A Facebook Timeline History of 2018 From Sheila & Richard Rausch
Middletown DE
December 2018
It is hard to believe that this is the 39th year that we have been putting together an annual Holiday Letter. Every time I say this will be the last one I get comments from some friends and family to keep it going. So here we go again. We had our traditional family New Years Eve Party in Newport News on December 31 with Sheila’s sisters, Kay, Pat, Lauren and Wyatt Sieber. Dinner at a favorite Italian restaurant, Tuscany, and a night of game playing. Most of us were able to stay awake long enough to watch the ball drop at Times Square. We decided not to go to Florida in February this year so we made the most of the month with local events and day trips. We started with a Super Bowl party on February 4 where we celebrated the Eagles victory. We had brunch in Manhattan with Tori on February 11 followed by a visit to the fabulous Museum of Natural History. The next day we celebra ted Debi Rausch’s birthday at Brio. The following week we had an impromptu Sunday Brunch at he Cheesecake Factory. We celebrated Susan Bergwall’s birthday at Antica on February 25. At the end of the month, Sheila, Richard, Troy and Trevor saw the Terra Cotta Warriors at the Franklin Institute. Afterward, Becca joined us for an Indian meal at the King of Tandoor. The “In Vino Veritas” wine group also met during the month. We had a nice albeit chilly month.
Volume 39
At about 10:00 AM on June 1, 2018 Erin Bergwall gave birth to Kira Kelly Bergwall. Kira’s vital statistics were: weight 9 lb 2 oz, length 21 inches. This was an event that positively impacted many people’s lives. It was Travis and Erin’s first child, Becca and Eric’s first grandchild, Sheila and Richard's first great grandchild and the first niece to Tori, Troy and Trevor. We’ll highlight Kira’s life, monthly, from birth to first tooth here.
The circles on Kira’s chest designate the months from 1 to 6. She should be crawling by the time you read this.
In Memoriam - Jack Gallagher One of our oldest friends passed away on July 26 after a three year battle with cancer. About 2 months before on June 3 Jack and Noel arranged a fabulous reunion dinner. Friends for 55 years six of us Marsha and Ted Kleinman, Noel and Jack Gallagher, Sheila and Richard attended. We all met while in the Army while we were stationed in Orleans France. Noel and Jack Gallagher hosted the event, at their home. It was a 6 course French inspired dinner prepared and served by the Executive Chef of Sunnybroook Golf Club where Jack had been a member for many years. Ted Kleinman provided a half dozen wines from his extensive collection. The meal included Corn Vichyssoise; Dover Sole over ratatouille; duck ala orange ( breast and confit) with fingerling potatoes and petite pois; salade lyonaisse (topped with a poached egg); a fromage plate and crepe suzette with a raspberry puree. The table was beautifully set. It was wonderful spending 5 hours reminiscing the past 55 years. Tara and Kevin, 2 of the Gallagher's children, spent some time with the old folks and indulged us as we told our "war” stories.
2018 Holiday Letter Sheila and Richard Rausch
Sheila’s sister Kay had special events occur with a couple of her grandchildren in 2018. On April 7 Alex Matthews married Justine at the Newport News Marriott. The wedding ceremony was held in the Rotunda and the reception in the Grand Ballroom. There was a rehearsal dinner the night before at the nearby Cove Tavern.
Baby Shower for Dani Smith On October 6, Kay’s grandson Richard Smith’s wife Dani had a baby shower given at the vacation home of Kay’s daughter Kathy and son-in-law Steve in Tappahanock, VA. Sheila drove down that morning and spent the rest of the weekend in Newport News. Dani and Richard’s new healthy baby girl was delivered on December 6. Page 1
Happy Holidays From Sheila and Richard On June 13 Sheila & Richard flew to San Diego to attend grandson Blake’s high school graduation. The graduation ceremony took place on June 14 at 10 AM. We spent that afternoon with Billie and Ted (the other grandparents) and visited their new cottage in San Diego. All of us had dinner that evening at Mason Brew Pub in San Marcos. For the next few days we toured the area with Blake,
Brooke and her best friend, Noelani. We had a fun day at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar. We toured Double Peak in San Elijo with Blake on Saturday. The entire Harris family had a graduation and Father’s Day dinner at Miguels’s Cantina. Sheila and I spent Fathers Day in Julian, CA and we ended our trip with a full day in La Jolla and the Fleet Science Museum in Balboa Park with Brooke and Noelani. On June 17, Blake left for a 2 ½ week trip to Germany, Austria, Italy and England with Billie and Ted Harris.
