Thanks to YOU, she and other military widows have a safe place to call home
Born outside of London just before WWII started, Edna still remembers carrying a gas mask with her in kindergarten and rationing food.
“I hadn’t seen a banana until I was 11,” Edna recalled.
Edna and her friends enjoyed going to dances at RAF Bovingdon to dance with U.S. military men. There, she met Bob, an Air Force airborne radio operator, and fell in love. When he got orders to California, Edna went along. The pair married at McClellan AFB, and their son, Mark, was born the following year.
Bob got orders to CFB Goose Bay in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador for a year, so Edna and their young son went to England to stay with her family. The family reunited at Bergstrom AFB, Texas, and welcomed another son, Todd. When Bob was sent to Vietnam, Edna headed back to England with two young boys in tow.
Edna said she and the boys met Bob at McClellan AFB when he returned from Vietnam, and the family set forth on an adventure to bases in Japan and Hawaii. Bob retired as a master sergeant in 1979 and the family settled in Pensacola, Florida, because Edna liked being near the water and Bob wanted to be near military bases.
They enjoyed their new life together, until Bob was diagnosed with heart disease and underwent surgery. Edna’s life changed two years later when Bob lost his battle with heart disease.
Edna said she knew about Air Force Enlisted Village when she was widowed because Bob had been a supporter; however, she didn’t meet the minimum age requirement for eligibility. Edna’s life changed again nine years ago when she battled breast cancer and nearly lost her life.
“My sons were in Texas and California and worried about me living alone,” Edna said. “So, I moved to Texas. My son decided to move to Mexico a few years later, so I moved back to Florida to Bob Hope Village where I’ve been for a little over four years.”
A social butterfly, Edna regularly attends activities and events here at the Village. Things have changed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Edna finds other ways to stay active like gardening.
“My favorites are tai chi, Zumba, line dancing, but we haven’t been able to do those for a while,” Edna explained. “I’m so happy we have the bus transportation and prescription pickup service at Bob Hope Village. It’s more important than ever now.”
Edna said she appreciates all the safety measures that have taken place recently to protect residents from a coronavirus outbreak.
“I feel very safe here at Bob Hope Village with the staff, security, and my neighbors close by,” Edna said. “My boys are very pleased about that.”
