Ford Chinworth

What a privilege to take part in this great web site!

Work: Architect with Vosbeck, Vosbeck, Kendrick, Redinger (Alexandria, VA) and with the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, U.S. Navy. Hoorah - ended 1/1/2011!

Activities planned at the time of retirement, in 2011: volunteer work (Grace Church, Alexandria); swimming; piano; Montebello (our apartment complex) design committee chair; travel; reading; genealogical research; investment research. Activities actually undertaken: All of the above except swimming and piano, but added Nation's Capital Model T Ford Club and singing in church choir.

How that's worked out? Still do some volunteer work at All Souls, but substituted being Secretary for Nation's Capital Model T Ford Club and Precinct Captain for Fairfax County Republican Committee for work at the hospice. Swimming: not so much, even though its now in my physical therapy/fitness routine after a mild stroke (now fully recovered, thanks be) last fall. Piano, yes (also marvelous physical therapy). Montebello had become consuming, what with shepherding remodeled lobbies and hallways, a new addition (for an up-to-date Fitness Center), remodeling plans for the community center, and master plan for 35 acres of landscape; but I hung up the spurs in 2015. Travel is more or less on target. Reading, yes - just augmented with a new series of home study video courses. Genealogical and investment research have become rather passive.

Volunteer activities over the years included Epiphany Parish, Episcopal Diocese of DC; Construction Specifications Institute; American Society for Testing and Materials. But the most treasured included working with the children: Sunday School, Cub Scouts, T.C. Williams Crew Booster Association; Alexandria Soccer Association; Washington Area Girls' Soccer Association.

Katy (Kaufman) Chinworth put up with me from 1964 to 1993. John Brown has from 2000.

Band! What a great group.

Speech under Mildred Petrie. Getting to kiss NoJe Weckler AND Linda Schlag in Diary of Anne Frank.

I've had many lessons in humility over the years, but one of the most instructive was the -2 in grammatical score earned by my first essay in Mrs. Braddock's senior English course. Her pointing out thirty-four mistakes in 1-1/2 pages was a real wake-up call!