Christmas 2024

It was a perfect Christmas for the Judds this year! Since Clara now has a part-time job, at American Eagle Outfitters, the family celebration needed to be in Houston. That was OK with me, because it meant I didn't need to put up a tree or decorate our house. (I must be getting old!) I did, however, do quite a lot of cookie-baking. Some of the French cookies went to friends here in Temple, and some traveled with us to Houston. 

On Sunday, December 22, Tim drove from Albuquerque to our house. He spent that night with us, and the next morning the three of us traveled, in two cars, to Houston. (Tim likes to have his own wheels while there, so he can be a bit more independent.) 

As is our custom, we had our big holiday dinner on Christmas Eve, and since Clara was scheduled to work that afternoon and evening, we feasted at noon. It worked out perfectly, and the meal was lovely, thanks to Kelsey's delectable side dishes - pasta salad, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, hot rolls - which accompanied the ham that I brought.

Christmas morning started with Kelsey's hot-out-of-the-oven Monkey Bread.

After breakfast, the kids opened their gifts. 

Robert with Zephyr in his Santa suit

Afterwards, I herded everyone into the family room for the gift-giving activity I had planned, which went like this: Each person was given a small plastic box with six jellybeans inside. On the floor was a "flock" of paper bags of various colors, matching the colors of the jellybeans. Everyone took turns, going around the room, eating one jellybean and then choosing and opening a bag of the same color. The presents in the bags ranged from a candy bar to a $100-bill, with many other gifts in-between, including gift cards and cash. Some gifts didn't fit in the bags, so the bag contained a number which matched a wrapped gift. A few of the bags had a Werther's candy inside, as well as the gift. When someone found a Werther's in their bag, they got to wear a Santa hat until someone else found a Werther's and took the hat away. When all the bags were gone, the person left wearing the Santa hat received an extra gift. (Robert was that lucky one.)

Chris and Kelsey's gift to all of us was a Christmas afternoon outing to the movie theater to see Wicked, along with all the popcorn, treats and drinks we wanted! Kelsey had already seen Wicked, and Clara had seen it multiple times (as well as having seen the stage performance more than once), but they both wanted to see it again. It was a good movie, and the time spent together as family was priceless. Now I'm looking forward to Part Two of Wicked, which will come out next year. 

There was a fun photo booth in the mall. We took a few pictures when the movie was over. (Tim declined getting his picture taken.)

We stayed Thursday - the day after Christmas - and then, fairly early on Friday, drove home. Tim spent one more night with us in Temple, and then left on Saturday. He made it back home, safe and sound, by about 7:00 PM. It's a gift to us that he takes the time and makes the effort to drive all this way every Christmas, to spend the holidays with family. 

Maybe the most wonderful gift was seeing Chris strong and healthy again, after his challenging months of illness, surgeries and chemotherapy. He has recovered, although still has neuropathy in his hands and feet. But he isn't letting that hold him back. He walks almost every day, usually around 5 miles. For the month of December his goal was a total of 100 miles, and he was on track to achieve that when we left on the 27th. 

Down Under Guests Come to Texas

Our friends, whom we met and got to know while on our European river cruise, in 2019, finally came to visit us here, in Texas. Lee and Joanne arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on September 26. They spent a couple nights in Fort Worth so they could go to the Fort Worth Stockyards, where they enjoyed the twice-daily cattle drive and some evening entertainment at Billy Bob's. On Saturday, September 28, Dan and I drove to Fort Worth to pick them up and bring them home to Temple. 

Joanne astride a longhorn in Fort Worth

We had lots of fun showing them the area and introducing them to typical Texas-style foods. Lee decided chicken-fried steak was his favorite. He kept comparing it to schnitzel, one of his favorites back home in Australia, but had never seen white gravy. He also had never heard of, or tasted, biscuits and gravy, which he tried a couple times before giving it a thumbs-up. But what he enjoyed most were beef steaks, from a couple different Texas steakhouses.

Lee really enjoyed his steak at Longhorn Steakhouse

Joanne seemed to like my home cooking more than the restaurant foods. New to them both were taco soup, corn chowder and macaroni and cheese. She said mac and cheese from a box/package was available and eaten only by kids as a snack in Australia. But she had never heard of homemade mac and cheese. She wrote down my recipe - along with several others - and has written since she's gotten back home to tell me that she's cooked it for her family.

Joanne prepared a baked potato bar for us one evening. 

One of the first things that Joanne asked me to do was to take her to a western wear store so she could buy a cowboy hat. She found a straw hat that she liked; and then fell in love with, and bought, some lovely white boots with rhinestones, which went well with her light-colored hat. Later in her visit her straw cowboy hat began to show signs of wear, so she wanted to get a nicer felt one. I took her back to Cavendar's, where she found a black hat that really looked good on her. But BLACK didn't really go with her white boots. So she bought a second pair of dark boots to go with the new hat. 

