E-SYSTEMS/RAYTHEON RETIREES LUNCH GROUP
By Eileen Wahlstrom
April 27/ May 25/ June 29, 2022
Present: 44/28/31
First Time: Bret Bowling, Tom Longo/None in May/ June - Debbie Reese, Gene Chapman
Long Time: None in April or May/ June - Minyonne Toumbs, Joe Cox, Mary Ellen Myers, Ken Garner
Guests: Jim Frame (speaker), Alice Bowling, Brenda Prachyl (w/ Dottie)/ None in May/ June-Ken Garner’s Wife?
SICKNESS:
None reported.
Deaths
Bruce King
April 18,2022
From Bea King:
On April 18, 2022, Bruce King passed from this life to the arms of his Savior. He fought a long battle with cancer, Covid and pneumonia and was doing well until Saturday when his lungs filled with fluid and he was having to fight for every breath. He was on oxygen but the lungs couldn’t absorb it. His heart eventually gave out.
We will have a memorial service on Saturday, April 23 at 2:00 p.m. in the First Baptist Church of Poolville.
Carl Griffin Jr.
August 1924 – August 2021
GRIFFIN, JR., Carl A. Carl Alva Griffin, Jr., was born on August 22, 1924, to Carl and Ruby Griffin in Forney, Texas. He passed away on Monday, August 9, 2021. He was raised in the South Oak Cliff area and attended Sunset High School. As soon as he graduated, he joined the US Marines and served in World War II in the Pacific Islands. Upon his return to the US after the war, he met and married the love of his life, Zonnie. They were married 68 years and raised four children in Mesquite, Texas. He was a devoted husband and family man who was a living example of Christian discipleship, a quiet man of humility and generosity. He was a member of Tinney Chapel United Methodist Church since he moved to Winnsboro in 1982. He was a mechanical engineer and retired from E Systems/Raytheon Industries with over 45 years of service. He spent the last forty years as a part-time rancher and old car enthusiast enjoying life in Winnsboro. He was an active member of Autumn Trails Model A club and the Lazy 8s V8 club. He is survived by his four children, Marc Griffin and his wife, Judy of Plano; Marsha Griffin and her husband, Michael Seifert of Brownsville; Marcella Salter of Winnsboro and Marilyn Ballem of Mineola. He was the beloved grandfather of 8 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren and two great great granddaughters. He was preceded in death by his wife, Zonnie; his parents and sister, Doris Crow. A visitation will be held from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., Saturday, August 14, 2021 at Beaty Funeral Home in Winnsboro, Texas. The funeral will follow the visitation beginning at 2:00 p.m. Interment will be at Lee Cemetery in Winnsboro where Carl will rest beside his beloved Zonnie.
Obituary: Click here
Mary Lou Carnes
March 18,2019
My mother was employed at Raytheon and retired after 43 years in 2000. She was an inspector and loved her job. She was a member of the woman's club and was very active with this group. She passed away 3/18/2019 age 86. Natural causes. I'm her daughter Kathryn Traylor.
Jan Bunch (Wife of Carrol Bunch)
April 10, 2022
Passed away from Pancreatic cancer April 10, 2022.
Don Chappell
1939 – May 15, 2022
James Donald Chappell, age 82, of Texarkana, TX. formerly of Terrell, TX. passed away on Sunday, May 15, 2022. Don was born September 2, 1939 in Texarkana, AR. Graduated from Arkansas High School in 1957. Graduated from Texarkana Community College and attended the University of Alabama. Don received his honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corp. He started in radio-tv production at KTAL-TV in Texarkana and Shreveport. Later in life he became a photo journalist working with NASA, KDFW-TV in Dallas, TX. for eighteen years. Don received numerous awards for his work at KDFW-TV. He left the television industry to enter the corporate world as a photo journalist for E-systems/Raytheon in Garland, TX. for over twenty years. His work was highly regarded and traveled the world working for them. In 2010 he retired to his farm in Terrell, TX. and later in 2019 moved back home to Texarkana where he started volunteering at Christus St.Michael Hospital until he passed away.
Funeral service was 2:00 P.M. Friday, May 20, 2022 at East Funeral Home-Moores Lane with Rev. Freddie Burden officiating. Burial to follow in Hillcrest Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be left at St. Jude's Children's Hospital or Wounded Warriors Project
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.eastfuneralhomes.com for the Chappell family
Neal Hodge
June 14, 2022
Neal passed away June 14, 2022 in Fort Worth. He was born April 14, 1933 in Memphis, Texas to Cecil Holt. Sr. and Clara Lou Neal Hodge. Neal married Audrey Aliene Willis on July 9, 1953 in Dallas. Neal was a parts crib manager in the electrical industry for over 42 years. He was of the Baptist faith and a member of Masonic Lodge #90 in Waxahachie. Neal served in the U.S. Army.
Neal is survived by his wife of 68 years, Audrey Hodge of Cleburne; children; Warren Terry Hodge and Lisa Thompson of Alma, Arkansas, Jeffery Alan Hodge and wife Mary Ann of Rowlett; grandchildren, Kimberly Hodge, Bethany Barnes, Terry, Jr. Hodge, Jason Hodge, Laurie Rollins, Margo Bristow, Sam Hodge; 17 great-grandchildren; 8 great-great-grandchildren; brother, James Robert Hodge of Okolona, Arkansas and numerous nieces and nephews.
