January 23, 2013
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THE FOOSES, THE SNOOKS AND THE CENTENARIANS
Sam had two cousins who were born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and who had rather interesting life stories. One was Richard Foose who was born with a malformed hip that caused him to have a bad limp all his life. He met a woman he wanted to marry and she wanted to marry him. But she had been raised by her wealthy aunt and uncle, and they didn't want her to marry Richard because of his limp. They told her they would disinherit her if she married him. The family lawyer took her aside and said, "You know, there's a lot of money involved here. Your aunt and uncle are in their 80s and probably won't live much longer. Why don't you wait until they die and then marry Richard?"
To her credit she ignored the threats and advice and married Richard. He went on to become a professor of geology at Amherst College in Massachusetts and was quite well known in his field. They had five children, traveled the world, and had a wonderful marriage. The aunt lived to be 102. I don't know if the aunt and uncle disinherited her, but it wouldn't have mattered to her anyway. Hurray for love.
The other cousin, Donald Snook, was a farmer. An only child, he lived with his widowed mother on the family farm. In middle age he met a woman he wanted to marry, and she wanted to marry him. But Donald's mother didn't want him to get married. Out of respect, or whatever, he and his intended decided to wait until Mama died before getting married. You guessed it. Mama also lived to be 102. (What is it about the air and/or water in Lancaster County?) By the time Mama died, Donald was in his 70s, but he and his ladyfriend did get married. Donald didn't live much longer. But as it turned out, Donald had either inherited or bought a lot of farmland in Lancaster County over the years, and his assets at death were worth over a million dollars. His wife inherited it all. Don't you love a happy ending? Hurray for love.
And how many people besides Sam had relatives by the name of Foose and Snook?