Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor

Tom and I love to hike, camp and backpack. After each trip we post photos on a page called

Tom and Dee’s Excellent Adventures.
(Click words above to see the page.)

The latest trip was to Tecopa Springs, CA and Death Valley, CA. Apparently it was an unusual year for flowers in Death Valley due to all the rainfall. And it’s true. Hills upon hills of flowers adorned the Valley. There were people everywhere stopped along the road, frolicking through the fields of beauty, enjoying their splendor and capturing their brilliance with their cameras.

Death Valley is also where the lowest point is in the U.S. – 282 below sea level in Badwater Basin. It was perfect weather – about 75 degrees.

Feb 2

February 2, 2005 marked a chapter in my life that came to an end with the passing away of my

maternal grandmother. She was a significant influence in my life with her bravery,

resourcefulness, and devotion to life and who truly provided much of the inspiration I received

to become who I am. I will miss her very much.

Thelma G. Wheatley, 93

JUNE 10, 1911-FEB. 2, 2005

WILLIAMSPORT – Thelma Gaynell Hill Wheatley, 93, of 16505 Virginia Ave., Williamsport, Md.,

passed away Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2005, at Homewood Retirement Center in Williamsport.

Born Saturday, June 10, 1911, in Hagerstown, Md., she was the daughter of the late Earl Edison

Hill and Sarah Brown Hill. Ms. Wheatley’s husband, Frank E. Wheatley, died in 1967.

Mrs. Wheatley was co-administrator of Bellvue Home and Coffman Home in Hagerstown. She was

employed for seven and-a-half years with J.C. McCroy Co. as a salesclerk and floorwalker. She

graduated from and then was employed by Baltimore City Hospitals as a licensed practical nurse.

She was a matron at Washington County Jail with the Sheriffs Department, was co-owner and

operator of the Boulevard Market in Hagerstown, worked for the Maryland State Roads Commission

as toll collector at Williamsport and was manager of Pic-A-Wenner in Ocean City, Md. She also

was involved with the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and a member of the Retired Senior

Volunteer Program Advisory Council and Maryland Commission on Aging.

She was an avid bowler. She participated in the Washington County Rediscover America 76

pageant. She was a member of the Honored Society The Liberty Belles and participated in the

Madcaps. She was a member of AARP and Women of the Moose Chapter 0342.

She was a member of Emmanuel United Methodist Church, Hagerstown, where she taught Christian

Endeavor and Sunday school and was a member of the choir and former member of the Downsville

Homemakers.

She is survived by a daughter, Nadia S. Taylor and husband Donald T. of Middletown, Md.;

granddaughters, Deanna L. King and husband Tom of West Jordan, Utah; Donna R. Gaver and husband

Mark of Middletown; grandsons, Frank W. Taylor and wife Joan of Keedysville, Md., David T.

Taylor and wife Danielle of Frederick, Md.; great-grandchildren, Gregory, Brian and Emily Pope,

Daniel and Adam Taylor, Jaclyn, Samantha and Ashley Gaver, Kelly Merrbach and husband Greg;

sisters, Jane Snook and Betty Rudy, both of Florida; and brother, Earl E. Hill Jr. and wife Pat

of Hagerstown; and a number of nieces; cousins and their families.

Services will be held Saturday, Feb. 5, 2005, at 10 a.m. at Douglas A. Fiery Funeral Home, 1331

Eastern Blvd. North, Hagerstown with the Rev. Mark Wakefield officiating.

Family will receive friends at the funeral home from 9:30 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 5.

Interment will follow at Rose Hill Cemetery, Hagerstown, Md.

Memorial contributions may be made to Homewood Nursing Home, Williamsport, MD 21795;

Alzheimer’s Association of Western Maryland, 5 Public Square, Hagerstown, MD 21740; or Hospice

of Washington County, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave., Hagerstown, MD 21740.

Feb 16

I have not been writing much since the passing of my grandmother. I am beginning to become

more inspired with the passing days.

The thing about death is coming to the reality that we are not immortal. It causes one to

think about death and the after life, if there is one. It makes you think of what you want to

happen when you pass on. I’ve already decided that not only do I want to be cremated, but I

want my family and friends to have a tye-dye party in my honor. I want my ashes spread in the

mountains – not buried in the ground or held on someone’s mantle. I do not want to have any

“space” in a cemetery or vault taking up any of the earth as a memorial to me.

Experiences with our dying loved ones also causes one to savor the time we have with those we

love. My dad cried when we left to fly back home after the whirlwind weekend. He does that

sometimes, and it really gets to me. I always cry all the way to the airport. My parents are

the sweetest people on earth. I am so fortunate to have had them as role models in my life,

always supportive of my endeavors.

My mother, my grandma’s only child, was so ill from influenza on the day of grandma’s funeral

that she could not attend. This was devastating.

I’ll be thinking about this for a long time. My grandma was a significant part of shaping who

I am. She was a big part of our family. My son even had his great-grandmother’s name,

“Thelma”, tattooed across his chest several years ago. My mother has no siblings, so for her

this is truly a tragic time. We are all strong and the sadness will not disappear, but we will

learn to live with the beautiful memories we have at the forfront of our minds, instead of her

sad and slow death that finally took her from us.

In one of the last few coherent conversations I had with my grandmother,after I had pulled up

stakes with my three children and made a bold move from the east coast to the pacific northwest

in 1997, she told me how proud she was of me and my bravery. Grandma, my inspiration came from

you.

“To Those I Love”

If I should ever leave you
whom I love
To go along the Silent Way
grieve not,
Nor speak of me with tears,
but laugh and talk
Of me as if I were
beside you there.
(I’d come– I’d come,
could I but find a way!
But would not tears and grief
be barriers?)
And when you hear a song or
see a bird
I loved, please do not let
the thought of me
Be sad. . . For I am
loving you just as
I always have. . .
You were so good to me!
There were so many things
I wanted to say to you. . .
Remember that I
did not fear. . . It was
Just leaving you
that was so hard to face. . .
We cannot see Beyond. . .
But this I know:
I loved you so- – ‘twas heaven
here with you!
-Isla Paschal Richardson

Jan 16
I feel compelled to share an essay my daughter wrote on April 13, 2004. She had to respond to

the title in her english class. She is 15.

The reason we live like this

Everyone has a different outlook or perspective on the way they do things. Most people put

positive future.

My beautiful and talented daughter, Emily:

I pledge allegiance to all life

with harmony and balance for all.

©2001 Blue Sky Institute