07.04.19 West Orange Observer

W EST O RA N G E

Observer Windermere, Horizon West, Dr. Phillips

YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

VOLUME 4, NO. 40

Town revisits traffic issues Windermere leaders are hoping to minimize the impact of cut-through traffic in the wake of development and growth.

HANNAH SWAYZE NEWS EDITOR

Windermere Town Council members sat down Tuesday, June 25, to dive back into a search for solutions for the town’s cut-through traffic.

Over the past 10 to 15 years, residents have been experiencing an increase in traffic throughout the small town. A recent study commissioned by the town from Kimley-Horn and Associates LLC confirmed that a majority of the town’s traffic originated outside town limits with a destination also outside the town.

According to the study — which analyzed GPS data from SEE TRAFFIC PAGE 2

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Tickets are available at squareup.com/store/wolverine-legacy-fund.

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THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2019

H H H H H H H H HH

SPIRIT OF

AMERICA H H H H H H H H HH

OUR PRECIOUS FREEDOMS In honor of the Fourth of July, we present our community’s greatest heroes, who served our country proudly in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and elsewhere.

H H H H H H H H HH

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THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2019

FDOT presents Dr. Phillips diverging diamond details Southwest Orange County residents had the chance to learn more about two Dr. Phillips-area I-4 Beyond the Ultimate projects.

DANIELLE HENDRIX ASSOCIATE EDITOR

With southwest Orange serving as a hub for tourism and a hotspot for the real-estate market, the Florida Department of Transportation is about to make some big changes to traffic flow in the Dr. Phillips area.

On Wednesday, June 26, FDOT officials hosted an informational open house at the Rosen JCC to familiarize residents with planned improvements to the Daryl Carter Parkway and Sand Lake Road interchanges with Interstate 4.

The Daryl Carter Parkway and I-4 interchange improvement will add three new ramps connecting I-4 to Daryl Carter Parkway — two exit ramps from both directions of I-4 to Daryl Carter Parkway and an eastbound entrance ramp to I-4 from Daryl Carter Parkway. The westbound entrance will be constructed in the future.

The new interchange will be constructed as a diverging-diamond interchange to allow for left turns that don’t cross oncoming traffic. According to FDOT, “the DDI will move almost double the ORHW-0082 WINDEMERE OBSERVER

traffic through the intersection in the same time.”

The other project involves improvements to the I-4 and Sand Lake Road interchange. According to FDOT, more than 70,000 vehicles travel through this interchange daily. The improvements will feature a modified version of a DDI — it will include a loop access ramp from westbound Sand Lake Road onto Turkey Lake Road — and drivers no longer will be able to make a left turn at Turkey Lake Road.

“Having been through DDIs in multiple places, the biggest thing they have to do is make sure they have signage well in advance so people are prepared that they have to go on the opposite side of the road,” said Roy Messinger, of the Dr. Phillips Homeowners Coalition. “Second thing they need to do is put ‘I-4 East’ or ‘I-4 West’ on the pavement like they do at the (S.R.) 408 at I-4 (interchange). ...It’s a good idea, but signage is the ultimate (thing) to make it work.”

After exiting the DDI, drivers heading to Turkey Lake Road will instead stay to the right and enter the looping access ramp, which passes over Sand and FAMILY HalfPg_PRESS.pdf 1 Lake 6/27/19

STAY UPDATED ON I-4 I-4 Beyond the Ultimate consists of five traffic-operation and capacity-improvement projects, and includes six design segments.

Although construction on the Daryl Carter Parkway interchange and I-4/Sand Lake Road and Turkey Lake Road interchanges isn’t set to begin for another couple of years, design and rightof-way acquisition is well underway.

To sign up for I-4 construction updates and alerts or for maps and more information, visit I4Beyond.com.

Commuters can consider their options for the best routes to take in Central Florida at reThinkYourCommute.com.

ends south of the Phillips Crossing Shopping Center. At this new intersection, drivers can turn left or right onto Turkey Lake.

Also as part of the Sand Lake Road and I-4 interchange project, the current westbound I-4 exit ramp will separate into two ramps — one will lead to Sand Lake Road and the other to Turkey Lake Road.

“Seeing it now and knowing how they’re trying to fix the Turkey Lake intersection — this is the first time I’ve actually seen how this thing’s going to merge — taking people off of westbound Sand Lake and not allowing them to turn left onto Turkey Lake southbound is a big plus,” Messinger said. “Eliminating that should make that intersection much more viable.”

Construction for both projects is expected to begin in 2022.

5:21 PM

Traffic troubles CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

2016 — a reported 76% of traffic on Chase Road and Park Avenue was traffic just passing through.

Cut-through traffic also made up 64% of vehicles on Sixth Avenue and 55% of vehicles on Maguire Road.

Chase Road connects the town to Horizon West, a sector of the county that is continuously growing and developing.

Smith said the amount of traffic going through the town not only affects quality of life in the town of Windermere but also could impact everything from fire and EMS services to mail and solid waste.

“I can seriously say that when they were planning Horizon West … I don’t think they were planning on it impacting other sectors like it has impacted us,” Town Manager Robert Smith said.

Both internal and external solutions for the traffic problems were suggested in the study. Internal solutions included building a roundabout at Windermere Road and Maguire Road and establishing a continuous right turn on the southern approach to Chase Road from Main Street, making it easier to get traffic in and out of the town.

Both projects would require monetary assistance from Orange County.

OPERATION DUSTY ROADS PART DEUX

In addition to cut-through traffic, the council also discussed ways to handle complaints from citizens regarding vehicles speeding and driving recklessly around the residential streets.

The Windermere Police Department increased patrol presence for 63 days between Feb. 25 and May 29 during busy periods Monday through Friday in a project called Operation Dusty Roads Part Deux.

The officers focused mainly on a southeast quadrant of the town encompassing Oakdale, Magnolia and Bessie streets in the mornings and a northeast quadrant in the evenings, which included Oakdale and Magnolia streets and Ridgewood Drive. Officers conducted 173 traffic stops, 118 of which were people who live outside the 34786 ZIP code.

Police also conducted a traffic study of these residential streets and a few larger roadways throughout the town. At each point, at least 85% of vehicles were recorded as traveling within the posted speed limit.

According to the study, officers concluded the traffic issue on residential streets is “one of volume and not a clear ongoing speeding or reckless driving issue as reported.”

AN UNCLEAR PATH

The group briefly discussed the idea of moving traffic back onto Main Street from residential streets by placing barriers in strategic locations. The council acknowledged the pros and cons of the barriers saying, while they would limit the traffic, they would also limit residents.

