family.

The three oldest granddaughters.

They are all rooted in camping and outdoor life.

Here are my two sons and their families.

Both still live back in NWPA, where they grew up.

We share many memories.

Here is Tammy and her family, and “MARLEY” –

Our granddog!

Our wedding day –

6-25-1982-

The start of our life together!

Along the way –

Over twenty years ago –

We found a supplement –

We wanted to age as healthily as we could,

We read the research and decided that this was what we needed!

Starting our SENIOR YEARS!

Today, we still take the supplement!

If you would like to read about it – see the research –

Just go to https://sfitzsimmons.juiceplus.com

All these years later led us to this-

Our home in N.C.

I would not change a thing.

Our families have visited us numerous times.

Our life together has been an adventure –

Four states-

We have lived in eight different places.

We have built three houses.

Sold FIVE of them.

What started here on – 6-25-1982 –

Is now here –

Our life together –

Thanks for reading my blog!

PAPA’S WORLD-

MY SITE: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!

SUBSCRIBE – IT IS FREE!

Papa’s World – Together – our life!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

June 25th. 1982 – a second marriage for both of us.

Combining Sherry’s two daughters –

And my two sons.

Back at that time –

We had no money –

We both worked for AOTC –

In Olean, N.Y.

We lived in the country at the farthest point from the Portville School District.

Life was busy –

We would often load the kids up in our twelve-passenger van-

Pack food for picnics or overnight trips.

We lived on a budget yet tried to have as much fun as we could as a family.

The house where we lived had a long gravel driveway and in winter-

Provided a 1/10th of a mile sled ride.

We had a backyard, and on the far end –

A fire pit for cooking out and a bonfire at night!

Hardly any lights in the country and a star-filled sky at night!

We had dated for a year and a half.

Both of us are waiting for the divorce to be done.

It was a time that I would not trade –

We had new friends.

But the house was small –

We were going to find one closer to the school –

It was about 14 miles round-trip every time we had to take the girls to activities.

And for my sons who still lived with their mother –

20 to 25 miles round trip.

After five years, we found a home close to the school and closer to my two sons.

We lived in that house for 12 1/2 years.

In that time, the kids all graduated from H.S.

We were empty nesters, and we decided we needed a change.

We both transferred within the company to NVA!

We would end up moving three times – build two houses while working in NVA!

Between both of us-

We had 79 1/2 years of service to the same company at retirement.

During this time, we found a supplement with research-

To help us age as healthily as we can into our senior years.

Now – over twenty years later –

We are seniors and still take this every day!

Sherry’s site with email and phone number-

She decided to have this as a part-time business.

https://sfitzsimmons.juiceplus.com

Papa – third from the left, and Sherry second from the right!

Being retired – and both closer to 80 than 70-

We volunteer – The Protection for Sea Turtles –

And the Food Pantry for our church.

Here we are after volunteering for the pick up of trash for OIB.

We covered first and second streets and side streets between Lee Street and Charlotte Street!

In July 2024 –

Our family celebrated our 75th birthdays on the beach!

With our friends, the McBrides,

After a day of golfing.

Thanks for reading my blog-

PAPA’S WORLD:

my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

SUBSCRIBE – IT IS FREE!

Papa’s World – Some stories and memories!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

In this blog will be my memories of what the picture represents – writing jogs my memories!

After a year and one half of dating – we were married on 6-25-1982 in a little Lutheran church –

“BETHEL” in Portville, N.Y.

I had already converted from being Catholic to Lutheran.

Sherry was raised in Mount Jewett, Pa. – a Swedish community, and was Swedish Lutheran.

We both were married before and she had two daughters – ages nine and four –

I had two sons ages thirteen and nine.

We had custody of the girls and my ex had custody of the boys – except on weekends!

We combined the two sets of kids and did what we could and we had no money!

We lived way out in the country between Olean and Portville, N.Y.

The boys still lived in Eldred, Pa.

