My wife, Barbara says guys are better expressing facts than they are feelings. So I am going to start with facts.
Where I’ve lived
- Born in Minnesota 1942
- Raised in South Dakota – 1949-1965
- Palm Beach county Florida – 1965-now, except
- East Hartford Connecticut – 1967 and 1968
Work/Jobs
- Ringneck Bowling Alley – Pin Setter – 1955-1958
- Sunshine State Dairy – 1958-1962 starting sophomore year of high school
- Wheat harvesting with my father from Oklahoma to Canada – summer 1963
- Pratt & Whitney Aircraft 1965-1987
- Gracey-Bros./Gracey-Backer Insurance agency – 1987-now a 4th generation family agency started in 1925 (my sons John and David work with Barbara and me)
Family/Children
- My first marriage –Carol – ended in a divorce
- Three daughters, Sherie, Laurie and Angie – all married
- 9 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.
- Sherie and Laurie live in Florida and Angie is in South Carolina
- My second and last marriage – Barbara
- Two sons and a daughter, John, David and Katie – all married
- 1 grandchild and 1 on the way
- All three live locally
- A total of 10 Grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren
- Two sons and a daughter, John, David and Katie – all married
- Three daughters, Sherie, Laurie and Angie – all married
Church and service
- Catholic growing up
- Altar Boy
- Lutheran and Methodist, first marriage
- Usher and choir
- Episcopalian, second marriage
- Usher, choir – three times and Vestry – two times
- Ecumenical Service – Lutheran Gold Coast Cursillo
- Served on teams and in leadership roles for the Lutheran Gold Coast Cursillo community from 1980 to the present. Last team – Jan 2017
- Attended national Lutheran Cursillo meetings
- Served on Episcopal Cursillo (Bill Hurd’s) and Methodist Emmaus Walk Teams
I have been greatly Blessed
- With my wonderful wife Barbara
- All of my children
- Grandchildren and great grandchildren
- My parents and two sisters
- Barbara’s family
- Her parents Matt and Barbara Gracey-adult lifetime members of St. Paul’s
- Her aunt and uncle John and Maude Banta – adult lifetime members of St. Paul’s
- Her cousins Jestena Boughton – lifetime member of St. Paul’s and Hilary and Colin Roche – members of St. Paul’s
God is good – All the time! All the time – God is good!
In January 1980, I attended a Cursillo, Men’s Gold Coast Cursillo #9, a Lutheran Cursillo sponsored by Advent Lutheran Church in Boca Raton. Whereas I have been affiliated with churches all of my life, “I found God” at this three-day Cursillo weekend. I believe up until that point, my “religion” was mechanical. At an altar visit on Saturday during the Cursillo, I felt God’s love and I felt worthy for the first time! I always knew I had been loved and worthy, I just hadn’t felt it.
It was at a women’s Cursillo in 1983 that I met my wife Barbara. We believe our meeting was Divinely Inspired!! She had made Cursillo in 1978 and me in 1980. Living at opposite ends of Palm Beach County, our lives should have never crossed. However, due to several events, too convoluted to go into, we ended up serving in supporting positions, me in the kitchen and Barbara in the dining room, serving. Our relationship was born in this spiritual setting and our love and spirituality have grown ever since.
Barbara and I were married in 1984 and lived in West Palm Beach. Barbara was Episcopalian and I was flexible so we went to various Episcopal churches to find one we liked. We ended up at St. David’s in the Pines in Wellington. We were both in the choir. The Rector, Fr. Mangrum baptized John, our oldest child. John would sit in a bassinette with the choir during church.
In late 1986, we moved to Delray Beach and began attending St. Paul’s, which is the church Barbara grew up in. Barbara was baptized and we were married in St. Paul’s. Our second child, David, was baptized at St. Paul’s. Her family has been at St. Paul’s since about 1925-1930. The chalice we use most Sundays for Communion is inscribed with her uncle’s name, Robert Gracey.
In 1988 we started spending a week each summer at Kanuga, an Episcopal Conference Center in North Carolina. Also attending was three of her cousins and their families as well as Barbara’s parents, Matt and Barbara Gracey. Our daughter Katie was baptized at Kanuga.
St. Paul’s has been a Blessing to Barbara and me in many ways:
- In the early 1990’s, we and Armond and Catherine Mouw started an “Adult” group at the church for the purpose of providing an inexpensive “date night” for families. We held an event every month and always included a dinner. We had a great time with events ranging from Valentine’s Day to square dancing to caroling to a New Year’s Eve event that got over at 10 PM. Scott was our primary Spiritual supporter.
- We have both been on the Vestry at different times.
- I have been in the choir three times and am an Usher.
- Barbara is a Eucharistic Minister and is a member of the Healing Ministry.
- I am in the Brotherhood of St. Andrews (come join us at 9 AM, the 2nd Saturday each month).
- We went on a trip to the Holy Land with Bishop Frade and his wife Diana in 2014.
I think spiritual events or “Close Moments” happen when you least expect them, like the altar visit when I made my Cursillo in 1980. Another spiritual highlight for me was in 2008. We were not as regular at church as we should have been. In January, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. I was scheduled for surgery February 15th and told to show up at the hospital at 6 AM. Being a little removed from St. Paul’s, I had not told anyone. Barbara and I walked into Bethesda Hospital at 5:45 AM. Who was sitting there? Fr. Stokes!! He said that he would like to pray with me and anoint me if that was OK. WOW!! …….. He did. The surgery went well. The chemo was tough. We became more active in St. Paul’s again. What a Blessing I/we had received from Fr. Chip! Unconditional Love.
Certainly I was not worthy of Ft. Stokes’ attention but he offered it anyway. That is why we are all here. To share God’s Love and Jesus’s sacrifice …. for us.
Amen.