The next Windermere Town Council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 9, at Town Hall, 520 Main St.

Windermere,

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GARY ATWILL | U.S. NAVY | VIETNAM WAR H H H H H H H H

Troy Herring

‘It was the best thing that happened in my life’ DANIELLE HENDRIX ASSOCIATE EDITOR

I

f you ask Home At Last Chairman Gary Atwill

his thoughts on his time in the military, he will tell you this: It was the best decision he ever made. “I just know it was the best thing I ever did,” he said.

“I found out who I was and what I could do and found out what my capabilities were. It set my course in life.”

The Windermere resident, a U.S. Navy Vietnam War veteran, served eight years in the Navy and was deployed twice. The call to serve ran in the family — his father served in the Army, his first father-in-law was in Korea and his wife Jimmie’s father also served — all during World War II. But Atwill’s time with the Navy began out of a desire to find his place in the world.

“I wanted to go into the Navy, because I was sick and tired of digging ditches in the winter, and I wasn’t in school,” Atwill said.

“I went down to the Army and applied because my dad was in the Army, and I knew a lot of people that were in the Army.”

After he learned the Army wanted to send him to boot camp at Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood in the heart of winter, Atwill decided to talk with the Navy instead.

Atwill began his Navy career in January 1964, and for a while, he never looked back.

“The day I went into the Navy, it was the best thing that happened in my life, period,” Atwill said.

“They taught me that I was really good at something and found talents I didn’t even know I had.

I look back on it and understand where I got the talents — they made me an electronics technician.”

After boot camp, he was sent to the Naval Air Technical Training

Center in Memphis for 42 weeks of electronics school. There, Atwill learned how to maintain and fix various types of USNI anti-submarine warfare (ASW) systems.

Upon his graduation he was sent to another technical school in San Diego, where he was assigned to squadron VS-37. He earned his air-crew wings and was sent back to the squadron, where he worked in fixing electronics.

During Atwill’s first deployment to Vietnam in 1965, he and his squadron were part of a WESTPAC crew. He didn’t know at the time the Vietnam War was bubbling.

“We were doing patrols up and down the coast of Vietnam looking for ships and barges coming down from North Vietnam carrying (weapons) into South Vietnam,” he said. “We’d work with destroyers and find these guys, because we had a very powerful radar. I operated the radar, and we’d find targets, find out what they were and direct the destroyers if they were carrying weapons.”

During his time as part of the WESTPAC crews, he went to Japan, Iwo Jima and the Philippines. After that first deployment, he got married and came back home until his second WESTPAC deployment in 1967.

“The second (deployment) was different, because I was assigned to a helicopter squadron and

given the role of door gunner and manned the M60 machine gun,” he said. “Vietnam was really heating up in 1967. The Air Force would come out and go over the land and do strikes on North Vietnam, and the Navy would do strikes coming in from the ocean.

Our job was to stand off in various search zones and pick up personnel from downed planes.”

Atwill has three air medals and received two of them for his specific actions. He received the third for the number of missions he flew with his squadron. Additionally, the squadron received a presidential unit citation and meritorious unit citation. Atwill was aboard the USS Hornet CVS12 for both deployments.

After Atwill’s first four years in the Navy, he went to school at Southwest Missouri State University and earned a degree in industrial relations and personnel management. He also holds an MBA. In 1972, he returned to the Navy to serve as a naval flight

officer for another four years but was not deployed.

Today, Atwill and his wife, Jimmie, live in Windermere, and Atwill serves as the chairman of Home At Last. The nonprofit provides mortgage-free homes to disabled veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.

To him, freedom is precious and something that is fought hard for daily. It means that everyone is free to make his or her own decisions, and that privilege is not something to be taken for granted.

“It’s having the opportunity to be as successful as you can be, and freedom to express yourself,” Atwill said. “It still goes back to the fact that you have the freedom and right to do and achieve the best you can possibly do — there’s no limits on what you can achieve. If you’re willing to work hard, stay the course, willing to work through the problems and live a good life, you can do anything you want to do. The only limits you’ve got is on what you’re willing to try.”

Atwill added that because of the rights Americans have that have been fought for, they can work hard and achieve their goals, as well as express themselves freely. Freedom is not free, he said, and Americans are fortunate to have rights and privileges that those in other countries do not.

“That is what makes us exceptional,” Atwill said.

OUR PRECIOUS FREEDOMS “It still goes back to the fact that you have the freedom and right to do and achieve the best you can possibly do — there’s no limits on what you can achieve.”

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Observer

KURT GIES | U.S. NAVY | IRAQ WAR H H H H

“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.”

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Troy Herring

‘I was living with a purpose’ HANNAH SWAYZE | NEWS EDITOR

K

urt Gies, now 55, served in the U.S. Navy for 25 years. During that time, he spent a total of only 37 days at sea. “So, I think they’re called boats or ships or something?” Gies said jokingly.

A South Florida native, Gies was commissioned as an officer in 1987, not long after his 18th birthday, beginning a career in the Civil Engineer Corps. An engineer by training, he spent less time on the water and more time building and designing military facilities and overseeing civilians.

One of his biggest projects was the design and build of U.S. Central Command Forward headquarters in Doha, Qatar, a $160 million project, which Gies was called to construct after 9/11.

After 25 years of serving in the U.S. and abroad, Gies retired from the military, but not from service to his people.

Currently, Gies serves as post commander at the Hugh T. Gregory American Legion Post 63 in downtown Winter Garden, working to provide a place for veterans like him to feel like they belong.

A JOB TO DO

During Gies’ first time in active duty, he worked as an officer in the Civil Engineer Corps in engineering and construction until 1999.

That year, Gies opted to join the reserves, knowing that the next step in his career probably would mean deployment. He wanted to

stay home with his family and two young children.

However, life is unpredictable.

Only about a year and a half into his time in the reserves, Gies was working at U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) out of Tampa, which has an area of responsibility covering the Middle East, when the country was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001.

“I used to live down by the airport, and every day the planes would come in and fly right over the house and it was kind of neat, you know, you get used to it,” Gies said. “But, for three days, there was no plane traffic and I remember driving down to the airport and parking my truck underneath their flight line and just ... the quiet.”

His life — along with the lives

of many Americans — would never be the same. He knew he’d be called back into active duty, and his personal life was being completely up-ended between a divorce and being let go from his job.

“So, I’m going through a divorce, our country is under attack, I know I’m about to get recalled, (and) I’m being fired from my job,” Gies said. “I’m like, (to God), ‘What the heck are you doing to me?’ He was taking everything that was important away from me.