Neal is preceded in death by his son, Gregory Paul Hodge in 1959; sisters, Sherrell Hodge, Joyce McCrary; brother, Cecil Holt Hodge, Jr. and granddaughter Janea Barry
Memorials may be made to Shriners Children’s Hospital in Dallas
Obituary: Click here
Announcements
Our get together in April included a presentation and handouts from Mr. Jim Frame. He detailed the Dallas College Emeritus program and explained how to get involved. Mr. Frame stressed the importance for seniors to 1. Take care of their body and 2. Take care of their brain. The Emeritus program will help with number 2.
Mr. Frame is starting a series of lectures that help with everything from Anxiety, Fear and Anger, to Stress and Loss. For 9 years he spoke to over 3,000 attendees through these lectures. “How do you handle these issues?” The series starts July 10th at 11:00am at First Baptist Church of Richardson in their activities building. If you are interested in attending, call Jim at 972-234-2718 or just show up.
In May Darrel Lancaster told us about the ROC and Camp Wonderment.
Camp Wonderment website is as follows with gobs of information: https://www.wondermentcorp.com/
The Circus Camp for Children with Limb Differences video is located as follows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAJcCtzZUf4
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Metro Family
Ministries @ The
ROC
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ROC' N SUMMER
KICK-OFF PARTY
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Everyone is invited to
come out to the
Kick-off Party for our
neighborhood kids as
they are getting ready
to experience a fun
summer at The ROC in a
7-week program led by 7
different church
groups. The ROC will be
hosting a live concert
led by Moses Uvere, a
local Garland rapper.
There will be free
food, inflatables, face
painting, and more.
If you would like
to volunteer or
partner with us for
this event, click
the link below.
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ROC N' Summer
We are quickly
approaching Summer, and
the 7-week VBS-style
program is right around
the corner. Churches
are volunteering to
host a week and lead
our neighborhood kids
in bible study, crafts,
and recreation from 11
am-1 pm every Monday
through Friday.
If you would like
to serve in some
way for ROC N’
Summer, reach out
to Emily! We always
need additional
volunteers, snacks,
water, and
popsicles.
Schedules are out
for next year's
Garland ISD Summer,
reach out to Emily
to get your group
signed up for a
ROC' N Summer week.
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Sponsor a ROC shirt
for a ROC N' Summer
student.
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Check out our new
ROC logo and
shirts!
You can now order a
shirt at the link
below.
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Contact us at
mfmroc@gmail.com
or fill out a volunteer
form to find ways to
partner with us as we
meet the physical and
spiritual needs of the
community.
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The note below was posted on Facebook and refers to a Rocking Chair for retirees retroactive to January 2020 with 35+ years of service. If you qualify…read below!
Mailing FSA Claims
You can still mail Medical Claims for reimbursement.
Use the old form and mail the claim to:
Alight Smart Choice Solutions
PO Box 64009
The Woodlands, TX
77387
Paper Pension Statements No More
NOTE:
Paper pension statements will not be mailed out any longer. You must now view your pension statement on rtxpensioncenter.com. If your direct deposit looks off, better check. Some people have reported being double charged for their medical deductions (Dental, etc.).
Benefits Administrator Change
This info was posted on our Facebook group.
Alight has a benefits "Gateway" website that will be used for benefits administration. If you haven’t created an account yet you can use this link to do so, (https://rtxhealthyyou.com/enrollment-2"). The instructions indicate to go to www.yourtotalrewards.com/rtx and select "New user?". The "New user?" selection links to a couple of identifying questions and then steps you through the account setup. It recognized me and I was able to set up my account so I could create my profile and preferences. There’s also an online chat feature to talk with a benefits representative and find out additional details about benefits changes. They had my old employee email address in my profile and I had to call Alight to get that corrected (800-243-8135). Be sure to check your beneficiary information. This was blank for me so I corrected that.
Alight will manage the medical reimbursement and (if it works like intended) we will be able to check our DDB balance, submit claims, authorize direct deposit, etc. online.
RTX is also moving the 401K administration from Fidelity to Alight. The 401K change to Alight will not impact you if you've rolled over your 401K to personal IRA. www.yourtotalrewards.com
IF YOU NEED HELP SETTING UP YOUR ALIGHT ACCOUNT, REIMBURSEMENT CLAIMS, DIRECT DEPOSIT, ETC. PLEASE EMAIL ME AT emmawahlstrom@aol.com. TERRY GAUS HAS OFFERED TO HELP THE RETIREES WHO MAY HAVE QUESTIONS. I CAN ALSO HELP NAVIGATE THE SWAMP IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE.
I’ll be turning in an order for magnetic name tags. Let me know if you want to order yours. One-line tags are $5.00- and two-line tags are $6.00. If anyone needs a name tag, please send your name (as you would like it on the name tag) to me, emmawahlstrom@aol.com or text it to me at 469-475-4884. A second line is optional if you want to include your service dates.
My Back Porch
On the first day, God created the dog and said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years."
The dog said, "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?"
And God saw it was good.
On the second day, God created the monkey and said, "Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span."
The monkey said, "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?"
And God, again saw it was good.
On the third day, God created the cow and said, "You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years."
The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?"
And God agreed it was good.
On the fourth day, God created humans and said, "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years."
But the human said, "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back,
the ten the monkey gave back,
and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?"
"Okay," said God, "You asked for it."
So that is why for our first twenty years, we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves.
For the next forty years, we slave in the sun to support our family.
For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren.
And for the last ten years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information.
I'm doing it as a public service.
If you are looking for me I will be on the front porch...
Our next luncheon will be July 27th. Tell your fellow retirees!
I will resume collecting eye glasses for donation to the Lion’s Club.
Thank you all who have donated
Eileen Wahlstrom
Submit your Garland ESY/Raytheon stories now!!
ESY Ray