Joan Bench
We're so sorry to hear of Dick's passing. We spent many years as good friends of Dickie and Mary Beth, both in Bonita Springs and Alliance. They, in fact, are the reason we purchased a little place at Citrus Park in Bonita - Mary Beth and I were classmates at Sebring High School. We have lots of good memories of Dick -
He would buy crabs and steam them and invite his friends over. Never having cooked or picked the meat off a crab in our lives, it was a new experience and tasty one too!
He loved going to thrift shops and always came home with a gem. He knew the good stuff. Hope you kids don't let those gems go cheap!
Mary Beth and Dick were already good friends with Barb and Tom Schweinzger in Bonita, and they adopted Jerry and me early on. We rented pontoon boats, went bar hopping for the whole day, traveled to Michigan where Barb and Tom had a home on a lake, traveled to a suburb of Chicago where Barb and Tom's son lived - can't remember the occasion - rented a houseboat on a lake in Kentucky with a hot tub on the top deck. It was Party City with those 4 and we loved them!
But nothing is forever - Barb and Tom were having health problems and sold their Bonita home and moved back to Illinois to live near their son. Dickie and Mary Beth were having health problems too so they sold their place at Citrus Park.
But we still have wonderful memories of those years and those friends and wouldn't trade them for anything!
Joan and Jerry Bench