Irvine, California USA

1982

When Slim retired from the University of Michigan in 1982, Slim and Dorothy moved to Irvine, California. Their son Jim was living there at the time and commuting to his work at Hughes Aircraft Company in El Segundo, California, near the LAX Airport. Irvine seemed like a nice community to them; it was a beautiful planned community, the weather was ideal, and they would at least be close to one (1) of their two (2) sons.

They bought a brand-new two-bedroom house in the "Lakeside" neighborhood of the "Woodbridge" community in Irvine. It was a California-style house in a neighborhood of zero lot-line homes, but with wonderful common areas, and recreational facilities such as neighborhood swimming pools every few blocks. Slim and Dorothy's home was just a block from West Lake which offered wonderful views, hike-and-bike paths, recreational facilities, and pedestrian access to neighborhood shopping facilities. Their home had an enclosed patio, two master bedrooms with baths, and a living-dining room with a soaring fireplace and vaulted ceiling.

Slim and Dorothy were very comfortable in Irvine. They fixed their little home up beautifully and their impeccable housekeeping made it a joy for friends and relatives to visit. Slim became an officer in the homeowner's association and they quickly had many new friends throughout the community. There were plenty of interesting people about. The dentist son of old friends from Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, lived down by the lake. So did two (2) young women who regularly traveled to China for their import business. Another neighbor was the former director of the Los Angeles water district.  

2000

In early 2000 Slim was having some health problems. Dorothy decided it was time to leave the house and they made arrangements to enter into a brand-new assisted living facility that was going up just a few blocks away. It was a way to get some relief from the increasing burdens of caring for the house and to yet stay connected with their community. They would up moving into the Lynnbrooke Assisted Living facility on the first day that they opened, in May of 2000.

2001

Slim and Dorothy celebrated sixty-five (65) years of marriage in March of 2001. All of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren came to Lynnbrooke for a wonderful party.

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In August of 2001 Dorothy died unexpectedly. After fighting a number of serious health problems over the years Dorothy fell in the apartment at Lynbrooke and hit her head. She appeared to be "normal" for a couple of days, but massive bleeding began on her brain. Slim found her on the floor in the middle of the night in a coma. She never regained consciousness and died a couple of days later, on October 6 2001. She was buried at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California.

2002

Slim continued to live at Lynnbrooke in Irvine. Both of his sons suggested that he move closer to one of them, Jim now living in Phoenix, Arizona and Tom still in Austin, Texas. Slim always said that he would consider it, but both sons knew that he liked it in California and that he still had many friends in Irvine. It was somewhat hard for Slim to stay there after losing Dorothy. They had been sweethearts since childhood. But, Slim seemed to continue to enjoy life in spite of his loss and in spite of health problems that were plaguing him. Early in the year he was in intensive care after an inadvertent overdose of Coumadin nearly cost him his life. He struggled back with an extensive hospitalization followed by weeks of rehabilitation. More recently he was back in the hospital when congestive heart failure set in just after undergoing cataract surgery. Once again Slim fought back, leaving the hospital, returning to Lynnbrooke, and seeming to be regaining his strength. Alas, he was discovered unconscious on the floor of his apartment early one evening. He died a few days later, of what was diagnosed as a massive stroke. Slim never regained consciousness and we are grateful that he suffered no fear or pain in his departure. Slim was buried with Dorothy at the Crystal cathedral in Garden Grove, California.