Robert J. Foxen

Two things happened in 1920 that changed our world: The allies and Germany signed the peace treaty ending WWI, and a boy named Robert J. Foxen was born in Brooklyn. It was the end of the war to end all wars, and a fresh start for a new century.

Ten years earlier, in 1910, Bob's dad Bill had pitched in the World Series for the Chicago Cubs. During the depression, Dad's family had little money, and his father went from being a star to a job with the WPA picking papers in Prospect Park. Dad's father died in 1937 when dad was 16, and his family had to split up.

In 1939, Dad voluntarily joined the famous 7th regiment, and he later became a First Lieutenant and bombardier on a B-17 in the US Air Force. He flew 50 missions from July 1944 through January 1945 as part of the allied invasion of Europe in WWII. In recent years, he has told us some amazing stories about those missions. He saw US planes literally a few yards away explode in mid air, and he once made an emergency landing on a small island in the Mediterranean after having been hit by German anti-aircraft. 25% of his bomb group were killed in action. I once asked him if he was ever scared- I wondered because I am often scared when I fly on business travel- and he said the only time he felt afraid was when his plane flew solo night missions and faced exploding flack.

In 1948, he married my mom, Anne Barnes, and over the next dozen or so years they had six kids and settled in Garden City. He was always a great dad and husband, despite his own challenges. He taught us all to play and love baseball, and he took me to my first pro game at Ebbetts field. He taught us to ride our bikes, drive our cars, and fix our homes. He encouraged David, Timmy and me to become lifeguards at Jones Beach, moves that would later come back to haunt him. He spent endless hours teaching Paul to read and learn math, despite what the experts had told him. David and I especially loved it when he would take the rest of the family away on long summer camping trips, since this gave us free run of our house, which the Jones Beach lifeguards came to call the Garden City Hotel.

He was really very funny too: He sometimes told one of us: "I ought to brain you." Years later, I asked him what "brain you" meant, and he said he was never really sure if it meant to knock them out or try to infuse some in.

Most of us have said that Dad really seemed indestructible, and I think that is why his death seems so hard for us to really believe. He would start each day with an ice cold shower, swim 40 laps, five days a week, and each year on his birthday, he would swim at the Garden City pool the number of laps equal to his age until he was 84. When he was 81, Dad, Tim and I spent two weeks in Europe following the path of the allied invasion from England to Normandy to Germany. He insisted that we follow all the back roads, and our days started early in the morning, and we usually ate dinner around 10pm, and he never tired one bit.

He loved to talk about politics - notice I did not say discuss politics - and he was a great teacher for us in what he said and did. We learned that our family comes first, but believe in a higher power; take one day at a time, but still have a plan; question authority, just not his authority; keep learning forever, and stay fit and healthy; that history repeats, but believe in redemption; and that the purpose of our work is to help change the world.

We all want to live a life and leave a legacy, and today we can see that Dad did both. Another century has passed, and another member of the Greatest Generation is gone. But he lit up our lives, and passed us the torch, so now it's our time and duty to carry it on.

Betty Riffle

Betty Riffle, 84, resident of Sun City West, AZ, passed away October 15, as a result of a stroke. She was born in Masury, Ohio on October 11, 1921, and lived in Warren, Ohio and Garden City, New York before moving to Sun City West in 1980. Betty was married to the late Charles “Chuck” Riffle for 62 years until his passing in 2002. She is survived by two sons, Bill and his wife Ruann of Los Altos Hills, CA. and Scottsdale, AZ. and Barry of Warren, Vermont and Brewerton, New York and by her dear friend of 62 years Ellen Maschke, Sun City, AZ.

Betty was a member of Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church and a volunteer for the Salvation Army and Del Webb Hospital. She and Chuck were active in the Sun Cities Sports and volunteering during their early years of retirement in Sun City West. She was an avid shopper, bridge player and cat lover.

A memorial service will be held November 3, 2005, 11:00 am at the Shepard of the Hills United Methodist Church (13568 West Meeker Blvd., Sun City West). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Betty’s memory to either Sun Cities 4 Paws Rescue, (P.O. Box 426, Youngtown, AZ 85363), or the Salvation Army, (P.O. Box 1161, Sun City, AZ 85372). A private intrament will be at Sunland Cemetary in Sun City at a later date.

Lorraine K. Sweeney

Lorraine K. Sweeney passed away on Tuesday, October 4, 2005, 40 years old, of Miller Place, LI. Loving wife of Luke. Beloved mother of Christina, Meghan, and Kevin. Lorraine is survived by her mother and father, Donald and Ingrid McClatchey, of Chestertown, NY; her sister Eileen (Al) Orokos of North Brunswick, NJ; her aunt and uncle Vivian and Jena Moulder; her mother and father-in-law, Francis and Frances Sweeney; sister-in-law Ellen (Mark) Gamber; Kathleen Sweeney, Maryanne (John) Reilly; Mary Patricia (Timothy) Brown, all of Garden City, NY; brother-in-law Michael (Colleen) Sweeney of Rockville Centre; sister-in-law Sean Sweeney, Elizabeth Stanley of Washington, DC, and seventeen nieces and nephews.