Let me introduce myself
When I was doing electronic design work, we moved many times. Now, we have settled down and been here in Ashton for over19 years -- the longest we have lived anywhere.
Robert Burdick, my 8th great grandfather was born in 1630 in England. He moved to North America in 1651. His future wife, Ruth Hubbard, was the first European child born (1640) in what is now Springfield, Massachusetts. They were married in 1655.
That makes me an 11th generation North American. If you count from 1776, I am a 7th generation American. Either way, that is a long time.
Kandy and me
Kandy and I have been married over 55 years. This photo was taken outside Colleton Coffee in downtown Walterboro when we celebrated our 55th anniversary.
Kandy, me and three of our 8 children. Father's Day 2020
Three of our daughters live with us. Two of the girls own and operate Colleton Coffee and Twig in downtown Walterboro. A third daughter manages construction projects for our company, Willis Sinclair Homes.. A fourth daughter and her family live next door.
Our local family
Kandy, me, 4 daughters, a son-in-law and 8 grandchildren. We live next door to each other in Ashton.
Kandy and I have a total of 38 (soon to be 39) grandchildren. 8 live next door. 13 live in the Springfield, Missouri area and 17 live in the Knoxville, Tennessee area.
My military service
I was in the U. S. Army from October 1968 to October 1971. My MOS was 63C40 (Track Vehicle Mechanic). During my tour, I taught basic engine theory specifically for M60 main battle tanks, M113 Armored personnel carriers and M114 recon vehicles. I was promoted to Staff Sergeant E-6 in 23 months. My duty was Instructor at the Armor School in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Riding in horse drawn stagecoach 2016
Fort Robinson State Park in northwestern Nebraska is a fun place for the grandchildren. They rode horses and even a real stagecoach.
Atop Scottsbluff National Monument in western Nebraska.
Alice and Hannah (granddaughters), Kandy and me in 2022. We are sitting on a bench commemorating Rebecca Burdick Winters who died on the Oregon Trail in 1852. She was the granddaughter's First cousin, 8 times removed.
On the South Rim of the Grand Canyon 2024
Me, Kandy, Ashton (grandson), Bob (my brother) Clay (grandson) and Patty (Bob's wife). Kandy and I have taken grandchildren (14 of them so far) on tours of the West.
My favorite position shopping.
Thank goodness for chairs in stores! When someone wrote "shop until you drop" they were talking about me.
I am a Christian.
I am serious about my relationship with God. I study His Word and do my best to live a life that pleases Him.
We are debt free.
We understand the borrower is servant to the lender. For that reason we have worked hard to pay off our debts and become debt free. We are fiscally responsible.
Letters
For the past 20 years, I have been writing our children and the grandchildren who were old enough to read on a pretty much weekly basis. I am up to letters to 26 grandchildren and 1 letter to our children. To date, I have written over 11,000 letters to family members.
Why do I do this? It takes a lot of time every week. I do it because I care about young people. How many letters did you receive from a grandfather? Some of my older grandchildren have received over 675 letters from their grandfather.