Loved Every Minute of it

Captain Howard Holschuh retired on August 8, 1972 after 30 years in the U.S. Navy. Howdy, as his wife Helen and friends called him, was just 48 years old. Their children Jamie and Steve had both graduated college. Their retirement home in the Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia had no mortgage. They had no debts. His Navy pension would cover all their expenses. Retirement was filled with fun and excitement, work and travel, church and volunteer activities. Howdy and Helen built a home, then another, with the help of friends, and tended their gardens. They visited every state, cruised the Atlantic and Pacific, the Caribbean, Med, Aegean, Black, and South China Seas, and set foot on every continent save Antarctica. They volunteered for mission projects in the U.S., Tanzania, Costa Rica, Mexico, St. Lucia, and Venezuela, and taught Sunday School teaching the value of hard work and play. Two grandchildren, Jason and Lorien, blessed their lives--but they lost their son in a tragic hotel fire. Much later, Helen suffered a stoke resulting in memory loss and progressive dementia. Helen passed away December 9, 2011, Howdy resides in a retirement home near their daughter.These memories are dedicated to Helen. Without her, this life would have been more difficult, less fun...and this book would have been impossible to write.
About the Author: Howard Holschuh was born November 25, 1923 in New York City. Two years later, due to his father's poor health, the family moved to upstate New York. He was graduated from Middletown (NY) High School in 1940, and attended Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA, until he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1942. Holschuh was commissioned an Ensign in the Naval Reserve 1944 and served in the amphibious forces in the Pacific theater until the end of World War II. In July 1946, he married the former Helen Stafford. They had two children, a daughter Jeanette, and a son Steve. Upon release to inactive duty, Holschuh enrolled in Stanford University, receiving a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree, both in Journalism. He served as a staff newswriter for radio stations KNBC and KGO in San Francisco until recalled to active duty during the Korean War. He was upgraded into the Regular Navy and served with distinction in the Pentagon, Hawaii, Vietnam, and Germany, retiring in 1972 with the rank of Captain, USN. The Holschuhs retired first to northern Virginia, then moved to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. When Helen's health began to fail, they moved to Laurel Lake Retirement Community in Hudson, Ohio, to be near their daughter and son-in-law. Helen passed away December 9, 2011. He continues to write.