2005 McCorry Family Christmas Letter

Blessings of the Christmas Season to All: Christmas 2005

When Pat (Schield) Werth and her daughter Megan met Megan’s husband Nadim Rabbaa’s flight from Paris at San Francisco International Airport earlier this year, they held up a sign for him like the ones limo drivers use. Only this one announced that Nadim was to become a father! Their daughter, Juliana Marie Rabbaa, was born in California on Nov. 24, Thanksgiving Day, making Pat and her husband Jay grandparents for the first time.
Juliana (left) was one of several bundles of joy delivered to members of the extended McCorry Clan in 2005. I hope you all had a joyous and fulfilling year and that the Lord blesses you and shows you His love in 2006.
Peter Jonas became a grandfather again when his daughter Jane and her husband Matt Zbinden introduced Margaret Elizabeth Zbinden to the world on Nov. 4. Abigail is now the big sister! Not to be typecast in the “grandfather” role, however, Peter played in his 45th Toilet Bowl this Thanksgiving!
Mia Aspen McCorry was born Sept. 9 to David McCorry and his wife Lisa, of Durango, Colo. David is the son of Brian and Betsy McCorry. Nora Kathleen Hirthe was born May 4 to Linda and Pete Hirthe. Linda is the mother of our nephew Casey George Mullins, who is coming to here Dec. 26 to visit Disneyland with his California relatives. Evan Charles Freshley was born April 8 to Michele and Josh Freshley, of Alameda, Calif. Michele is our brother-in-law Ken Freer’s daughter from his first marriage.
Not to be outdone by all of them, Jane (Jonas) Williams delivered her 65th baby this year. Jane is a “doula,” one who assists a woman during labor and post-delivery, and was named Doula of the Year for 2004 by the University of California-San Diego Hearts and Hands Doula Program. “John T. loves to introduce me and says, ‘This is my wife. She’s had 65 babies!’” Jane says.
Srs. Benedicta and Aquinice still live in Chicago. Sr. Aquinice turned 80 Jan. 31 and was honored by her siblings, nieces and nephews with a party Feb. 6 at Sarah (Jonas) Przybylowski’s restaurant, Café Lulu, in Bay View. The nuns also made it to the annual cousins’ picnic this summer in Milwaukee at which the Jonas, Schield and Mullins families were represented (aunts Betty and Eleanor are pictured below).
Betty and Carroll Schield, now great-grandparents, moved in February to a retirement community in Port Richey, Fla. Sons Dan and David bought them a new computer to make e-mailing easier. “We do better, but we still need a grandchild sitting beside us” to help operate it, Betty says. They plan to visit Pat and Jay and see the new baby in Santa Rosa early next year. Mary Alice lives nearby and Joe may be moving to Northern California soon from San Diego if a new job comes through. Pat and Jay’s son Justin got married Jan. 19. His bride’s name is Ania. Jim Schield moved his family from California to Virginia this year for a new job as chief of the International Investigative Branch of the U.S. Marshal’s Service. David sided his house in Middleton, Wis., this year.
Mary Ann McCorry lives in Quincy but needs help getting around town now that she has stopped driving. A friend takes her to Mass; she still takes personal enrichment classes and is one of the Friends of the Library, selling donated books to raise money. Her son Dan and his wife, Robin, still live in the D.C. area. Their son Devin is a junior at the University of Michigan; son Gavin is in his second year at the Air Force Academy; and daughter Chelsea still lives at home. Brian and Betsy McCorry’s oldest son, Patrick, works for Silicon Valley-based Google Inc. but is soon moving to its offices in Dublin. Yes, the one in IRELAND! Daughter Lizzie graduated from Notre Dame and hopes to settle in Chicago; son Andrew is a high school senior who excels in cross-country; son Matthew, a junior, is a “barista” at a Starbucks. Mary Ann’s daughter, Maureen, teaches at the same school her children Meghan and Patrick attend; and son Michael is active in Special Olympics.
Kathy (Mullins) Gesley’s daughter Maureen started this fall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the alma mater of both her parents. Bill Mullins moved into a new place in Los Angeles and shares stories of the celebrities he sees when attending events at the Geffen Theater. Betty traveled to Williamsburg, Va., to celebrate her birthday in September. We visited her there years ago when the Brothers and Sisters singing group she was in performed at the nearby Busch Gardens theme park. Mary Mullins, her husband Bill Van Pelt and daughter Lizzie, hosted a 50th birthday party for me in Milwaukee May 22. I’m told “50 is the new 30!” I bought a condo in Santa Clara, Calif., where I live with my dog “Yankee,” a sweet 4-year-old Corgi I adopted after his owner, a former editor at the San Jose Business Journal, died of cancer. Yankee only barks when the doorbell rings. Or a doorbell rings on TV! (“No, Yankee. That’s Gabrielle going over to Bree Van de Camp’s house!”) I left the Business Journal in September after 14 years at the papers in San Jose and Milwaukee. I’m freelancing while looking for something new. Tricia’s husband Ken is cancer-free after undergoing colon cancer surgery and chemotherapy. We all thank God for his full recovery. Their daughter Erin now drives and is involved in school plays and her church group. Joe still works at Buck Bradley’s bar-restaurant in Milwaukee. Eileen lives in the Milwaukee area, too.
Paul Jonas bought a home in Bay View this year and his upstairs tenant is his brother Michael. Tess Jonas Moede graduated this year with an accounting degree from The College of St. Catherine in St. Paul. Jane’s husband J.T.’s son Ryan passed the California Bar exam and works at Luce Forward, a law firm in San Diego. Mary Pat’s son Jared turned 21 this year, a milestone marked by a family trip to Disney World. Son Jeremy also attends UW-Madison. Anna’s husband John Borden’s mother passed away this year and J.T.’s grandmother died after reaching the age of 100.
That’s it for now. Stay in touch. Have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love,


Robert Mullins