December 2018
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Most readers of this Holiday Letter know that Sheila has a close relationship with her 3 sisters and they spend a couple of weeks together at various times of the year. This year was no exception with a trip to Myrtle Beach earlier in the year. The autumn trip is usually the major trip and this year it
was decided to spent a week in the the Charlotte area hosted by Lauren and Wyatt Sieber. Richard was invited along so he and Wyatt could “hang out” while the sisters did their thing. We stayed very busy during the week of October 15. We started with a trip to the mountains where we shopped and had lunch in Blowing Rock with stops at Grandfather Mountain and the Mast General Store in Valle Crusis. The next day was very busy with a visit to the
A Summer Week with the Family About 6 weeks after Blake’s graduation he and Brooke flew to Philadelphia for a whirlwind 10 day visit with their East coast family. Highlights of the trip included a visit to Philadelphia with stops at the National Constitution Center, Liberty Bell and dinner with their cousin Troy Bergwall who attends Drexel University.
Billy Graham Library and Memorial (where Wyatt volunteers as a docent), watching grandniece Harley take a riding lesson and having dinner at Monterrey. The sisters played golf and shopped while Wyatt and Richard toured downtown Charlotte. On Friday we went to the Carolina Balloon Festival in Statesville and ended our week by attending Services at the beautiful Carmel Baptist Church where Lauren and Wyatt are active members.
Starts New Job
On July 25 we went to Manhattan for a 3 day visit. We saw a matinee performance of Wicked, had a french dinner at Tout Va Bien where we were joined by Becca and Tori as well as niece Della Herden and
During the summer grandson Trevor Bergwall began a new job at Ferguson HVAC Supply which is a leading distributor of residential and commercial heating and cooling supplies. He has just completed the initial phase of a Management Training Program. He works in the King of Prussia office. We wish him much success. He continues to love all things basketball.
Tori Bergwall Continues at LIM College Tori is halfway through her junior year. She is studying fashion merchandising and is interning at Bloomingdales now. She had a great trip to Paris last summer with roommates and friends. She celebrated her 21st birthday in Manhattan on Nov. 18.
Troy Bergwall at Drexel University
nephew Charles Hedden who were in New York for business. Blake and Brooke spent the night at Tori’s apartment on the upper west side and toured Columbia’s campus. The next day we had a traditional NY Bagel breakfast, toured Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and spent the afternoon at the Museum of Natural History. Dinner was at Frida’s. Our final day was spent in lower Manhattan with a harbor cruise, lunch at Eataly and several hours at the 911 Memorial and Museum which was a moving experience. On July 28 we had dinner with Becca and Eric and spent the evening touring Longwood Gardens. We saw the 9:00 PM illuminated fountain show which was fabulous. On Sunday the entire family (16 people) spent the day at our house for an old fashioned cookout. We played games, ate hamburgers and had a special Peach Cobbler made by niece Stephanie Green. On Monday Jane Ann Bell took Brooke, Debi, Sheila and Richard to Winbak Farm which is a local standard horse breeding farm. We ended the day at Main Event playing unlimited games. The final day was spent watching “Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again” with dinner at the Green Turtle. An early flight to San Diego on August 1 ended the trip. Everyone loved having Brooke and Blake visit.
Troy has one semester remaining before he graduates Drexel with Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering. He spends a lot of his spare time with a 4 member band called “Faucet” They have released a few digital albums. Brooke Harris is now 16 1/2. She joined the ranks of California drivers a few weeks ago. Congratulations and safe driving. She is a junior at Mission Hills High School and loves riding horses. Blake Harris has been attending Palomar College in San Marcos, CA. He still plays basketball every chance he gets. Nephew Rob Mack and wife Christin Greenland are now comfortably settled into their new home on the big island of Hawaii. They moved in at the height of the Kilauea volcano eruptions. Remembering Edward Goldberg Richard’s great friend for 75 years died suddenly due to complications of surgery on March 30. We saw Ed and his longtime friend Ann McGrath every chance we got. Ed was a world traveler with a 20 year career in the Air Force. He loved playing poker and was a true sport’s fan. His middle daughter Sharon and Ann were by his side when he passed. May he rest in peace.