Source: Aerograph May 2025
The Pensacola Chapter met at Calverts on the Heights in Pensacola on 6 March. Those in
attendance: Ed and Patti Straten, Gerrie Marsch, Paul Belt, Larry and Nancy Warrenfeltz,
and Pat and Libby O'Brien
The meeting was called to order at 1322.
Minutes from the 15 December meeting were read and approved.
Treasury is still at $142.77 with no expenditures or additions occurring.
Old Business: Larry passed out the latest news on the upcoming reunion at Bay St. Louis. All hands received a copy. Larry received the input from the Smitty (Aerograph Editor).
New Business: Ed Straten reported another email scam is circulating in his name.
Meeting adjourned at 1345 just in time for us to eat.
News from the Crew: Pat and Libby O'Brien thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and get well cards with regards to Libby's cancer. Pat reports she is doing well, and they plan on attending the reunion at Bay St. Louis. She received her last chemo treatment on 11 April, but still has to have infusions of Avastin once every three weeks for a couple of years. They have been extremely happy with the care she has received both here in Pensacola and that given at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. They drove down to Tampa on 8 April to see the doc who operated on her as part of her 6-week check up. He was very pleased with her progress, and said she could resume her normal everyday activities. In addition to attending the reunion, the O'Briens plan on flying out to Colorado Springs in May to attend a great grandson's high school graduation. In August they hope to attend the USS Nimitz Association Reunion in Indianapolis, Indiana. Pat reports that Jim Futtner will fly down to Pensacola and travel with the O'Briens over to Bay St. Louis to attend Reunion #48. Jim is still battling back problems, and says he has tried CBD Oil on his back and got relief that he wasn't really expecting.
Ed and Patti Straten are having a busy spring! They cruised to the Caribbean in April, enjoying ports in Key West and Cozumel although the weather was too windy for the planned stop in Costa Maya, ship time made up for it all. As always, outstanding crew and meals and so much fun! Patti spent several weeks in NH with her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren Braedyn, Jordyn and Ryan, playing Monopoly, and Sorry and Clue! She also was able to visit her cousin and sisters and her Aunt Pat who, at 89, just remodeled her back porch! Next on the agenda is our WX Reunion! At this time, we are so looking forward to seeing everyone! Following the reunion, we have an extended road trip to Virginia and Ohio planned to visit Ed's family. Then we plan to spend the summer relaxing in our condo in Pensacola!
Larry Warrenfeltz is spending his spring doing his favorite thing — watching high school and college softball. As the Umpire-in Chief for Florida high school softball, he dedicates much of his time to improving the umpiring in the state. Nancy says she would forward his mail to the softball field, but she doesn’t know where he might be. Nancy and Larry will take a break from softball for the Mississippi reunion.
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Source: February Aerograph 2025
The Pensacola Chapter held its December meeting at the home of Larry and Nancy Warrenfeltz. Those in attendance included Ed and Patti Straten, Pat and Libby O'Brien, Paul Belt and Cheryl Alter, Gerrie Marsch, Walt Kindergan, and Al Atwell.
Our meeting was called to order at 1300.
The Sec/Treasurer had emailed out the minutes of our previous meeting. The minutes were accepted with one correction; Becky Kindergan was added to the attendees list.
The Treasurer reported there were no deposits or expenditures since the last meeting and a balance of $142.77 remains. Suspension of yearly dues was voted on and approved for another year.
Old Business: As a follow up on the health of Tom Berkeridge, Pat O'Brien reported he is still dealing with blood clots in his legs, but is otherwise doing okay.
New Business: Larry Warrenfeltz reminded us of the upcoming NWSA Reunion in Bay St. Louis from May 5 - 9. Bob and F.J. Cutting are the host for #48. Info is available on the NWSA Website. Ed Straten informed us of scams becoming more frequent and veterans are taking a hit. He recommended caution when dealing over the phone or on the internet.
Our next meeting will take place on March 6th at Calvert's Restaurant on Scenic Highway.
Meeting was adjourned at 3:02 pm. A super holiday meal and game of Dirty Santa ensued. A great time was had by all. Thank you Larry and Nancy. See pictures below.
News from the Crew Pat and Libby O'Brien are dealing with Libby's cancer. Libby just finished her last chemo treatment and will undergo surgery at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa on 11 February. Pat feels she is doing well and asks for you to please keep her in your prayers. She's lost a lot of weight, and her hair has thinned, but didn't fall out. Other than that she's doing well. Pat says, "She almost looks like the girl I married." He and Libby have season tickets to the Pensacola Ice Flyer Hockey Games, but due to her cancer, they do not attend the games. It's at the games that they see Bernie Bauer, so they haven't seen him in awhile.
Pat and Paul Belt are members of the Sandcrabs Senior Golf Association, and as of their last meeting Paul was doing well. Pat stays in touch with Jim Futtner up in Hartford, Ct, and Tom Berkeridge who lives in The Villages in Florida. They are both dealing with medical issues but are hanging in there. Jim is undergoing battlefield acupuncture to help ease the pain in his back. Anyway, acupuncture pins are stuck in both of his ears, and to hear Jim tell it, "I feel like a Christmas Tree." He has had a couple of sessions and is scheduled for one more. Tom has recently recovered pneumonia, and says he doesn't need another 2024. He has had three COVID shots and still managed have COVID three times over the last year. Tom has also dealt with RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) which he says is twice as bad as pneumonia. He is still battling a blood clot in his right leg and is headed up to the VA in Gainesville to see if the docs there can come up with some type of resolution. As if all this isn't enough, he had to have kidney cysts aspirated. If his health improves, Tom hopes to make Reunion #48.
