William Penn 1963


                     

Patricia K. Leonard
aka Patti

    

After high school I worked for the New Castle Board of Water & Light married fellow classmate Warren "Butch" Fuller. I left the Water & Light Company after the birth of my first child, Warren "Keith" Fuller February 18th, 1965. When he was 6 weeks old I went to work for the then Diamond State Telephone Company on a temporary assignment, then entered training for a customer service representative. Much to my surprise I found myself pregnant again with my daughter Kimberly who was born March 9th , 1966 (Irish twins). At that time Butch worked for Hercules and was in the National Guards part time. He then went on active duty and we moved to Oklahoma. Much of the next few years was a real road trip allowing me and our family to live in Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama and Maryland, During that time, Butch served 2 tours in Viet Nam and I moved home to Delaware. That time truly enriched my life in so many ways and I met new friends who will remain in my heart always. In 1975 we were divorced and the kids and I moved back to Delaware. That is where I began my 25 year career with the State of Delaware ending as a Quality Control Specialist determining if Delaware social workers correctly determined, Medicaid, AFDC and Food Stamps eligibility and reported to the federal government any errors and recommended corrective actions to the State of Delaware to alleviate errors and avoid monetary sanctions. In the year 2000 I retired from the State of Delaware and just enjoyed the time with my granddaughter Mackenzie who was born on Thanksgiving Day 1996. In 2001 I decided I was bored and looked for employment. I went to a job fair and the next day I had calls from 5 companies for interviews. I found out that maturity and experience were highly marketable at that time. I went for a job interview with Wilmington Trust Co. (my first choice) 2 days later and was hired as a customer service representative. I worked there for the next 8 years, loving every moment and again making lifetime friends. In 2008 I had heart surgery at John Hopkins Hospital for an electrical problem called A-Fib (slang term not medical) with the surgeon that designed the surgery. Unfortunately they punctured my heart during the surgery, had to do another surgery to release the blood from around my heart and I ended up in intensive care and on a ventilator. Knowing that I almost died made me reevaluate my life and I retired again and have remained retired. My daughter Kim divorced and she and Mackenzie moved in with me about 8 years ago and I have helped raise Mackenzie who will be 17 in November. She is the love of my life and my only grandchild. My life has been very, very blessed with wonderful family and dear friends, many of those from our class. My life remains very full with my volunteer work with the New Castle Lions Club and all that we do for our community. The last 3 years I have been the treasurer, sight chairman, 2 parade chairs and a lot of other things. When Jim Gregg contacted me to see if I wanted to help I was really excited about helping with the reunion. He and Carol Heinhold have done almost all the work and what a fantastic job they have done. Butch has done an outstanding job on the William Penn High School Class 1963 website. If you haven't checked it out, hurry and do so. I can't wait to see everyone again while I still know who they are!!!

Patti passed away on May 21st 2022 at Beebe Hospital.



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