“And I was as low as you can be, but it turned out that was the best thing that could ever happen to me, because when I left I had nothing to hold me back and I could go do my job,” he said.

His job was to build the USCENTCOM Forward Headquarters in Qatar. He had four months and $160 million to build the facilities that would command forces in the Middle East during the war in Iraq.

Gies said he would work 20- to 22-hour days, only catching up on sleep every 10th day or so.

“Really when you’re living on mission … if we failed, people would have died,” he said. “And so, if I had to sleep no hours that day, I did that on several occasions. I just didn’t go to bed. And there were stretches I would go 50 to 60 hours without sleeping because I had a mission I had to get done.”

Gies said while the job was high-pressure and fast, he was ready to put in the work.

“I remember looking up at the same sky I was looking up at when I was at the airport and thanking God that I had never been happier in my entire life,” Gies said.

“The reason was I was living with

OUR PRECIOUS FREEDOMS “We have a framework where you can do whatever you want, pray to whoever you want, (be) free to love whoever you want to love and not be told by somebody else how you’re supposed to live your life.”

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FINDING HIS PLACE

“When I retired in 2007, I didn’t join the legion until 2015,” Gies said. “I had this huge void, and I didn’t know what it was. But it was the lack of comradeship and that being part of a unit. So, when I joined the legion, I was like, ‘This is what I’ve been missing, this is it.’”

The American Legion is a century-old organization founded by veterans to serve veterans. The group, which has more than 1.7 million members in the country, works on community, state and national levels to solve veteran issues.

Gies currently lives in Oakland and serves as commander at the post in Winter Garden, which has about 210 members. They serve the community by promoting Americanism and patriotism and by supporting local organizations and individuals working toward similar goals.

Locally, the post works to raise awareness for veterans issues, provides scholarships and the assistance of service officers who help local veterans navigate Veterans Affairs benefits and more.

“The No. 1 thing we do is provide a place for camaraderie, where (veterans) can become part of a unit,” Gies said.

One of the biggest issues today, he said, is the high number of veteran suicides.

“We have 22 vets a day committing suicide,” Gies said. “And that means that there’s been more sui-

cides from post-traumatic stress than all combat-related deaths in the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined. And nobody knows about it.”

Every fall, the post participates in an awareness event called Challenge 22, which is meant to educate the public on the issue.

“There are solutions out there that we are finding every day that are helping, so my passion and my dream is to, basically, as a group of veterans, engage our community to solve this problem,” Gies said.

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L I V I N G

FIGHTING FOR LIBERTY

Gies said he chose to serve because service is in his DNA. He said he chose to serve for freedom and the opportunities America provides, which is what makes it special.

“We have a framework where you can do whatever you want, pray to whoever you want, (be) free to love whoever you want to love and not be told by somebody else how you’re supposed to live your life,” Gies said.

“That is why people want to come to America,” Gies said.

“They come here because they want individual freedom. They want to be able to take care of their families. They want to be able to do what they want to do and have opportunity and I think that’s what separates us from the rest.”

If he had a chance to change anything, Gies said he wouldn’t change a thing in his entire career in the military.

“Each time and place had its pros and cons, but all the decisions I got to make,” he said. “And so, I lived with those decisions and I’m happy with them. ”

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Not long after the invasion into Iraq, Gies was able to return home after serving two years on active duty split between Florida and Qatar.

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EVELYN DOSS | U.S. NAVY | WORLD WAR II H H H

‘I joined the fighting’ AMY QUESINBERRY | COMMUNITY EDITOR

“

I said I was going into the Navy, not the Army,” Evelyn Doss said. “I made sure they understood that.” So she

did, enlisting in 1944 in the WAVES — Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service — the women’s branch of the U.S. Naval Reserve.

“I don’t really know why I enlisted,” said the Altoona, Pennsylvania, native. “I just thought it sounded like something interesting to do at that time. I joined the fighting.”

Doss, then 21, was an office secretary, and she was hoping to find something more fascinating than sitting and typing on a manual typewriter all day.

After enlisting, she was sent to Hunter College, in the Bronx, New York, a female college that had been taken over by the Navy as a training facility in both Naval protocol and in their new military jobs. Doss was issued two sets of military uniforms with the Navy insignia.

As a member of the WAVES, she continued her role as secretary, working under three lieutenants in the contract termination divi-

sion of the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts.

Doss, now 95 and living in Windermere, remembers them being kind to her.

“It was an interesting experience for me, and I met some nice people,” she said.

She encountered life in the barracks and meals in the mess hall.

“I lived the life of a service person,” she said. “It was very GI; it wasn’t anything fancy at all.”

She considers herself lucky that her barracks roommate didn’t show up, so she had the entire space — albeit small, with only a bunk bed and dresser — to herself.

Following her service, she was honorably discharged and returned to life as normal. She held secretarial positions throughout her life.

Doss’ first husband, Jack Hop-

Troy Herring

OUR PRECIOUS FREEDOMS “I can go wherever I want and do whatever I want to do without getting permission to do these things. My life is my own. … I just lived my life, and (there was) nothing put upon me that I couldn’t do. My life was mine to live.” per, also was in the service, and the two dated in high school before getting married and having a son.

They both attended a state teachers college, she said, but he was the only one to finish and get a job as a teacher and football coach.

Their union didn’t last, but she found love again with her second husband, Raymond Doss. She now is a widow and making her life in the Sheridan at Windermere senior-lifestyle facility.

Doss said she has never taken her freedom for granted.

“Think about what life would be like in other places that don’t have the freedoms that we do to live the life you want to live,” she said. “I can go wherever I want and do whatever I want to do without getting permission to do these things. My life is my own. … I just lived my life, and (there was) nothing put upon me that I couldn’t do.

My life was mine to live.”

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GEORGE VINCENT | U.S. NAVY | VIETNAM WAR H H H H H H H H H

Troy Herring

‘I was making history’ T

TIM FREED | MANAGING EDITOR

he sea and the sky always seemed to call out to Windermere resident George Vincent — and he’s glad he answered. U.S. Navy veteran George Vincent, 77, is currently

a resident at The Sheridan at Windermere. Originally from Philadelphia, Vincent always had a love for the sea — his father bought him a 12-foot sailboat for $25 when he was 8 years old that he raced off Jersey Shore, New Jersey.

“When I was growing up as a child, my parents used to take us to the beach all the time,” Vincent said. “I just grew a love for the water.”