Al Atwell will soon be 95 years old and had his driver's license renewed for 5 more years. He's selling his house and renting an apartment near the Pace Memory Loss Clinic where his wife, Helen, is a patient. Two days after Christmas, he was moving furniture and over stressed his sciatic muscle and is now hobbling around using a Rollator Wheelchair and hoping to be okay in a couple of weeks. Hang in there Al.
Keep these old salts in your prayers. It was great to see Al Atwell at our Christmas party. We hadn't seen him in quite awhile. Al is 95 1/2 years old, and he drove to Larry and Nancy's home. We were all impressed. Ed and Patti Straten took a Christmas Cruise with all their grandchildren. See pics below.
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Source: November Aerograph 2024
The Pensacola Chapter
did not meet this past quarter due to unforeseen circumstances. The biggest
news from here is that the Association's former secretary/treasurer, Libby
O'Brien, has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. That came as a shock
to all of us. She is undergoing chemotherapy treatments, and
the treatments take a lot out of her. Loss of appetite and overall
weakness is what she's fighting. Prior to this discovery the O'Briens had
planned a number of trips. Of course, they had to be cancelled. Their last
trip was to Connecticut. Pat's daughter, Kelly, lives in Niantic and
they were able to visit her and her family for a couple of days before heading
up to Hartford to attend a surprise 85th birthday party for Jim
Futtner. It was quite the occasion, and Jim was shocked to see
them there. Jim was Pat's leading chief for a short while when
they served aboard USS Nimitz in the 70's. They have become lifelong friends
ever since those days. Libby's cancer was discovered on their return to
Pensacola. Pat continues to play golf, fish, and work at his church when
he gets the time. He occasionally sees Paul Belt on
the golf course. Paul says he and Cheryl are doing fine.
Bernie
Bauer is also doing well.
He continues to attend Pensacola Ice Flyers' hockey games.
Walt
and Becky Kindergan have stayed
close to home all summer and have no travel plans at this time. Walt says
the family is well, and they are grateful for all they have.
Nancy and Larry Warrenfeltz made a quick trip to Maryland to see two of
Larry’s brothers and to meet up with a bunch of his
Smithsburg High School class-mates. Larry wonders who else has
a 53 year High School Reunion? He says classmates traveled from multiple
states to join the fun at Antietam Brewery. I'd say let's hear it for reunions at breweries.
That's a winner! Congrats to the planners on that one. Since Larry and Nancy were 90%
of the way to their Pennsylvania grandkids' house, they kept going
north to watch grandson Nathaniel in a fall baseball
tournament. Picture below is of Larry, Nancy, grandkids and grand-dog. Great
pic!
Submitted by Pat O’Brien, Sec/Treas
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Source: August Aerograph 2024
The Pensacola Chapter failed to meet
in June due to a number of us being out of town. We're
scheduled to meet again on August 29th.
Pat and
Libby O'Brien took a trip of a little less than 2000 miles to
see some of Libby's grandchildren and great grandchildren. On
the first leg of their journey, they drove north to Lebanon, Ohio, to
attend a great grandson's high school graduation. The second leg took them
to Carmel, Indiana,
to visit with a grandson and his family. The third leg was to Evansville,
Indiana, to visit with a granddaughter and her family. The last leg
brought them home. It was a long trip, but it's always good to get together
with family. Pat continues to play golf with friends and fish at
least once a week with his son. He also does yard work at his
church. Libby enjoys the company of her two daughters at least once
a week as they go out for dinner and drinks. She also does treasury duty
for the church. She has been hampered by a bad left knee, and
golf has not been in the cards for her. She's considering a knee
replacement which will not occur until after the first of the year.
The O'Briens see Bernie Bauer at
some of the Blue Wahoo baseball games. He tells them he's
doing fine.
Walt and Becky Kindergan are doing
well. They are doing a bit of traveling this summer. Walt
has retired 'again' from the ministry on a regular basis but still serves from
time to time, as the need arises, at a couple of local
churches.
Pat and Libby talk with Jim Futtner on occasion. He
is still battling back problems. He hopes to join the O'Briens in
Charleston, South Carolina, in September to attend the US Nimitz
Association Reunion.
Tom Berkeridge stays in touch with Pat via email, and he, like
Jim, is hoping for the best while dealing with medical practitioners. Please keep Jim and Tom in your
prayers.
Nancy and Larry Warrenfeltz made their annual drive
from Pensacola to Kill Devil Hills, NC, for the 44th annual beach reunion
of Nancy’s family (see pic below). They
were happy to have all five grandchildren in one place for a few
days.
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In May, Larry served as the lead umpire evaluator and rules interpreter for the Florida Softball championships. One of Pensacola's teams — Pace High School — won the 6A Championship. Pace’s pitcher, Jayden Heavener, was named the national player of the year! She will play for LSU next year.
Rose and Arthur Frazier have had a busy year with TOPS (Take
Off Pounds Sensibly) and family issues. Their middle
grandson recently went to Australia with the Coast2Coast International
Track and Field team, while their daughter, Nikki Pandora, remarried and
their son, Tim got another promotion at his job. Rose and Arthur
will be traveling a lot this fall and winter.
They are scheduled for an Alaskan cruise in August, Caribbean cruise
with their church in October, a trip to Costa Rica in December as Santa and
Mrs. Claus, then another cruise for the New year. Both of them have had
some new health issues and operations, but are getting better every day.
They still enjoy Central Florida but not the excessive heat. They are
expecting another grandbaby in February so will probably be heading to Oklahoma
for that event.
Submitted
by Pat O’Brien, Sec/Treas
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