Retiring in North Carolina was a bit of a no-brainer for Guy and Susie Beale. While they both worked for George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, they would routinely vacation here.
“We started coming to the Outer Banks for vacation in 1972,” Guy says. “We’ve come virtually every year to North Carolina for vacation at the beaches.”
Susie’s brother and his wife, and Susie’s parents have all moved to Wilmington. Guy and Susie’s son also lives here, and their grandson lives in Charlotte.
“When it got to be retirement time, we knew we would be coming somewhere at least close to Wilmington,” Guy says.
Living in North Carolina allows Guy wide latitude to indulge in one of his favorite pastimes — golf — and to keep in touch with George Mason University.
“I’m sort of retired but not completely,” he explains. “I work part-time for our church here in Wilmington, and also work part-time for my former employer, which is George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
“A fair amount of work I do for George Mason, I can do from home,” he says. “But I generally go up to Fairfax for two or three days once a month to meet with people and get things done.”
Guy was a professor in the electrical and computer engineering department at George Mason, where he worked for two decades. He no longer teaches, but now works with department faculty to assist with their accreditation process.
Guy and Susie remain active in their Lutheran church.
“We’re both communion assistants and assistant ministers,” says Susie, adding that Guy is also director of Christian education.
For relaxation, Guy and Susie both enjoy teeing up on the golf course with friends, or curling up with a good book.
“Golf is my main hobby,” says Guy. “I love to play golf. I only started playing golf when I turned 60 years old, so I’m not a real good golfer, but I love to play.
“When you’re playing golf, you’re not worried about anything else that’s going on in your life,” he adds. “You have all of your worries right there on the golf course.”
“He’s so much better than I am,” Susie says. “I just go out there to have a good time with my girlfriends.”
Susie’s a member of a book club, and enjoys reading at the beach. Guy likes mysteries.
“I like the English writers Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers the best,” he says. “I also like Sherlock Holmes — Arthur Conan Doyle. Those would be the favorites.”
The beach and the water play a prominent role in their lives, Susie says.
“We enjoy going out on a boat. We’ve been on a lovely trip with friends all the way up to Baltimore,” Susie explains. “We like going down to the beach. We have friends that come to visit us because they can go down to the beach.
“To me, the beach is a nice, peaceful place because I can do a lot my praying to God down there. It’s peaceful and quiet,” she points out.
Their affinity for the water played a role in becoming interested in the retirement community planned for Trinity Landing.
“I think the fact that it’s on the Intracoastal Waterway is always good for me. I enjoy the water,” Susie says.
They were intrigued by a presentation on Trinity Landing that they attended, and they became depositors.
“We’re familiar a little bit at least with Trinity Grove, the nursing home in the area,” he continues. “We went to a meeting that the Trinity Landing folks put on. We were impressed by what we heard, so we put down a deposit to be one of the priority members.
“We know that the Lutheran Services organizations that do the nursing homes, that do the retirement home facilities, and [that run the Lutheran relief efforts] all have a very good reputation.”
If you would like to learn more about the exciting retirement community planned for Trinity Landing, call 910-398-9400 for your free information kit, or request a personal appointment.