At age 11, Vincent found himself on a peninsula surrounded by water when his family moved to Titusville. Six years later, Vincent decided to get even more acquainted with the ocean, joining the Navy April 2, 1959.

He added that he wasn’t drafted — he chose to go.

“It was either my choice or their choice,” Vincent said.

“I went to the Navy — I didn’t want to be a ground-pounder.”

Vincent went to active duty after graduating high school, coming aboard the USS Wallace L. Lind DD-703 — a slight upgrade from his 12-foot sailboat off Jersey Shore.

“It was cool — especially when we did gun practice,” said Vincent, adding that the ship carried about 250 people.

During his time in the Navy, Vincent rose through the ranks and reached the level of chief petty officer. He traveled the world and saw Portugal, the Canary Islands, Italy, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and New York City.

The nearest Vincent came to combat was the Bay of Pigs invasion — his ship was at Guantanamo Bay and served as an escort taking civilians back to the United States while guarding the entry to the bay, as well.

After three years on the Wallace L. Lind, Vincent went back to the Navy Reserves and spent twoand-a-half years working for a national publishing company in Washington, D.C. He rejoined active duty in 1965, though.

“I enjoyed sitting on the focsle and just letting the wind blow,” he said.

For the rest of his military career — a span of 20 years — Vincent trained seamen in the Navy Reserves in Los Angeles, Bir-

mingham, Miami, New Orleans and Pearl Harbor.

He took pride in taking the younger people under his wing and preparing them for life in the Navy. Vincent taught them general military procedures, damage control and military courtesy.

“I loved it,” he said. “I was passing information to them that I had learned.”

Although Vincent was in the Navy during the Vietnam War, he never fought in it, though he knew some people that did — some who were wounded and some who never came back.

“When I was stationed in Birmingham, I had a commanding officer who was a six-and-ahalf-year prisoner,” Vincent said.

“He was one of the greatest guys I ever met in my life. He was tortured during his incarceration — he would throw his shirt off and there were scars from cigarettes being put out on him. It was crazy stuff.

“It made me mad,” he said. “It made me do a better job in training.”

On Dec. 1, 1983, Vincent left the Navy to take care of his mother but ultimately made the transition from sea to space. For 25 years until his retirement, Vincent worked for multiple companies at the Kennedy Space Center as a payload operations engineer. It was his job to make sure that payloads were ready to go into orbiters before they were launched.

Like his love for the ocean, Vincent’s fascination with space went back to his childhood. He remembers watching launches in

Titusville during the early days of the space program.

The second half of his career gave him a front-row seat to space exploration — including the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope and multiple labs, he said.

“Every day, I went to work and I was making history,” Vincent said.

When Vincent thinks about the freedoms Americans enjoy, his mind goes to many of the countries he saw while traveling with the Navy — places that were far less fortunate. “(American freedom) means that I can do whatever I want to do whenever I want to do it,” Vincent said. “I would fight for that.

We have the freedom to do what we want.”

OUR PRECIOUS FREEDOMS “(American freedom) means that I can do whatever I want to do whenever I want to do it. I would fight for that. We have the freedom to do what we want.”

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THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2019

CLYDE JONES | U.S. NAVY | WORLD WAR II H H H H

Troy Herring

‘I got shot at a lot’ patrolled and performed combat operations.

“I experienced a lot of diving down and getting shot at; I got shot at a lot,” he said of his excursions to the edge of Japan. “The plane was hit with small-arms fire but didn’t go down. (There were) a lot of close ones.”

Following World War II, Jones returned home to Birmingham, was honorably discharged and signed up for the Navy Reserves.

And then the Korean War broke out.

He said he was called up to go to Korea but that assignment was

AMY QUESINBERRY | COMMUNITY EDITOR

H

is father and older brother had joined the U.S. Navy, so Clyde Jones followed suit, as did his younger brother. “I was just a little boy in Alabama, and you had to wait for your time to go,” he said.

Training Center, Bainbridge, in Maryland.

He attended school for radio and communications, as well as an air gunner’s school. Once on the West Coast and on active duty with a squadron, Jones spent most of his time in the air, he said.

Now 96 and living in Sonata West, in Winter Garden, Jones still has the photo of his patrol squadron from his service on the island of Tinian, in the Mariana Islands. There, his crew of six

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Years later, he finally was of age.

“The girl in charge of (recruitment) in my town told me to show up, and she said if nobody showed up or didn’t go, I could go, and that’s how I got in,” he said.

Jones served in the Navy Air Corps and later in the Navy Reserves — from 1942 to 1960 — and was stationed in the Pacific Theater of World War II. But before heading west and overseas, Jones attended boot camp at the newly built U.S. Naval

cancelled because there weren’t enough radiomen in the crew to let him go.

After the reserves, Jones moved to Orlando and became a technical writer for Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin).

He and his wife, Myra — who died about 10 years ago after 61 years of marriage — have two sons: Randy, who lives in St. Cloud, and Donald, of Orlando.

Don accompanied his father on the June 15 Honor Flight, which takes military veterans and a personal guardian on a special oneday trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the war memorials, Arlington Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The day is free for veterans.

Jones said the flight and experience were wonderful and well organized — but there was one emotional surprise for which he wasn’t prepared.

Don planned for his uncle — Jones’ younger brother, Ray — to meet them at the World War II Memorial. It had been several years since the two brothers last saw each other.

“He walked up and surprised me; it took about two or three seconds to come around to who it was,” Jones said, tearing up but smiling.

The police escorts and cheering crowds made the trip even more special, he said.

“The honor I got when we came back in Orlando about 10 o’clock at night,” he said. “We walked in there (at the airport), and there were people in two lines on both sides, and they shook our hands and hugged us. We had a lot of recognition from the time we left there until the time we got back.

The terminal was just lined with people.”

It was an overwhelming experience knowing the people were there because of the sacrifices he and the other Honor Flight veterans had made all those decades ago, he said.

What do the freedoms enjoyed today mean to Jones?

“Everything,” he said.

WEST ORANGE OBSERVER

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|

THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2019

BILL MURRAY | U.S. NAVY | WORLD WAR II H H H H H H H H H

Troy Herring

‘The Lord just kept me out of trouble’ AMY QUESINBERRY | COMMUNITY EDITOR

W

illiam “Bill” Murray said he enlisted in the military at age 17 because everyone else his age was doing it in the 1940s. He also wanted to have a choice in what branch

he served in, which was the U.S. Navy.

