Elizabeth Blades Skinner:
CLASS OF 1969
Columbian Elementary SchoolClass of 1969
Hornell, NY
Eastman School of MusicClass of 1993
Rochester, NY
University of KansasClass of 1980
Lawrence, KS
Skidmore CollegeClass of 1973
Saratoga springs, NY
Hornell High SchoolClass of 1969
Hornell, NY
Elizabeth's Story
Life
Hi all!
A very important update as of April, 2008. My older 26-year-old son, Matthew, is serving with the Army in Afghanistan. He is a First Lieutenant, originally with the Army National Guard, but now fully deployed with the Army 1st Infantry Division. He's there as an Intelligence officer, training Afghan Police and doing humanitarian assistance (rebuilding infrastructure, new schools, etc.) I am so very proud of him and his commitment to helping these long-suppressed people. He is also in great danger in an area that is haunted by Al-Qaeda terrorists. Just this week in early May, he experienced his first (and hopefully last) fire-fight with the enemy when his small convoy (traveling to small villages to hand out food, shoes, clothing and other essentials) was ambushed by much greater numbers. Thank God he and his men all survived - but it was a real wake-up to me and all our family. Please, if you read this, send a prayer and good thoughts to Matt Zeller in Ghazni, Afghanistan.
Now back to your previously-scheduled profile:
Lee (Skinner) and I are now into our third blissful year of marriage (8/6/2005 wedding) and third year of living in Allenspark Colorado, a little village of about 400 folks at 8500 feet in the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. We live in a lovely log home in a beautiful pine forest. Rocky Mountain National Park is only a few miles away (we call it our "back yard"). 14,259 foot Longs Peak, a mecca for hikers and climbers, is only 5 miles away.
When we first moved here, Lee worked 45 miles and an hour away down on the plains in Longmont (near Boulder) as an administrator and RN for an assisted living center. But he soon longed to be in the mountains and with me full-time, so we launched a full-time home-based business called Allenspark Associates (yes - a little tribute included to "The Associates" :) We do a bit of everything - carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, short-haul, installation (doors, windows, insulation) - "No Job Too Odd" is our...Expand for more
motto. We've also added snow-plowing as Colorado had lots of snow this winter! I am no longer teaching full-time in the college setting, but I am keeping up with my voice-teaching/singing/performing and writing (academic, non-fiction and fiction). This past fall (2007) I found myself busier and busier with directing musicals in nearby Estes Park - "Oklahoma!" in November and "Amahl and the Night Visitors" in January. I also sang the leading role of Amahl's mother in that, so wearing many hats.
Lee's son, Lincoln, was married in August to a very beautiful and lovely young lady from Ohio. Both are making their careers in LA. A joyous celebration ocurred in the Cleveland region. The next day, Lee and I flew to the Netherlands - a professional voice conference for me, relaxation after a busy summer for him. We also visited the Mosel-Rhine River valley region of Germany before returning to our own permanent vacation spot - home!
Our children (Lee's four and my two) are all thriving young adults - we just wish we could see more of them! As stated, my Matt deployed with the Army to Afghanistan this winter, which frightens me. My younger son, Andy (22) is in college and thriving. Lee's oldest, Lillian, is a mega-economist in North Carolina and mother to Lee's young grandson who is 8. Ida, his second, is engaged, a fire investigator who lives in the Buffalo, NY region. Lincoln, only son and, as above, newly married, is a youth pastor for the largest Presbyterian church in the LA region and is also in seminary studying to be a full-time minister. His lovely new wife is an aspiring actress and very much NOT the Hollywood wannabe - awesomely beautiful and very smart as well as talented. Youngest is Emily, also in LA and a very talented musician singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (takes after her dad!) So quite the incredible offspring. We're hoping to eventually have a slew of Grandchildren to spoil.
We'd love to hear from anyone who'd like to correspond! Please drop a line!
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