During the four weeks they were
here we became good
friends and they insisted that
we come to England the fol-
lowing summer. So late in June,
1963, we sailed from
New York on the Queen Mary to Cherbourg,
France. From
there we took the boat train to
Paris where we spent one
week. After that, we flew to London
for a three-week visit
in the Pearce home.
Ron's parishioners were thrilled
to entertain friends from
the states so we received numerous
invitations. This pro-
vided a wonderful opportunity to
see something of England
from the viewpoint of natives rather
than a tourist.
After returning home we kept in
touch with the family.
When Cathy graduated from grammar
school, she was
accepted by Nottingham University.
However, the officials
suggested that she spend a year
"broadening" herself be-
fore beginning her University studies.
Ron presented the situation to Bill
and arrangements were
made for Cathy to spend the school
year in Pampa attend-
ing our local high school where
I was teaching.
Cathy arrived in early October,
1970, for what proved to
be a memorable experience for everyone
concerned. Bill
was president of the Pampa Rotary
Club that year and the
International Activities Committee
chaired by Rev. Sam
Hulsey, became involved. Rotary
families signed up to host
Cathy in their homes for a week
at a time. She was so
popular that the schedule became
quite hectic in the
spring.
The high school committee responsible
for the American
Field Service Exchange Program
included Cathy in their
activities. As a result she was
able to go with several high
school groups on out of town trips.
The AFS student that
year was Regina Stucchi from Brazil
and she and Cathy
became good friends. In fact, they
often ate lunch with our
good neighbors, the Jack O. Millers,
whose daughters Mimi
and Merrilynn were also in high
school at the time.
After school was out in May, we
took Cathy on an extended
tour of the western part of the
United States before she
returned to England.
Rev. Pearce arranged for an exchange
with the Hennipen
Methodist Church in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, in August
of 1972. Cathy spent the first
week there, then came on
to Pampa to renew friendships here,
We entertained at
her 20th birthday party and recalled
the party a few short
years earlier when she was ten.
Her parents j oined her in Pampa
when their month in Min-
neapolis was over and many friends
they had made in 1962
were happy to see them again.
Cathy completed her University education
and married
Paul Boynton. They came for a visit
in October, 1977. Bill
took them on a trip to the west
coast, but I was unable to
accompany them as I was teaching.
The Boyntons now have two daughters,
Glare and Sarah.
We visited them in England in 1987
and are looking for-
ward to having the family in our
home sometime in the
near future.
Ron retired, but continued to preach
until his death in
1992, We keep in touch with Brenda
and the Boyntons
and regard all of them as part
of our extended family.