He was sent to boot camp in Bainbridge, Maryland, and he remembers it was uncomfortably cold — even for a Pennsylvania boy. From there, he was shipped off to serve in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Murray spent 13 months aboard an aircraft carrier in 1943-44. He saw his share of combat.

“But combat for me was not like combat for the troops that were there, the pilots that flew from there,” he said. “We watched them take off in the morning, and then after they went to their combat and whatever they were doing, then they came back. I was a gunner’s mate striker; that meant that I was trying to be a gunner’s mate.

That would be like an apprentice.”

He saw Leyte Bay, in the Philippines; as well as Iwo Jima and Okinawa, Japan, during his stint in the Navy.

He also got his first and only tattoo while “on liberty” for one night. The ship’s cook talked him into getting one, and he settled on the name Margaret — for his

mother and his fiancée back home.

Bill, now 92, wasn’t the only Murray to serve in the Navy. Three of his four brothers were seamen; the fourth joined the U.S. Maritime Service. None of his six sisters served.

When Murray’s service ended, he returned to Pennsylvania and then moved to Ohio. He and Margaret married, and their eightyear union produced two sons and a daughter.

His second marriage, to Alice, lasted 58 years before her cancerrelated death in 2012. They had a son and a daughter, both of whom live in West Orange County.

Murray moved to Central Florida in 1983 and ultimately worked for Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin) as a machine repairman.

Today, he lives in Winter Garden in the Sonata West community, where he is able to live independently.

Murray participated in an Honor Flight June 15, flying with other military veterans to Washington,

OUR PRECIOUS FREEDOMS “The right to choose where we want to live, the right to choose where we want to work, the right to choose whether we want to work or not — as dumb as that seems — it was a freedom that we had and still do. When I see the way the Jews were treated … I’ll tell you, if there was anything that I didn’t want to happen to me, it was that. I just had all kinds of freedom that I knew I wouldn’t have had if we hadn’t have won the war. I was just really happy to be free.”

D.C., to visit the memorials to World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars, Arlington Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“It was like something I’ve never experienced before,” he said of his first visit to the nation’s capital. “I saw everything that I’ve never seen before, from the beginning of the day until the end.”

Every veteran was paired with a guardian, who served as an escort for the entire daylong trip.

The experience included much fanfare everywhere the veterans went that day.

“What amazed me was, everywhere we went, they had a group of people they would gather up and they would clap for us,” he said.

Before departing Washington D.C., all of the veterans took part in a mail call similar to the ones during the service. Participants received a package of letters, cards and drawings from local schoolchildren addressed to “Our Honored Veteran.”

“To be the recipient (of) an award for that day, or for that time that I spent in the service, as far as I was concerned, the Lord just kept me out of trouble,” Murray said.

As humble as he is, though, he understands the importance of his service.

“The right to choose where we want to live, the right to choose where we want to work, the right to choose whether we want to work or not — as dumb as that seems — it was a freedom that we had and still do,” Murray said.

“When I see the way the Jews were treated … I’ll tell you, if there was anything that I didn’t want to happen to me, it was that,” he said. “I just had all kinds of freedom that I knew I wouldn’t have had if we hadn’t have won the war. I was just really happy to be free.”

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THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2019

ANTHONY ALFIERI | U.S. NAVY | KOREAN WAR H H H H H H H H H

‘I never figured a war would start while I was there’ TIM FREED | MANAGING EDITOR

M

ilitary service was a family affair for the Alfieri brothers.

Anthony Alfieri, a member of the American Legion Post 63 in Winter Garden, served his country in the U.S. Navy

during the Korean War. But he wasn’t the only Alfieri who took to the seas in defense of his nation. His three brothers — Joseph, Ralph and Daniel — all served in the Navy, as well.

Alfieri joined the Navy in 1949 at age 17 with a desire to see other countries. He went to boot camp in Bainbridge, Maryland, and was in the Navy Reserves for about a year before going to active duty. Alfieri spent two-and-a-half years on the USS Bearss DD-654, stationed out of Norfolk, Virginia.

During his time in the Korean War, he and his shipmates were involved in training soldiers in the Marine Corps and Army, establishing beachheads along the North Carolina coast. The ship patrolled all over the Atlantic Ocean, as well — from South America all the way up to Iceland and back down again. “(My mom) taught me to eat sitting down at a table, and she said you should sleep with clean sheets every night — the Navy was about the only one at that time that I could get that,” Alfieri

said. “Besides, I love the water. I love the ocean. I figured I’d see more of the world also — I never figured a war would start while I was there.”

Alfieri and his three brothers — as well as his sister, Ruthie — were all close, writing letters to one another. He and his older brother, Joseph, both were called into active duty at the same time. The second-oldest of the four brothers, Alfieri hoped his correspondence put his two younger brothers at ease before they went off to serve their country, as well.

“My other two brothers were still in high school at the time, and as they graduated, we had decided that if we had to go, let’s all go for our country,” Alfieri said. “The military made us stronger, made us better people, I felt, because of the discipline you had to put up with.

Troy Herring

“Keeping in contact made me think more that I’m doing this (for my brothers),” he said. “I hoped that they didn’t have to go. … I would tell them what we’re doing or what could be done or where they might possibly wind up and stuff like that. I was just hoping that by talking to them it would calm the fear in them: ‘This isn’t really that bad.’”

Both younger brothers each put in two years with the Navy.

Looking back, Alfieri believes

OUR PRECIOUS FREEDOMS “That’s (the) opportunities that we have here. In most countries, if your father is a shoemaker, that’s what you were. You couldn’t move up in anything like you can in this country. … I think in this country, it’s taken for granted, our freedoms.”

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“Some of them did make it home, but they weren’t too well when they got home. I prayed to God every day — and I still do today and thank Him that I did what I did, and I did make it.”

Alfieri also prays that less-fortunate countries he saw during his travels in the Navy someday will enjoy the freedoms that make America so special.

“American freedom means that I’m free to talk about anything — I could talk about the president, bad or good, and nothing is going to happen to me,” he said. “I got the freedom of speech. I got the freedom of religion. I got the freedom to go wherever I want. That’s the freedom that we fought for.”

The Alfieri family is a prime example of America being the land of opportunity, he said. He and his three brothers all went to college, while his sister worked her way up to becoming a successful HR executive for the Sony Corporation without a degree. “(My brothers) were all educated — we all had college degrees, even though we all paid for them ourselves, because our parents didn’t have any money,” Alfieri said. “We were the first generation over in this country — my parents came from Italy when they were small and then grew up here.

