Page 48 - 1998 Wardlaw Hartridge

44
A Man for all Seasons
How does one sum up 41 years of marriage in a few short para­ graphs? 1could begin by stating that when I first met the incompara­ ble Robert Church he actually had a full head of hair, which he wore in a style similar to the Fonz, and a leatherjacket. For some reason, he didn't have a motorcycle but "tooled around" in a model T Ford which he had restored. I'm sorry to report that he was forced into tak­ ing me out on our first date. After all, he was a sophisticated ex-navy man and 1was the hometown nerd. If that wasn't enough to kill my ego forever, when we finally got married three years later, HE showed up at the church sporting a black eye. 1think everyone at the cere­ mony felt that my brother had dragged him there to marry me. That was the start of our life together. Like his hair line, it has changed over the years but it has never been dull.
For thirty-three years Bob worked for the A & P. I finally convinced him to take an early retirement but he was never one who could sit still and do nothing. At that time, our son Robb was in 7th grade at Wardlaw and we noticed that theschoolwasinneedofsomeonewhocouldcareforthebuildings& groundsasbefittedaprestigiousinstitution such as Wardlaw. Since Bob's former profession was as a wholesale meat buyer, we needed to show Burgess Ayers that Bob was notjust another pretty face but a human dynamo who would get theJob done.
Being the crafty pair that we are, we decided to make a scrapbook of all the projects Bob had done at our house over the past 27 years, nothing too much. Just small items such as: installing two bow windows and brick facing the front of the house, adding a large dining room with french doors, putting a three room addition unto the house with a master bedroom suite also with french doors, a sunroom addition and building me a 30 x 20 foot green­ house. Needless to say, he did alt the electrical, plumbing and carpentry work. In between, he found time to put in a pool for Robb, digging the base out by hand since there was no way we could get a bulldozer to our backyard with­ out tearing down our trees and shrubs. And did Bob dazzle Mr. Ayers, who hired him immediately.
I think that what Bob has enjoyed most over the years at Wardlaw has been his interaction with the students. Many of them have gone to him for guidance and advice. Bob would never go easy on them if he felt that they needed some tough love. He would tell them what they needed to hear notjust what they wanted to hear and I'm sure they have respected him for that. There are many students who have graduated and yet find the time to look for Mr. Church to say hello or to thank him. Bob loved designing the sets for the school plays and would put his heart into making them special for his kids. He spent many weekends at the school to do this even though I threatened him with divorce or death. I felt like one of the cobbler's children. All the chores at home were left undone so the Ward- law would shine. And Robb would always complain because any tools he wanted to use at home were always at Wardlaw. Bob has as many tools as Sears yet we are hard pressed to find any at home when we need one.