Blog 159 Time and Procrastination

Note: ”They” have changed much of the formatting procedure since I last wrote, so this blog has only one color: black. Also, adding photos has changed, , so I feel lucky to have included the yearbook and obituary photos. I am winding down these blogs, so I am not taking the time to learn the new system, plus I am probably too old. So, I suppose that when it looks boring because of inadequate formatting, it probably will sound boring. Just go down to the obituaries. Jack

From our younger days, who recalls old folk wailing that there is just enough time to get everything done?  And how did they work and do everything else? After retiring and knowing the feeling of never enough time, I had an epiphany that explains it all.  Once retired, our former efficiency level falls from 100% to, maybe 40%.  The urgency to meet deadlines just fell off the chart.  At the same time, our procrastination level scrambled upward by forty to sixty percent.  That is true in my case.

Another epiphany came recently as I was waiting an eternity for a red light to pass through its timing cycle to all all the non*existent cars at the other three corners to proceed.   My idle thought was, “well, I am retired and need not be in a rush.”  And the second revelation dawned that “Yes, I do need to be in a hurry.  At this age, every second counts, and I don’t have time to just sit and wait for a light to change.  My available seconds are roaring by at the rate of 1,314,000 every twenty-four hours.  I need to be doing something useful, even if it is just procrastinating.”

However, maybe the fleeting seconds are not so precious when considering the state of the world, the state of our country, and the loss of some many values we as society once held, along with the loss of conscience and empathy for those less fortunate.  My opinion only, but things have just gotten out of perspective.  In politics, we read daily of the billionaires of the country giving huge sums to influence outcomes to their values; in business we read of Elon Musk’s Board of Directors awarding him a salary of $55,000,000; in sports, we read of a baseball player getting a $90,000,000 contract; college student become millionaires for selling their name.  Have I depressed  you sufficiently?

So this blog has been idle since the last posting just over six months ago.  Time does fly.  I have a few more classmate losses, a brief update on our attempt to gift the school, and a few idle thoughts. 

In the intervening months, we have travelled a bit, finally seeing the Finger Lakes in upstate New York, flew to Northern California for a friend’s wedding; even visited the Aggie campus for the fist (and last) time in my life for graduation of a granddaughter.  While the Finger Lakes area was on the bucket list, I must confess that College Station was not.  As a Longhorn, I apologize to my Aggie friends. 

I manage a 1,000+ volume library in our retirement community and publish a monthly newsletter with library news.  With decades of boxes of memorabilia and junk, I have been sorting and discarding, scanning files of papers that should be passed on, and labelling a number of boxes DOD.  That stands for Ditch on Death.  No need to search for gems inside.  Just dump the entire box.  That is stuff I am saving to review when it is just easier to sit in a chair rather than being up and  about. 

It is almost time for a procrastination break.  Just take in the following obits.

I have put off publishing names of our classmates now departed, but this is like the moment in Oscar presentations, where we list a few names. I suspect there are a fair number of others whom I have not been able to track down, even with Internet search engines.  One trend noticed is that obituaries are going out of style.   Have you written yours yet? 

Skipper Quick

Milburn Lee (Skip) Quick, was born in Hays County, Texas, on February 19, 1935. He went into the arms of our Lord surrounded by his wife and family on January 20, 2023. He was 87 years old.

Skip was preceded into the afterlife by his parents, Oley and Lena Faye Quick, brothers Thomas Quick and Dr. Donald Quick, and his sister Peggy Munson.

Left to survive his legacy are his wife of 66 years, Carol; son Michael (Carol) Quick of Montgomery, TX; daughters Karen (Jeff) O’Rear of Goliad, TX; Christi (Rob) Wilson of Akumal, Mexico; and Jana (Greg) Dalton of Freeport, TX; grandchildren Ryan (Bayly) Quick, Sarah (Ryan) Austin, Russell Quick, Kaeli (Rusty) Brown, Kolby (Marli) Klaus, Brooke (Robert) Winkler, Tyler (Elizabeth) Conard, Lauren O’Rear, Ashley Wilson, Joseph Wilson, Dara (Zach) Frandsen; 10 great-grandchildren; uncle Joby Connell; and numerous cousins, nephews, and nieces.

While growing up, Skipper spent lots of time with his brothers, cousins, and uncles at his grandmother’s home in Campwood, TX. He always loved the Campwood and Barksdale area and would often reminisce about those days. As Skip got older, his activities included calf-roping at rodeos, tooling leather into belts & wallets, dancing with his sweetheart, Carol, and playing baseball.

Skip graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio in 1954. He worked at Pearl Brewery and attended classes at San Antonio College. He and Carol married in August 1956, at Woodlawn Methodist Church in San Antonio and they moved to Austin, TX, where they worked to put him through college. Skipper graduated with a degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1960. The couple and their 2 year old son, Mike, moved to Corpus Christi, TX, where Skip’s 55-year career in the Oil & Gas Industry began. Skip was a well-respected and highly knowledgeable petroleum engineer throughout South Texas. He was often out in the field making sure the job was done right and loved to talk about the oilfield business.

Skip also enjoyed playing golf, going dancing, hunting, visiting the Campwood and Barksdale area for family reunions, listening to good old country music, telling jokes, playing nickel-ante-quarter-limit poker at family gatherings, and jalapenos. There wasn’t much he couldn’t do or fix…he was an exceptionally talented, humorous and intelligent man.