“That’s (the) opportunities that we have here,” he said. “In most countries, if your father is a shoemaker, that’s what you were. You couldn’t move up in anything like you can in this country. … I think in this country it’s taken for granted, our freedoms.”

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the draft should never have stopped, adding that everyone should give one or two years back to their country before getting free college tuition.

“Our country would be a little stronger if everyone went in and did their time — there would be better people in this world, maybe,” Alfieri said. “I think everyone would be on the same page, where they would respect the country they’re living in because of what they got from it, and respect everyone in the country because of who they are.”

His time in the Navy ultimately set the stage for his 26-year career in teaching elementary children.

He taught fourth- and fifth-graders at the Carpenter School in Old Bridge, New Jersey, after getting his degree in teaching 15 years after graduating high school.

“I felt by being in the service, when I come home, I could try to help some people doing things right here in the United States right up in Jersey where I lived,” Alfieri said. “I did, I think — I hope I did, anyway. “(I) was teaching kids who needed help,” he said. “Some of them didn’t have two parents.

Some of them did, but some of the parents worked two jobs, and when they come home at night, they’re too tired to help the child with their work. I would stay after school many days and help.”

Alfieri said he’s thankful to have served his country and made it home — some friends that he knew weren’t so lucky.

“The only thing I did was pray to God every day that I made it back home, because I did have a few boys that did go over to Korea who I grew up with and went in around the same time as I did and they never made it home,” he said.

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THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2019

SCOTT GRATION | U.S. AIR FORCE | IRAQ H H H H H H H H H

‘I pray that they’ll never take it for granted’ TIM FREED | MANAGING EDITOR

T

wo cultures collide at the home of Winter Garden resident and veteran Scott Gration. African wood carvings and artwork catch the eye in the living

room and bedrooms, while an American flag flaps in the wind atop a flagpole in the front yard. country. I pray that they’ll never take it for granted.”

Gration came back to the United States as a senior in high school in the late 1960s. With a low draft number during the Vietnam War, Gration joined the U.S. Air Force and went into active duty in 1974, getting his flight training before becoming a flight instructor.

Gration grew a strong appreciation and respect for American freedoms and was glad to serve his country — despite some early opposition.

“It was sort of a rocky start, because of the anti-Vietnam protests on college campuses,” Gration said. “You sort of had to want to do it, because the environment wasn’t real pro-military at that time.”

Gration joined the military for four years to fulfill his commitment, but the people he met and the opportunity to fly fighters kept him in the service — he couldn’t walk away from protecting America’s freedoms.

“I ended up falling in love with it,” Gration said. “Growing up in Africa, I had always seen America as a far-off place where you had freedom, where you had liberty and values. I had been a refugee — I had everything taken from our family. I lived through that and had seen where the rule of law didn’t exist.

“The flag always meant something special to me — it wasn’t just a piece of cloth with red, white and blue colors and shapes — it really stood for something,” he said.

Gration enjoyed a 32-year career with the U.S. Air Force, working his way up to major general. From 1991 to 1998, Gration was a part of 274 combat missions flying over Iraq.

“When you go into combat with four other fighter pilots, you

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they’ve been part of this inclusive unit that I just talked about — this sense of camaraderie — and now they go out and they feel isolated.

They don’t feel connected and sometimes don’t feel respected, and they sometimes suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“What we’re trying to do in Winter Garden is get all the community behind us and get all the businesses behind us to recognize our veterans, to employ them (and) to help them feel recognized,” he said.

Gration said he is proud to have served his country and to be a part of something far greater than himself. He has come close to death multiple times in his work serving the country — from the numerous combat missions in the Middle East to surviving the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia and the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon.

Every bit of his service to his country was worth it, he said.

“To be part of the legacy, to be part of the history and to be a continuation of what brave young men and women gave to our country — right back from the beginning — to

be part of that lineage, I took great pride in the history,” Gration said.

That legacy of service runs in the family. Gration’s grandfather fought in World War I, while his father served in the Navy during World War II. Beyond his own service, Gration has watched his son, son-in-law and daughter-inlaw embark on military careers in the Air Force, Army and National Guard.

An unbreakable chain of service and sacrifice persists throughout history — and the Gration family is right in the midst of it.

“It’s just nice to know that the generation continues,” Gration said. “It’s been an honor to pass this wonderful thing — the preservation of freedom, because freedom’s not free — to the next generation, and I’m confident that they’re going to pick up the banner and take off just the same way that I did. It’s really an honor to be part of this chain that has been unbroken since the founding of our country.”

OUR PRECIOUS FREEDOMS “It’s been an honor to pass this wonderful thing — the preservation of freedom, beto pick up the banner and take off just the same way that I did. It’s really an honor to be part of this chain that has been unbroken since the founding of our country.”

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know that they’ll give their lives to save you the same way you’d do the same for them,” Gration said.

“The camaraderie of a squadron, of a flight, was so strong. I really became attached to what I was doing — in more than it’s a job, it was a way of life.”

Gration turned his focus to politics and diplomacy after his career in the military. He served as a member of the presidential transition team under Obama, U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan and the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya.

After spending his life serving his country as both a pilot and a diplomat, Gration’s work isn’t finished. He hopes to support local veterans through an initiative in its early planning stages — encouraging veteran-friendly communities through discounts at local businesses, funding for counseling and other ways of honoring those who have served in the military. He’s already met with the city of Winter Garden about the idea.

“We lose 22 veterans a day in suicides — (more than) 6,000 veterans take their own lives a year,” Gration said. “A lot of it is because

cause freedom’s not free — to the next generation, and I’m confident that they’re going

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A home office is filled with countless trinkets of U.S. military service and photos of Gration beside every president from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama — while the retired U.S. Air Force veteran also converses with his wife, Judy, in Swahili.

It’s a blend of two nations that Gration has called home — and it gives him a different perspective when he thinks about the freedoms Americans enjoy, he said.

Growing up in Africa, Gration saw what life was like in a country without freedom of speech or freedom of the press — a place where expressing a viewpoint could land you in jail or get you killed, he said.

“Nobody can take away your freedom in America, but I’m afraid that sometimes we take these things for granted,” he said.

Gration was born in St. Charles, Illinois, but his parents moved the family in 1953 to Congo, Africa, to do missionary work. Gration learned Swahili as his first language and came to know Africa as home. However, his family was forced to evacuate from Congo multiple times because of increasing violence. In 1964, the family evacuated from Congo for the last time and crossed the border into Uganda; Gration’s parents chose to teach in Kenya from 1964 to 1967.

“We got out with just the clothes on our back,” Gration said.

