“Dynamic Duo” Honored at Final Staff Meeting

While Chisolm Leonard and Juli Garland both vehemently insisted that there was to be “no fanfare” when they rode off into the sunset (together, but separately), we didn’t take that to mean “absolutely no gifts.” So during their final staff meeting on February 24, Fr. Jeff thanked them for their many years of service, noting that in some difficult years, they had both helped to “steady the ship,” and we are very grateful.

Chisolm opened his gift first (carefully––to preserve the beautiful wrapping paper, just as his wife, Dottie, has taught him), a burgundy Montblanc pen, which Fr. Jeff joked could be used to do the one part of his job he’d continue to do in his retirement: write checks. He also received a bonus gift to share with Dottie, who in the past 25 years has had her own schedule turned upside-down whenever Chisolm had to deal with broken heat pumps, lightning strikes, fire alarms, or any of the countless other issues he’s had to deal with. The beautiful Charles DeAntonio III original oil painting of St. Philip’s Church is particularly special, Chisolm shared, not only because of its subject matter, but also because he and Dottie were good friends with Charles DeAntonio, Jr.––and in fact own two of his paintings!

When it was Juli’s turn to unwrap, she noted first that the box read “Croghan’s,” remarking that she’d never owned a Croghan’s piece before––and when she opened the box, she let a gasp when she realized that inside was a crystal camellia bowl. “I have beautiful camellias in my yard that were my dad’s,” she said, “some of which are two-toned!” 

Before we moved on to the standard portion of our staff meeting, Juli shared a little bit of her history at St. Philip’s (including how Juli got her job––answering a blind ad that Chisolm turned out to be at the other end of) and what she’s planning on doing in her retirement: tackling a stash of yarn that may outlive her (knitting, knitting, and more knitting!), tackling a stack of books, and getting more involved with the DAR are all high on the list.

Chisolm and Juli, we miss you already, and we can’t wait to see you as full-time parishioners in the pews! And Juli, don’t let the fact that it’s almost spring stop you from knitting us scarves or hats or whatever you feel like knitting us––we’ll be keeping an eye out for the mailman!