Veronica Louis Lois Sinclair Reutzel; A Kiss from the Old World

1. Veronica Louis Lois Sinclair Reutzel;A Kiss from the Old World A memoir by her granddaughter, Monika Balfanz

2. In a land far far away…. In a little hospital in South Philly on June 19th, 1943, there was a small blond baby girl. Her name was Veronica Louise Reutzel. She was born to Viola Marie Szpyrka Sinclair and James Dunnit Sinclair. She was a baby born with hazel eyes that would change color everywhere you turned, they were called bedroom eyes. She was their 6th child. She was a preemie, and in those days being a preemie was quite dangerous, for the medical advancements in neonatal science were not as great as today. Nonetheless, she survived to become a great woman……..

3. Let’s do the time warp…. Her name was Veronica Louise Lois( Her Confirmation name) Sinclair. She was 12 ears old and she loved to play hopscotch, Red rover, Hide the belt, Jump rope, Jacks, and Freeze with all the other neighborhood kids. She was still wearing her Catholic School Uniform, it marked her as a student of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School.Veronica was quite familiar with the Nuns there. In a few hours, she would go to stay at her Grandmother's, Veronika Szpyrka. She spoke broken English, mostly Polish, but Veronica was the apple of her eyes. Veronica never truly spoke Polish but she always could understand what Grandma was saying……

4. South Philly; Love is in the air…. Her friend, Mary Mayfield had convinced her to go to the Y Dance. It was where all the sailors that got back from deployment could go to so that they could dance with the ladies of Philly. That was where she met the very funny man name Henry James Reutzel. For 3 years he would be like a brother to her, even though he asked her to marry him eight times. They would not really begin to date until their fourth year of knowing each other and she would not even say yes until the ninth time of him asking her. She wasn’t ready until the ninth time. She would receive a letter from Henry while he was deployed in Scotland. It was him asking her to marry him, for the ninth time. She replied; Yes. Now aren’t you sorry that you asked me to marry you a ninth time?( she teased) To my little blue man, Veronica.

5. Ding dong, wedding bells. They would become husband and wife on December 5th 1964. Nerves were everywhere on this special day. The photographer made the bride late for her very own wedding day, which only began the chaos of the day. Veronica had her brother Jimmy walk her down the aisle, her father was long gone. Her dress was satin with flowers in the front and a big bow in the back. The bride’s maids wore emerald green dresses with bussed backs. She carried a white bouquet. They were the first couple to get married at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church during that Advent Season by Father Miller……

6. San Diego, here they come. Of course, she was nervous. She had never been out of South Philly before. Now they were moving all the way to the other side of the U.S. to San Diego. In 1965. They moved to a small apartment, just her and Henry. Henry was still in the Navy, stationed aboard the U.S.S. Jason, and Veronica was a homemaker. It was until she would become pregnant that it all would change. She had little Veronica Teresa Reutzel at Balboa Naval Hospital. She was a blond chubby baby with bright baby blue eyes. She was the first blond baby born to that hospital in years, so all the nurses and doctors had come to see her. Little Veronica was a good little baby. She didn’t fuss or cry at night. All three stayed in San Diego for 1 year, then they moved to Portsmouth Virginia.

7. Portsmouth, oh Portsmouth They had moved into Twin Lakes Navy Housing. Very soon had Veronica become pregnant and delivered a fussy little child named Denise Marie. The child would sleep from six at night to six in the morning, but in between would drive most people insane. This baby was born with a dark olive completion and dark hair, she looked a lot like her father. Soon after Denise, she was pregnant with little Isabelle Agnes, while pregnant with her they would decide to move back to Philly.

8. Ah, Home. They lived with Veronica’s Mother for a little bit while they waited for Navy Housing to be assigned. Veronica even had Isabelle Agnes while they were there. This child would be quite odd. She was a small 2-toned baby. The child’s arms and legs were tan but the rest would be pale. Veronica’s sister and little Isabelle’s namesake , along with her Uncle drove Veronica and her family to a little place called Newport, Rhode island. The view was beautiful from their home. They could look out their window and see the Newport bay. They lived in a cute little house in the Winford Naval Housing area. They could also see the Naval Ships coming in…. She soon also became pregnant, with a boy this time. On July 23rd, 1973, in Newport Naval hospital, Henry James Reutzel was born. He was a laid back baby and look exactly like his father.

9. A little place called Bennmoral They had Henry in Rhode Island. They had to move back to Philly for 6 months to wait for Naval Housing in Virginia to be assigned. Then they moved into a little place named Bennmoral. At this time one would remark that their house was becoming a zoo. With four children, a lot of fish, hamsters, cats, dogs, rabbits, and birds all pushed into a little house, most would agree. The house was always filled with love though and they would never turn down an abandoned animal. “They even had so many puppies that some would end up sleeping in their doggie bowls..”

10. Little Veronica is all grown up It would be a nervous day when little Veronica gets married to Kirk Arthur Balfanz. Veronica would still end up staying with her mother because Kirk was stationed in California at the time. Soon Veronica would have her first grandchild, Monika Balfanz. It had been a nightmare pregnancy. Little Veronica( or little Roni as she became affectionately called over the years) had been put in the hospital many times over her pregnancy and everyone was scared. Monika came out as a little preemie at six weeks early. She was a precious little thing with a little tuff of black hair and dark brown eyes. Veronica would take care of little Monika for quite a bit because Little Roni had to recover from the pregnancy. It was 2 years later that Little Roni would become pregnant with Armin James. …

11. Oh, Lordy…. Armin was her first grandson and would be born a day after her own son’s graduation. Needless to say, it was a nightmare. Armin was born with icy blond hair and hazel eyes like his grandmother. He was a laid back baby as well, for that moment. Together Monika and Armin would drive their grandmother and mother slowly insane as they would often tag-team to get what they wanted…..

12. A few years and a couple grandchildren later…. Denise would later marry Richard and have Elizabeth Marie and Heather Denise. Christopher Jason would be born to Isabelle and her husband Scott. Then Denise would have another handful named Jonathan Richard. Shortly before Jonathan was born would be the most heartbreaking period of Veronica’s life. Her husband, Henry James Reutzel would die of a heart attack at 58….

13. They’re moving in? 2 years later Little Roni and her family, Little Monika and Armin, along with Kirk and their animals, would move in. They would start to take care of Grandma, and provide her with a little more insanity. Her son, Henry would finally get married in Wichita, Texas and adopt a new child named Jordan.

14. Let’s do the time warp again…. Grandma still has her bedroom eyes. Her hair has changed from it’s old icy blond to a salt-and pepper color. She is current proud of her membership in the Country Strollers Red hatter Society. Yes, she rocks the red and purple in style. Her grandchildren still driver her insane but she still loves them. If you ask her if her life has been exciting, she would probably reply not, but to her grandchildren, Grandma is cool…..