Kitty Borchert's Christmas Letter

Christmas 1997 

Greetings to all, and wishes for a peaceful and bright New Year! 

This will be a different sort of letter from those we have written in the past to tell you of our journey through the year.  1997 from its first moments brought new experiences to us with Frank's first surgery on December 31, 1996.  The surgery resulted in a new way of living, and being, but ultimately culminated in Frank's death on September 11, 1997, one day before our 38th wedding anniversary.  All of our children and my brother, Tom, were with us.  Many of our family and friends were able to be present at the memorial services held at Fairmount Church on a Wednesday evening during the choir's rehearsal time, and then at the University in October.  Both services were wonderful tributes to a life lived fully and well in the service of others. 

Our year was a busy one, with time for fun and sharing as well as constant interaction with medical services.  We were able to spend time in Florida watching sunsets with Dave and Elizabeth McMillan, and in Niagra-on-the-Lake at the Shaw Festival with Steve and Dolly Minter, as well as a lovely June day watching birds and the sunset over Lake Erie with Kent Organ and Vicky Curtiss.   Tom invited us to his Master's degree ceremony at the University of Chicago, which was a wonderful weekend with Tom and his friend, Rhonda Williams.  We were able to attend Becky Baznik and Albert School's wedding and spend a day in Chautauqua with Frank's family. Our final trip to Pennsylvania was a few days spent with our older son, Terry and his family early in August.  Our daughter, Anne, and her two sons were able to spend six weeks in Cleveland before she left ot join Jeff in Japan later in September. 

Terry continues to work at CapitalOne in Washington, D.C.  He and Momoko, his wife, are kept very busy by William, now 2.  Momoko is able to telecommute to her job at Nortel, though both she and Terry are travelling more than they like.  Anne is working part-time in alumni relations and development in the Far East for Case Western Reserve University, while Jeff teaches at the University of Yokohama and starts his dissertation research in Japanese documentary films.  Their two boys, Theo (1) and Andrew (3), are in pre-school in Japan, and slowly learning some Japanese, both language and mores.  Tom, after spending the summer in Taiwan, is continuing his PhD. work at the University of Chicago Divinity School, studying comparative church history and specializing in Buddhism.  His friend, Rhonda, is working for the city of Chicago staffing a committee dealing with environmental education and concerns in the city.  My school work in Social Policy History will begin again in January, after a leave of absence this semester.  Currently, I am serving on a task force of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) which is rewriting the Form of Government (part of the constitution of the church).  Other time is spent attempting to write a short history of the past 25 years of the Presbytery of the Western Reserve for an anniversary celebration. 

Best wishes to you and your families for a fine year to come, with peace, love and thanksgiving for all the blessings which we receive and the privilege to share them with others.