“But it showed me a couple things.

Nobody can take what’s in your head — so education becomes important. And nobody can take what’s in your heart. … Nobody can take your belief about your country. Nobody can take your integrity.

“That’s why it’s so important to me to instill in my family the freedom, the feeling of patriotism, of Americanism and a respect for this

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OrangeObserver.com

So you love July 4?

HHHHHHHHHHHHH America and all things red, white and blue. But are you a Yankee Doodle Dandy when it comes to a patriotic quiz? Why not break out these questions and feed them to your guests along with those hot dogs and hamburgers? Have a slice of apple pie to present to the winner.

Which of our founding fathers wrote that the bald eagle is “a bird of bad moral character” when it was being considered as a national symbol for the United States? a. John Adams b. Benjamin Harrison c. Benjamin Franklin d. Thomas Jefferson

3

At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, one of the famous sayings was, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” This was said by: a. John Adams b. Benjamin Harrison c. Benjamin Franklin d. Thomas Jefferson

4

Who is the only U.S, president born on July 4? a. James Buchanan b. Grover Cleveland c. Calvin Coolidge d. Jimmy Carter

9

What country obtained independence from the United States on July 4, 1946? a. Guam b. The Philippines c. Northern Mariana Islands d. American Samoa

“Yankee Doodle” was written to: a. Make fun of American soldiers b. Encourage patriotism among New Yorkers c. Push young men to enlist d. Become a pub drinking song

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The signatures on the Declaration of Independence are arranged: a. Alphabetically by name b. Alphabetically by state c. Randomly d. By the states, northernmost to southernmost Who was the King of England when the colonies declared their independence? a. George III b. James II c. William III d. George MXVI

8

The red, white and blue on the American flag signify: a. Purity, valor and vigilance b. Blood, innocence and beauty c. Independence, courage and unity d. Power, resolve and faith

What country, other than the U.S., made the most American flags in 2018? a. Spain b. The Philippines c. China d. India

1 High-rise unit, perhaps 6 Activist Parks 10 Post-workout woes 15 Foolhardy 19 Disney mermaid 20 Provide a fake alibi for, say 21 Cash, slangily 22 Low female voice 23 Flexible fishing rod?

25 Goes from site to site 26 Common central street name 27 Honked, as a horn 28 Political nominee fret-

The colors of the American flag are now red, white and blue. What were the colors of the first Betsy Ross flag? a. Red, white and black b. Red, white and blue c. Red, blue and black d. Red and blue — JAY HEATER, THE OBSERVER

12

Who suggested the U.S. adopt “In God we trust” as its motto? a. John Quincy Adams b. Andrew Carnegie c. Henry Ford d. Francis Scott Key

The bald eagle is the national bird. But one of our founding fathers thought it was a bad choice. Do you know who?

ANSWERS

98 Lith. or Ukr., until 1991 99 Protective charm 101 “Our offer ends soon!”

103 Stingray cousin 106 TV maker 107 Milky gem 109 Gifted individuals?

110 Bit of sunshine on a cloudy day?

113 One of baseball’s M&M Boys 115 It may follow a bullet 116 Duck decoy, e.g.

117 Loan shark’s threatening words?

121 List of dishes 122 Sometimes-illegal road maneuver 123 Some craft beers 124 Jackie’s predecessor as first lady 125 Ballpark figs.

126 Sources of down 127 “A ___ coincidence!”

128 Avoid wedding expenses

©2019 Universal Uclick

ting after being chosen?

30 Seats that often swivel 33 In need of a massage 35 Significant amount 36 Admiral and corporal 37 Tank features 39 Pitifully small 41 Swampy ground 42 “Exodus” author Leon 43 Barbecued morsel 45 Bond’s first film foe 46 Wicker chair accessory 50 Obedience school participant 51 Result of eating lemon drops from dawn to dusk?

15

What was the first state admitted to the union? a. Delaware b. New Jersey c. Virginia d. Pennsylvania

STOP by Gail Grabowski; CROSSWORD EIGHT-WAY Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS

Why were the stars in a circle on the first American Flag? a. Betsy Ross felt the pattern made the stripes stand out. b. The circle was meant to show there was no beginning and no end to the emerging country’s strength. c. A sun originally was planned with stars circling it, and the sun eventually was removed from the design. d. The stars were added in a circle to show no colony was greater than another.

54 Debt-laden Wall St. deal 55 Hairy disguises 58 Level or bevel 59 Gardener’s bagful 60 Stable newborn 61 Well-groomed 63 Take an educated ___ 66 Short dagger 68 Hermione who married Ron Weasley 71 Fireplace part 73 Jail, slangily 74 Press statements 76 “Pudd’nhead Wilson” author 78 Succotash bean

79 What icons may stand for 80 Hatcher of “Desperate Housewives” 82 Quick haircut 84 Office stamp letters 86 Late architect I.M. 87 Clerk sneaking a look at confidential files?

91 Partakes of 93 Pacific weather phenomena 95 Leader in a burnoose 96 Farm female with curly hair 97 Overrun (with)

DOWN 1 Tourist’s rental 2 Tulsa sch.

3 Calligrapher’s point 4 Targets for collectors 5 Enthusiastic corrida cry 6 Riveted to the TV, say 7 Slender woodwinds 8 On rare occasions 9 Made a fast stop?

10 Kid’s retort 11 Well-mannered 12 “Get Out” genre 13 Small and sprightly 14 Postpaid enc.

15 Widespread 16 Celebrated chef Ducasse 17 Bit of fire fuel 18 Gaggle sounds 24 Spots for speakers 28 Tuckered out 29 Bleak, to Keats 30 Wall frame part 31 Legal thriller writer Scott 32 Authentic “I Like Ike” campaign freebie?

34 Warning of imminent attack

38 Riverbed sediment 40 Econ. measure 41 Be under the weather 44 Place with online rants 46 “SNL” features 47 Garden rototiller?

48 Wind down 49 Sorrow 52 Henning of magic 53 114-Down listings 56 Sources of blue eyes, say 57 Multipart account 60 ___ fatale 62 Determine the presence of, as bacteria 64 Wood cutter 65 Legislature member, informally 67 Hibernation spot 68 Concord, for one 69 Fight off 70 Snorkeling spots 72 County Kerry’s land 75 Hindu title of respect 77 Victory goddess 81 Refrigerator conveniences 83 Noises from a litter 85 Willem of “Aquaman” 87 Get-go 88 It’ll never fly 89 JetBlue worker 90 Entertain at bedtime, perhaps 92 Clinches, with “up” 94 Narrow landform 97 Time extension?