That being said – we spent a lot of time in the car shuffling children –

Sports – events – back and forth between exes –

We lived on the property for 5 1/2 years

and then moved to Pleasant Acres Drive just outside of Portville.

We both worked for American Olean Tile – Dal Tile the entire time we married.

This is a picture of my bride – Sherry – taken at the resort in the Dominican Republic in June 1982!

We had an all-inclusive week at the resort and had to drive from Portville, N.Y. to Toronto, Canada!

Here we flew out on Sunday morning –

being married Friday evening and traveling Saturday to Toronto.

It was hot – we disembarked fright off the plane onto the tarmac.

We smoked back then and cigarettes and cigars were included.

Anything you wanted to drink from 6am. to 2am. and also food –

Music – pool – private beach – and we had our own VILLA – BR – LR – Bath – and patio.

We shall always remember our time here and many unique experiences!

My two sons now after all these years – Troy on the left and Shawn on the right –

Both still live back in Pa. near where they grew up.

Both have been to visit us in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

Sherry with Debby and Tammy – Debby lives in Lake Holiday in NVA – outside of Winchester.

Tammy lives just outside Leesburg – in NVA –

Debby has the oldest – Maddy – Ella and Sarah – while Tammy has the youngest –

Taylor – Cassidy and Bode.

This is how our life together began in June- 1982.

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – SOME STORIES AND MEMORIES!

Papa’s World – My soulmate – SHERRY!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

She is all of the above to me!

We dated one and one-half years before we were married on 6-25-1982!

We found out at work that we would both get a divorce by accident.

That in turn resulted in us getting together and sort of just talking about our lives.

After we were each divorced – we started to date and the rest was history!

Sherry on our honeymoon to the Dominican Republic – at the resort!

Combining four children into one family was not easy –

but we made it as easy as we could on each of them.

Our life evolved to having all four on weekends – my two sons would come to visit and we would do things together.

Money was scarce so we made do with what we had and took weekend excursions with them.

Later they all went on to have their own families and we decided to transfer from WNY –

staying within the company – and resettling in NVA.

My sons had their lives in WPA – and decided to stay there.

Our daughters decided to follow us to NVA – Tmmy was single at the time and Debby married

Maddy as a baby.

The boys would come to visit and then Tammy was married after meeting Marcus.

We had long-time friends who relocated to Va and N.C. and we meet up two or three times a year.

Sherry started an internet business and I help her with health and nutrition –

now going on to 19 years!

This has given us extra income in addition to SS pensions and 401K!

She and our daughter Debby – formed TEAM GENERATIONS – from like-minded folks all over the country.

Helping individuals especially children develop healthy eating habits.

All the grandkids – are healthy – and developing nutritious eating habits.

Soulmate – living life one day at a time and to the plus!

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – MY SOULMATE – SHERRY!!!!

Papa’s World – Over 40 years ago – MEMORIES – when we were young!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

June 25th, 1982 – Papa – brown suit – Sherry – as tall as me – our wedding day – The tall young girl – Debby – Sherry’s daughter -next to her – with her arms around the little girl – Tammy – Sherry’s youngest daughter.

We combined two sets of children – my two sons and her two daughters – in the early years – not much money but we made it!

Last summer – Papa and my two sons – Troy – with the beard – my oldest and Shawn – my youngest – still lived back in NWPA!

They visited last summer and will be back!

This is me! LOL If only I could putt!

Debby with her family – three girls – and husband Mike – Tammy with her three kids and husband Marcus.

The grandkids are growing up – Maddy graduates from college this spring – Ella will be a junior in college in the fall –

Sarah will be a junior in HS in the fall – Taylor and Cassidy will be in their teens next birthday and Bode will be nine on his next birthday!

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

The six grandkids – Maddy – Ella – Sarah – Taylor – Cassidy and Bode – Cassidy always watching over Bode!

MEMORIES OF TIMES GONE BY – GRANDKIDS – and PAPA’S WORLD! livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

Troy – Shawn – Autumn – Andera – Trisha – after a week of good times and fun – will be back! The salt life!