Skip and Carol moved to Portland, TX, in 1962 where they raised their 4 children. Even though he worked a lot, he always made sure his family was well taken care of and did his best to make every concert, game, recital, play, contest, award ceremony, and activity his kids were involved in. Skipper cared for his friends, too, helping them out whenever called upon. He was very active in the Portland Jaycees and was the club’s first recipient of the Jaycee Lifetime Senatorship in Junior Chamber International. Skip and Carol were members of the First United Methodist Church in Portland, the Bayshore Dance Club, the International Oilmen’s Golf Association, and Northshore Country Club. After living in Portland for 49 years, Skip and Carol moved to Victoria, TX, to be closer to their children. Skip continued working in Corpus as an independent consultant until the age of 80.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, January 28, 2023, at 10:00 am at Grace Funeral Home, 2401 Houston Highway, Victoria, TX, with a reception to be held afterward. Ashes will be interned at a later date.

The family would like to thank the DaVita Spring Creek Dialysis center, the Hospice of South Texas – Dornburg Center of Compassion, and Nurse Xiomara Foote, Nurse Morgan McCutcheon, and Nurse Aaron Puga at Citizens Medical Center for their care and compassion.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be made to the Hospice of South Texas – Dornburg Center of Compassion (www.hospice-vic.org/donate/) or to the charity of your choice.

Ann Johnson MacEwan

 

  

We are heartbroken to announce that Ann Marshall Johnston MacEwan passed away peacefully on June 6, 2023 at the age of 86 while in hospice care in Los Angeles, California.

She leaves behind her daughter, Allison MacEwan, and granddaughter, Dana MacEwan. She was preceded in death by her son, David MacEwan, in 2016 – a loss from which she never fully recovered.

Ann was born in East Texas to Frederic and Pauline Johnston. Tragically, she lost her father just before her 5th birthday when the plane he was piloting for the RAF Ferry Command crashed on take-off. Luckily, she was blessed with a large and loving extended family that gave her both comfort and joy throughout her long life.

Growing up, Ann was one of those girls with looks, brains and talent. Indoors, she played piano and sang beautifully and excelled at math. Outdoors, she was climbing, digging, birdwatching and exploring caves in her lifelong appreciation of geology. Her interests led her to a career in the oil industry and then computer analysis & programming which kept her employed well into her 80’s.

Ann married and divorced twice, raising her two children for the most part as a single mother and stepping in to help raise her granddaughter after she lost her own mother at an early age.

Her family and friends remember a sweet, loving woman with a sly sense of humor and an enduring love of good gossip. Ann loved nature and animals of all kinds. Her home was filled with colorful fish tanks; she rescued birds with broken wings and took in stray cats and dogs. Ann also defiantly nurtured an abiding love affair with sugar, celebrating her retirement with a cake made entirely of buttercream frosting. And yes, she ate the whole thing.

Per Ann’s request, her family will hold a private ceremony to scatter her ashes, along with her son’s. Please celebrate her long life and so many happy memories and remember her with a smile.

Elizabeth White Rudder

Elizabeth Rudder, age 84, of West, passed away Saturday afternoon, November 6, 2021 at her residence in West.

Funeral Service will be held 1:00 p.m. Saturday November 13, 2021 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brady, with Rev. Thom Lewis officiating. Burial will follow at Rest Haven Cemetery in Brady. The family will receive visitors from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Friday at Aderhold Funeral Home in West.

Elizabeth was born April 10, 1937 in San Antonio, the daughter of Robert and Josephine (McCormack) White. She was a graduate of Jefferson High School in San Antonio prior to attending the University of Texas in Austin, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority. On January 29, 1957 she was united in marriage to John Rudder in San Antonio. John preceded her in death on September 21, 2020. Elizabeth resided for much of her life in Brady and was a longtime member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. She also spent time there working for Rudder Drug for many years. Elizabeth enjoyed sewing, playing golf (she was a past City of Brady women’s golf champion), cooking, water skiing, dance club, and bridge. She especially loved having family and friends over to visit.

Elizabeth is also preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Peggy Lasswell.

Survivors include her three children, John White Rudder and wife Veronica of El Paso, Susan Rudder of West, Lynn McCarson and husband Mike of Mountain Home; grandchildren, Alexandra Rudder, John Patrick Rudder, and Amanda Niemeyer and husband Randy; great grandchildren, Brady and Bailey Niemeyer; nephews, Whitey Lasswell, Rob Bryant, and Bill Bryant; niece, Nancy Bryant; brother-in-law, Elmer Lasswell; sister-in-law, Janet Bryant; and many other relatives and friends.

Active pallbearers are her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Honorary pallbearers are members of the Heart of Texas Golf Association.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brady or the charity of your choice.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff of Community Health Care of Texas for taking care of Elizabeth in her final days.

Patsy Brannen Obituary

Patsy “Pat” Brannen passed away peacefully on December 19, 2022. Pat was a very sweet soul who devoted her life to children and education. Born on October 11, 1935, to Leroy and Ruth Brannen in San Antonio, Pat graduated from Jefferson High School and Texas A&I University before embarking on a 38-year teaching career. She is survived by her nephew Ricky Jordan, wife Rhonda, their children Reed and Rylee and her niece Julie (Jordan) Vallery, husband Kenny, their children Clint and Lauren. Graveside Service at Mission Park South on December 27, 2022, at 10:30 a.m.

Flora Jane Rupe Love

No obituary was found nor was Jane’s picture in the Monticello.  At Jeff, Jane was known as Flora Jane.  Flora Jane and I were in the Doolittle advisory, as was Dorothy Crawford.  Her brother Charles was the band drum major and graduated in 1952.