Travelers Newsletter

Travelers Newsletter

S N I P P E T 0 0 5 From the Nov 12, 2003 edition of Travelers Newsletter.

Remembering Wayne Liddle

On September 14th, Nancy and I left in our van on a driving vacation to Maine

with our friends Wayne and Joyce Liddle and Shirley Westveer. Our vacation

took us through Niagara Falls, New York State, and Vermont before we

reached the Atlantic Ocean at Kennebunkport, Maine. Along the way we

stopped at Lake Placid to shop, and at Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory—a

mystery stop planned by Wayne and Joyce. After crossing Lake Champlain on

the ferry we spent the night at Burlington, Vermont. The next day we visited

the famous Shelburne Museum, similar in nature to Greenfield Village. Later

in the evening we dined near the water on fish and clam chowder and then

strolled the pedestrian street in this quaint European style town.

An unscheduled stop in the Tea Room at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe,

Vermont, was an especially memorable event. Here we sat on an open air deck

eating lunch under an umbrella, looking out at hillsides covered with forests

reminiscent of Austria.

After reaching Kennebunkport, we

stopped for lunch at the Lobster

House and then drove to the seaside

residence of George Herbert Walker

Bush and peered through our

binoculars at his home on the rocks.

Afterwards, we strolled through the local shops and later that evening, enjoyed a

light dinner at a café overlooking the harbor.

We drove north to Brunswick, Maine where we spent two days with our son Brian

and his wife Jeanene, enjoying their hospitality and exploring the city of Brunswick.

Continuing northward, we finally arrived at Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. It was early evening and the sun was setting. We

checked into our motel room, then drove into Bar Harbor and parked near the water. The others headed down the path along the

beach for an evening stroll while I sat outdoors at a waterfront restaurant to enjoy a beer and watch the sunset.

Later, we headed back towards our motel and stopped for dinner along the way. This was our last meal and conversation with

Wayne. We talked about our plans for the next day to go to the top of Cadillac Mountain and see the view of the ocean. And about

our plans to go whale watching and then head further north to where we had reservations to stay at a lighthouse.

Around 10 PM on the evening of September

21st, 2003, Wayne died suddenly of an

unknown heart condition at the Hutchins Motel

on Highway 3 near Bar Harbor, Maine.

On the following page is the memorial I

delivered at Wayne’s funeral.

Travelers Newsletter

Travelers Newsletter

S N I P P E T 0 0 5

Remembering Wayne

I have known Wayne for more years than I can remember.

I am proud to call him friend.

I knew him to be kind, quiet, generous, and very intelligent.

I never once saw him become angry or loose his temper.

Several years ago, when we still had a camper, Nancy and I would go camping with Wayne

and Joyce and Shirley and John. We enjoyed our campouts together at many state parks in

Michigan. I looked forward to our adventures in the woods and Wayne’s hamburgers or pork

chops that he would cook up on his grill. Sometimes he would bring his boat along on our

campout. I still remember crossing the Mackinac Straits to the Island with Wayne, Joyce and

Shirley. It was a windy day and the waves rocked our boat to the point that I was sure we

would never see tomorrow, while Wayne sat at the wheel grinning with calm assurance that

all would be well—needless to say, he was right.

In the year 2000 we took our first trip to Europe together with Wayne and Joyce and several other friends. Around this same time we

stopped camping after selling our trailer and began taking road trips together instead. We traveled to places in Michigan, Wisconsin,

the East Coast and places in between. We were on such a trip to Maine when Wayne’s traveling days suddenly ended.

Through the years I have been with Wayne in his home, in a car, on his boat, on a train,

and in a plane. I traveled with him through Poland, Hungary, France and Turkey. I have

ridden with him on a raft down a river in Slovakia. I rode with him in a cable car to the

top of Lomnicky Peak in the High Tatras and stood with him on a mountaintop in

Switzerland. I have dined with him in a cozy restaurant overlooking the lights of Paris.

I have walked with him on the beaches of Normandy and watched a Falcon show in the

Bavarian Alps. I traveled with Wayne down the Rhine River from Amsterdam to Vienna.

It was on this trip that we watched together on the TV in our ships cabin, the devastation

in America known as 9/11.

Wayne was my travel companion, my bridge instructor, my boat captain, and technical consultant. When we traveled by car, he was

my backup driver and navigator. With his knowledge of electronics and his GPS unit, he could get us anywhere. On all our European

trips Wayne was our video cameraman, video taping the entire trip and making free copies available to everyone who was with.

When we traveled as a group there were the fast walkers, Wayne was one of them, and the slow walkers. But because Wayne never

wanted anyone to be forgotten, he would always drop back and walk

with the slower ones in our group and made sure that nobody was left

behind. Now Wayne has left us behind, his wife, his children, his

grandchildren, and his friends.

Our trips will go on,

our life will go on,

but we will miss him,

I will miss him.

2001 - Wayne and I in Rudesheim, Germany overlooking the Rhine River

2003 - Partnachklamm Gorge in Garmisch, Bavaria

Wes, Bill, Joy, Gay, Lonnie, Russ, Nancy, Shirley, Wayne

Fira the capital of Santorini, Greece, 2002

On the Danube River near the Weltenburg Abbey, a

Benedictine monastery near Kelheim in Bavaria on the

2001 Great Rivers of Europe tour

Wayne, Joyce, Nancy, Wes, Shirley