Ernie & Wendy ~ Then & Now

The LAI clients were enjoying the upbeat music at the 30th Anniversary, and Ernie and Wendy, Bob and I were enjoying their enjoyment. I said to Wendy, "Boy, Jeff would sure love being out there on the dance floor!" "O yes," she said, "He'd be in heaven!" We laughed when I said, "He is in heaven!" We remember how much fun he had at other LAI celebrations!~~~ The first paragraph of the chapter titled, "Ernie and Wendy" in "Journey With Jeff " explains that "Ernie Haywood was part of the administrative staff at LAI, and his wife, Wendy, was on Jeff's residence staff on South Avenue in Brockport. They were such good friends of Jeff's that they asked him to be their special guest at their wedding. Ernie complains good-naturedly to this day, "Jeffrey got the first dance with my wife.!"~~~ Ernie and Wendy have given so much of themselves to LAI residents. There is more in the book about being "Surprised at Wendy's Farm," where the residents went one hot July 4th to visit the new baby horse. Wendy's dad gave Jeff a gift that he couldn't quite believe he had in his hand. Read about it in "Journey With Jeff: Inspiration for Caregivers of People with Special Needs," on page 291.