McNeill Connections: Such a Small World
And it gets smaller with each passing hour…
On Tuesday, after our return from camping at Island View Beach, Sean mentioned that Lucas (a friend of Sean and our family) was dating girl from Oak Bay and there was a connection to our family. A copy of the information passed to Sean is included in footer.
It turns out girlfriend’s Aunt is Debbie Ayotte (husband Giles). Our family met the Ayotte’s (kids Marcel and Danielle) back in the 1990s when Sean played soccer at Prospect Lake and baseball at Layritz with Marcel.
When mom (Laura Skarsen) was living with us for few months we took her to visit the Ayotte’s. During our visit we learned that when mom was in High School she had dated Debbie’s dad a few times. After that revelation Debbie and I often joked that if things had turned out slightly different, Debbie and I might be brother and sister. To this day, we still call each other brother and sister when we met.
Story 2
An hour later as I was cleaning the trailer, an older blue Volvo pulled up across the street and a man asked if this was the McNeill residence. Of course the conversation was on and the couple in the car, Mickey and Lillian (Stevens), were invited in for tea. First, he whipped the car around and parked in front of our house. No driving challenges for that young man.
In conversation we learned that while we were away the couple had a visit from my first cousins, Charlie and Olga Crocker of Saskatoon. His mother, Mina, was my dad’s sister and they both grew up in Glaslyn/Birch Lake, where Mina married (Ned Crocker) and lived until this both passed away.
Mickey said they had dropped by our place a few times with Charlie and Olga but were never able to catch us at home (of course). We also learned that for several years Charlie and Mickey worked as field reps in Saskatchewan for a farm implement company.
Mickey retired several years before Charlie and after retiring, living in Winnipeg for several years. He and Lillian then moved to the Island about 25 years back. They now live on Royal Oak Drive, only a few blocks from our home.
Now the cracker! Mickey is 96 and Lillian 93 and they have been married for 57 years. Mickey said they would have been married longer, but he was in his early forties and she in her late thirties when they finally tied the knot. Amazing.
While Lillian has some vision limitations, Mickey still easily holds a driver’s licence as evidenced by the way he whipped that Volvo around. The couple, as you might discern from the radiant look on their faces, are an absolute delight. This is one exceptional couple and I am sure we shall see more of them in the future.
What a small world.
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