Happy Days

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

After I got out of the U.S. Navy, DiVoran and I moved to California for me to go to Northrop University.  Times were tough for a young married couple trying to get an education. DiVoran worked at a beauty salon for three years obtaining her PHT Degree (Putting Husband Through). God was good to us, and when I had enough education to get a full-timeengineering job I finished my classes in night-school.  It was about this time that we were blessed with our first child. A beautiful girl who we named after DiVoran’s best friend, Charlene.  Little did we know then what a wonderful woman she would grow up to be.

Of course the name “Charlene” was way too big for such a tiny little thing, so we came up with the nick-name of “Renie” and it stuck.  I remember being a daddy in many ways.  I helped with the dishes, changed diapers, and carried her around with great joy.  Most of all there was no one who could bring up that essential burp like I could.  Our little bundle of joy took after her beautiful mother, and before we knew it she was the glamor girl of the family.

In the midst of work, school and taking care of our daughter, our son, Billy, was born a couple of years later.  As they grew up together, Renie became mama’s little helper with her baby brother.

When I finished my degree, North American Aviation transferred me and my family to their Florida Field Operations, which was at the Kenedy Space Center.  This job was part of the Apollo/Saturn V Manned Space Program to send a man to the moon.  We moved into our first new house, in a new housing development, and the children were quick to make new friends.  As usual Renie took good care of her little brother as they learned their way around their new suroundings. 

The problem was our Renie was the only girl in our neighborhood, and she had to let the six boys she usually ran around with know that she could hold her own.  She was quickly accepted into the neighborhood “pack” and it was good training for getting along with the men she would eventually work with, at her various jobs she would have over the years.

During these early years in Florida, our family became avid campers (see “Our Trip Across America Part 1-12).  We started with tents, and over the years, evolved into a beautiful air conditioned pop-up camper.  Renie and Billy loved Florida camping with its fresh water springs and nature trails.   By the time Billy got his first motorcycle Renie was finding many of her own interests and began to drift away from a lot of the outdoor activities the boys in the neighborhood were into.

Renie made us very proud while in high school, participating in the school’s swim team program, the marching band where she played the French Horn, and as one of the football team’s cheerleading “T-ettes.”

Renie has always been a hard worker in what ever she did.  After graduation from high school, it was at her Sears job, that she met the love of her life, Ron.  After a long courtship she and Ron made both families happy and proud when they married in 1987.

After years of hard work, and receiving their college degrees, Renie is now an Executive Assistant for The Veria Company, and Ron is a Logistics Comptroller for the Brevard County Sherif Department.

DiVoran and I are blessed that our children have found work here in the Central Florida area and we get to enjoy their company often.   Renie and her younger brother, Billy, get to see each other occationly, as his company is a contractor to The Veria Company, and he has a chance to visit her office once in a while for his job.  As a dad, I’ve always been proud of Renie and loved her with all my heart. Now that we’re older she helps DiVoran and me with our computers, our i-phones and lovingly ministers to us when we have health issues.

—–The End—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: Family, Memories