Dr.
William Wenner - our mentor and friend
Written
by J
"The
Butterfly House" would never have happened without
the help of my great friend, Dr. Bill Wenner.
From
1971 through 1976, Sonja and I lived in a little rented
cabin in Pacific Grove. Through the years I worked hard
to make this a cabin a beautiful place for us to live.
In 1976, the property was sold to a couple from Texas.
When they moved from Texas to Pacific Grove and found
out an interracial couple was living in the rented cabin
behind their primary home, they gave us to two weeks to
get out. We searched frantically to find a place to live.
After a week, we found the property we own now, but did
not have the down payment.
|
|
|
Dr. Bill was the doctor for the drug counseling center
where I worked. Dr. Bill volunteered his services to many
agencies and individuals throughout Monterey County. He
was one of the most loved surgeons on the Monterey Peninsula,
not only for his skill as a surgeon, but for his volunteer
activities. When I mentioned to him that we only three
days to get a down payment on the home; without hesitation,
he gave us the money for the down payment.
I
have traveled to every state in this country, but I have
never met such a caring, loving man as Dr. Bill Wenner.
He was my mentor, and if I could have chosen my father,
it would have been Dr. Bill. The picture below is of Dr.
Bill and Sonja on his property on the big island of Hawaii.
On
November 24, 2005, our beautiful friend, Dr.
Bill Wenner, died at his home in Volcano, Hawaii. Sonja
and I are celebrating his life because life is what Dr.
Bill was all about. He will always be in our thoughts
and in our hearts. LOVE YOU, BILL!
|
Recently,
we received a card from a fan who lives in San Jose, CA
and has an 11 year old cousin living in England. My wife
and I got such a laugh from it, that we wanted to share
it with all of you.
Dear
J,
Recently,
my cousin, who is 11 years old, was visiting us from
England and we brought him by your Butterfly House and
he must have been really impressed. When he went back
to school in England, they asked him to show a pitctur
of where he visited on his vacation. He chose a picture
of the Butterfly House over Yosemite Park and the Golden
Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Letters
like this one makes me get up every morning to continue
working on the The Butterfly House for Sonja and I, and
all our wonderful friends around the world.
|
|
Virginia
Holine
Virginia
Holine has been my dearest and closest friend
since we met in 1973. We worked in adjacent offices
for different agencies, but a lasting bond was
formed. When we met, she was a widowed mom of
two school age children and, yet, she always had
time to listen and be supportive of her friends.
|
|
|
I am pleased that to this day, 10 years after her
retirement, our friendship has continued to grow.
She knew J and I during the years we struggled to
buy and build our present home. Many times she loaned
us money when things got rough. The real beauty
of Virginia, is that she was never judgmental, always
practical and had boundless ‘common sense’.
The world is a better place because she helps to
make it that way. |
|
|
Notes
from our friends!
Hello
J,
Margarita and I feel fortunate to have accidentally
come across your amazing home on Monday May 8th,
2006; and we feel even more fortunate to have
met you there. As beautiful as Monterey and Carmel
are, seeing your home and meeting you remain highlights
of our trip. We have been showing photographs
of your home to all of our friends, and telling
them of the good work that you are doing with
blind children. We wish to thank you for the good
work that you do, and we wish you and Sonja the
very best in all your endeavors.
Kindest
regards,
- Bob |
|
Attached, please find a check in the amount of $10.00
for a personalized butterfly to be placed on your
Butterfly Universe Wall of Love. We wish the butterfly's
label to read as follows: Margarita
& Bob - 2006 |
|
|
A
special thank you to our many friends!
| |
Sonja
and I would like to take this opportunity to thank
all of our fans around the world. Since the beginning
of the creation of "The Butterfly House"
seven years ago, your response has been overwhelming.
We appreciate
the phone calls, cards, letters, books, and butterfly
gifts.
Sharing
our stories
and creativity with you is a joy.
Love
... J |
|
J,
Samantha and her father, while Samantha
is holding a copy of the Oakley Press |
| We
would like you to meet a very special friend - Nadine
Heidacker. She is a photographer from Novato, CA.
|
|
Our fans first learned
about "The Butterfly House" from an article
in our local Monterey Herald newspaper (http://www.themontereyherald.com).
The story was written by Amy Ettinger -
published December 2, 2002.
We also want to thank
the Salinas Californian newspaper for another article
about "The Butterfly House" on October 16, 2004,
written by Janice Austin.
We were also featured
in the "Evening Magazine" on CBS Channel 5,
out of San Francisco, on February 24, 2004. This is a
travel "magazine" for the Central Coast of California.
On March 18, 2005, again
in our local Monterey Herald newspaper, the Padre Trails
Camera Club entered two photographs of J’s art work
on "The Butterfly House". One of the categories
for the participants was "Oddball or Quaint".The
photograph of the "Butterfly Queen" won first
place in this category. The other photograph in this category
won second place.
Some of the pictures in
the Photo Gallery were taken by a good friend and former
neighbor, "Monterey Jack".
The
love story you
can read about us in Carmel Magazine (click
here) was written by Executive Editor
Scott Brown and professional photographs taken by Kelli
Uldall. For those of you who do not live in the Monterey
area, this is a first class magazine, which is published
quarterly by the Carmel Media Group, Inc. Sonja and I
hope you enjoy this story because it was written with
love and compassion for all who go through life with vision
loss.
Lastly, we want to thank
everyone who featured "The Butterfly House"
in their communities around the world.
|
|