She had the opportunity to wear some of her western wear when we all went to Waco, to attend a rodeo at the Heart of Texas Fair. It was a great rodeo, and was a highlight of our outings.

We all enjoyed a visit to the home of our friends, Darin and Stephanie for dinner and some after-dinner fun. They live on a beautiful piece of property, and Darin, who is a hunter, made one of Lee's wishes come true by letting him shoot a couple of his rifles, a shotgun, a pistol and a bow. Joanne took a couple shots, as well, just so she could say she'd done it.

While Lee was ecstatic about his target shooting experience, Joanne probably preferred our evening out at a piano recital by Van Cliburn competition medalist and Grammy-nominated, Joyce Yang. Joanne is a talented pianist, herself, and teaches piano to a select few students. 

Lee and Joanne also took some side-trips on their own. Two of them involved driving in a rental car. They drove to San Antonio to see the Alamo, the River Walk and other sights. 

Atop the Tower of the Americas, in San Antonio

At the San Antonio Riverwalk

Their second road trip was to Galveston with a stop, on their way back, at the NASA Space Center in Houston. Driving through Houston was an experience that Lee hopes never to repeat! Part of that highway boasts 12 main lanes, 8 lanes of access roads, and 6 high-occupancy vehicle lanes! Even with that many lanes, it can get pretty congested during peak hours. Add to that the fact that Lee was, as he put it, having to "drive on the wrong side of the road!" 

Joanne in Galveston

Two other trips completed their US travels. First they flew out of Austin to Arizona, where they took a train tour around the Grand Canyon. The ride featured western musicians and cowboy characters on vintage rail cars. A gang of mounted outlaws even showed up and boarded the train, "robbing" the passengers of their spare change. 

At the Grand Canyon

Secondly, because Lee is a dedicated Elvis fan, they flew to Memphis and stayed at the Graceland Guest House Hotel. They purchased the VIP sightseeing package, which gave them some fantastic experiences. 

Graceland

Our time with them at home was relaxed - resting up between their various outings. We played lots of table games. They both fell in love with Bananagrams, and Joanne and I played Rummikub every chance we got. I got them hooked on a daily dose of Jeopardy on TV. And Lee couldn't keep himself away from the political programming regarding the upcoming presidential election. 

At the end of their visit, Chris and Kelsey came to meet them. We all went out for a farewell dinner at The Commonwealth (a pickleball club). 

Dan drove our friends to Dallas on Sunday afternoon, November 3. They spent the night at a hotel and left on Quantas Airlines the next day for their 17-1/2 hour trip across the US and the Pacific to Sydney, and an additional two hours from Sydney to Adelaide. They spent a total of 5-1/2 weeks in the US. 

We hope someday to visit them in their beautiful country, but no firm plans as of yet.

Juneau Moments

My recent trip to Juneau was very brief. I was there for my uncle's memorial service, but got to see a few long-time, special friends while there, as well. I was blessed to stay with Louise, in her Fritz Cove home. She was such a hospitable hostess! We had a number of meals together, and took some scenic drives. Louise, who was my third grade teacher, in 1957, is now 94 years old, but she can out-do me on trails, sidewalks and stairs! I had brunch with Cindy and JoLynn one day; brunch with Kathy on another day; and enjoyed a nice visit with Janet in Louise's lovely living room. I also saw and spoke with several other friends at church, on Sunday morning. 

Uncle Bud's memorial service was nice. And the next day I gathered with family for the burial of his ashes in Evergreen Cemetery, near the graves of his mother and father. I'm grateful that I was able to be there to say a final "good bye" to my favorite uncle.

The first three or four days I was there, Juneau was dressed in sunshine and blue skies, so I was able to take some pictures. The last couple of days the clouds and rain moved in, quite typical of Southeast Alaska's weather, and the reason it for its gorgeous green forests. 

I'll post, below, just a few of my favorite scenic shots of "home" from this trip. 

Louise, standing on the back porch of the Gruening cabin

Uncle Bud

I returned home on Tuesday of last week from a quick trip to Juneau. My reason for going was to be there for my Uncle Bud's memorial service (on June 30). 

Uncle Bud passed away on March 15, 2024. He was my mom's brother, and the last living person of that generation for either of my parents. Uncle Bud was very special in my life. Although he visited us at various times when I was an infant and toddler, my earliest memories of him were when I was 4 years old, and living in Ketchikan, Alaska. 

Uncle Bud was a quiet man. He loved learning. I remember him sitting in our living room during family gatherings and contentedly reading his way through the volumes of our Encyclopedia Britannica set, while everyone else was engaged in casual chit-chat.