99 Increase gradually 100 Steamed cantina dish 102 Remote button103 Icky stuff 104 Toys that go to great heights 105 Contract negotiator 106 Way to go 108 Piece of cake?

111 Product mention 112 Seashore predator 114 Org. with a closing bell 117 Nonstick spray 118 Texter’s “Here’s what I think” 119 Rim of a cup 120 Harper with a Pulitzer

CELEBRITY CIPHER

By Luis Campos Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present.

Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

“FMZ UC FLYAZ ZMHUVW ZY RUVG ZDI WYYG UV XIYXKI, FVG TFJUVW ZDI OYMKG F TYMI PYTXFCCUYVFZI XKFPI.” –JIFVA MIIEIC “Z XYZEJ AGZXI CLZFZXGONNR MW URCINW. Z WIIN NZJI Z’U YIFI XM CGLLMFX XYI YGUOE IPMNGXZME.” ONOEZC UMFZCCIXXI Puzzle Two Clue: N equals W

2

5

14

Where did the saying “Uncle Sam” come from? a. Thomas Jefferson always referred to his “Uncle Sam” whenever he talked about defending citizen rights. b. A meat packer, Sam Wilson, provided meat to the U.S. Army, and his bags were stamped “U.S.” Soldiers joked it meant Uncle Sam. c. Betsy Ross became the country’s “Aunt Betsy,” and “Uncle Sam” became her fictitious husband. d. President Theodore Roosevelt said his fellow soldiers all were tougher than his “Uncle Sam,” and it stuck to portray American grit.

Puzzle One Clue: R equals F

Who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance? a. Francis Bellamy b. Walt Whitman c. Ezra Pound d. Wallace Stevens

13

THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2019

1a; 2c; 3c; 4c; 5b; 6d; 7a; 8a; 9a; 10c; 11a; 12d; 13b; 14d; 15b

1

13

|

©2019 NEA, Inc.

SUDOKU

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

©2019 Andrews McMeel Syndicate

7-4-19

WEST ORANGE OBSERVER

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THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2019

We Proudly offer:

Baldwin Fairchild Funeral Home Winter Garden

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Experienced cremation specialists dedicated to providing the highest quality of services.

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• Traditional Burial and Cremation Services • Prearranged Funeral Services

This week’s Celebrity Cipher answers

Puzzle One Solution: “Art is about trying to find the good in people, and making the world a more compassionate place.”

– Keanu Reeves

e

Puzzle Two Solution: “I think quite spiritually of myself. I feel like I’m here to support the human evolution.”

– Alanis Morissette

We make it personal.® Let us show you how.

WEST ORANGE OBITUARIES

Let us tell the story of your life.

This week’s Sudoku answers

3 col xThis 5” week’s Collison.Cremation.Ad.2018 Celebrity Cipher answers

Puzzle One Solution: “Art is about trying to find the good in people, and making the world a more compassionate place.”

– Keanu Reeves

Charles Edward Brown, 85, of Oakland, Florida, died Sunday, June 23, 2019. He was born in Highsplint, Kentucky, on March 4, 1934, to parents Oscar and Juanita Brown.

Charlie was raised in Harlan County and attended Evarts High School in Evarts, Kentucky. He continued his education at Eastern Kentucky University and graduated in 1957.

Charlie married his college sweetheart, Freda Smith, in 1956.

In 1957, they moved to Florida, where he began a 34-year career working for Martin Marietta in the design prototype lab.

While raising his family, he lived in the Pine Hills area for 27 years, coached youth sports and was always willing to lend a helping hand to friends and neighbors. He was an active member of Powers Drive Baptist Church for over 50 years.

After retirement, he moved to Oakland, Florida, and has lived there for the past 20 years.

Charlie loved their weekend getaway home in Fowler’s Bluff, Florida. He loved boating on the

Suwannee River, where he entertained family and friends for the past 40 years.

Charlie also enjoyed his Thursday morning men’s Bible study group. He was a member of Masonic Lodge No. 239 and was also a Shriner.

Charlie was a tireless worker and a loyal friend. He was a good son, loved his wife and was a dedicated father. He treasured his children and embraced every moment with them. He especially loved his role as “Grandad.”

Charlie was everyone’s friend and could fix just about anything.

He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Freda Smith Brown; children, Teresa (Craig) Maloy, Pamela (David) Massengale and Tim Brown; grandchildren, Joshua (Kaley) Maloy, Megan (Travis) Guida, Paige and Davis Massengale, Austin and Preston Brown; and two great-grandchildren, Wyatt Guida and Barrett Maloy.

A service was held Thursday, June 27, 2019, at Loomis Funeral Home, with Dr. Gerald Hicks officiating. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Shriner’s Children Hospital.

JAMES AUBREY STRICKLAND DIED SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2019.

James Aubrey Strickland 77, of Ocoee, Florida, passed away Saturday, June 15, 2019, surrounded by family. He was born May 5, 1942, in Enterprise, Alabama.

Mr. Strickland served in the Army from 1960-1970 and was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He worked as an operational manager for Hubbard Construction, retiring after 37 years of dedication.

Mr. Strickland is preceded in death by his loving wife, Irmgard Strickland, and his son, Dean Strickland.

He is survived by his children, Kenny (Lisa) Strickland, Donna (Jimi) Trujillo, Gabrielle Strickland, Debra (Stan) Morgan and

310336-1 307255-1

407.877.6700 1148 E. Plant St. Winter Garden, Florida collisoncareyhand.com

CHARLES EDWARD BROWN DIED SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 2019.

©2019 NEA, Inc.

This week’s Crossword answers

Puzzle Two Solution: “I think quite spiritually of myself. I feel like I’m here to support the human evolution.”

– Alanis Morissette

This week’s Sudoku answers

Danielle (Mike) Conover; siblings, Ruth Barnett, Kenneth Strickland, Elizabeth Balaz, Sandy Rogers, Mary Gilley and David Strickland; 10 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Cards and flowers may be sent to 902 Center St., Ocoee, FL 34761.

2019

©2019 NEA, Inc.

This week’s Crossword answers

“Because You Care”

Todd Degusipe Director/Owner

Colleen Gillis Pre-planner

Frank Scarlata Director/Manager

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Advertise your Services or Events on this page weekly.

This page appears weekly in the Windermere Observer and online at orangeobserver.com.

To advertise in the Church Directory call 407-656-2121 or email AdvertiseNow@orangeobserver.com

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2019

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THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2019

HAPPINESS is here

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