At one point in his life he was an avid model airplane enthusiast. I remember going with him to reclaim one of his RC planes that flew out of range and crashed into the branches of a tall tree. Some kind folks rescued it and called to tell him they had it. 

Uncle Bud was color blind. While he was going to diesel mechanics school, in Klamath Falls, Oregon, he bought a car. On one of his school breaks, he drove the 280 miles from Klamath Falls to Portland, where we lived, to visit and show off his new car. We all went outside to look at it, and were shocked by its toxic chartreuse color. Seeing the look on my Mom and Dad's faces, he asked the question he hadn't thought to ask before buying it:  "What color is it?" 

After both of our boys were grown, Dan and I moved back to Juneau for a few years. Tim followed us up there after a while. I'll always remember how Uncle Bud took to Tim. He befriended him, took him under his wing, and shared common interests. I've always been grateful for that relationship.

In 2022 I took granddaughter, Clara, to Juneau for a vacation. By then Uncle Bud was in an assisted living situation, but we got to visit with him one afternoon. I'm so thankful for that time we shared ... my last time to be with him.

I'll miss you, Uncle Bud. 

Ivan Womack Obituary

Ivan R. Womack, known to most people as Bud, passed away March 15, 2024 at the Juneau Pioneer Home.

Bud was born in Estacada, OR, to Ivan G. and Rose E. Meijer Womack, joining his sister, Margaret. The family moved frequently while his dad worked as a baker and cook in various logging camps. They eventually settled in Sweet Home, OR, when his dad opened a bakery. Bud always wanted to move to Alaska and on the day after graduation, he and his dad moved to Craig, and his mom followed soon after. Bud helped his dad with the bakery in Craig until he got an invitation from the military to join them. He served in the Army for two years at Ladd Airforce Base in Fairbanks. Following his discharge, he used the GI Bill to attend Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, where he got a degree in diesel mechanics.

During summer school breaks, Bud returned to Alaska and helped in the building of the Ketchikan sawmill and the Tunnel of Ketchikan. Following graduation, Bud moved to Juneau to work for Northern Commercial Company, first as a field mechanic traveling to work on equipment in the Southeast communities and remote fish and logging camps and then as service manager of the five shops. In 1964, he met Ardyne Kassner Burns and they married a year later. Bud became an instant dad to Ardyne's daughter, Lisa Marie, whom he soon adopted, and their son Rodney completed the family four years later.

Bud and his friend John (Butch) Hogins started H&W Equipment in Lemon Creek working on all types of construction equipment, trucks, and buses. Following Butch's death in a car accident, Bud continued H&W until selling it in 1973. The next thirteen years he worked for Belardi and Schneider Company. Following their closure, he worked for construction companies in Juneau until he retired in 1985.

He brought his love of tinkering home – there wasn't a piece of equipment he couldn't fix, a skill his family relied on throughout his life. His shop was, and still is, full of every tool imaginable and all the odds and ends he just might need whether it was building or fixing something, building remote-controlled airplanes, or fabricating an airboat for trips up Berners Bay. In later years, he turned his tinkering to taxidermy, filling the walls of their Lemon Creek home with small animals and birds.

Bud enjoyed many years of moose hunting in Berners Bay, outside of Haines, on the Taylor Highway, and the Nebesna Road with his friends and occasionally his son-in-law or the whole family, but most often, Ardyne was his sole hunting partner. To pass the winters, the family took their snow machines all over the Juneau area and he and two friends built the first snow machine trail to Spaulding Meadows. Later in life, Bud and Ardyne enjoyed many road trips, going north to visit their old stomping grounds and south to see the country, always visiting friends and family along the way.

Bud was proud of his 50-year membership in the Operating Engineers Local 302 and his lifelong membership with the Juneau Elks Club 420.

Bud is survived by his Juneau family - his wife of 58 years, Ardyne; daughter Lisa Marie and husband, Daniel Tourtellot; and son Rodney Womack. He is also survived by brother-in-law Dan Kassner and wife, Lorinda of Juneau; his sister-in-law Linda and husband, Paul Loos of Nevi, MI; and many Harju, Clark, and Loos nieces and nephews scattered throughout the lower 48 states. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Margaret and husband, Robert Clark; father and mother-in-law, Arthur and Esther Kassner, sister-in-law Joan and husband Leonard Harju and their boys George and John.  

We want to thank our Juneau Pioneer Home "family" and most especially the wonderful staff for making his time there, and our time with him, the best it could be.

There will be a gathering for Bud on Sunday, June 30, from 1:30p to 4:30; at the Juneau Yacht Club. If you knew Bud well, you knew he was a man of many stories and few words so please join us and share some of your favorite stories of him.