At our Holiday Luncheon, we
spotlighted Frances Spallina, a Guild member since 2001. Judy Gilman, a friend for many years, read
her profile.
Twelve years ago Frances and
her husband, retired Air Force Colonel Marvin Spallina, moved to Albuquerque
upon Marvin’s retirement because Frances’ mother, her sister and her family,
and Frances’ daughter Teresa and her two children lived here. Shortly after Frances and Marvin moved to
Albuquerque, their other daughter, Stephanie, moved here. Frances became acquainted with Guild member
Norma Dallal, and Norma was influential in Frances becoming a member. When first a member, Frances assisted with
various Guild projects, mostly those in which Norma participated.
In recent years, Frances has
become more involved with other groups, including the Newcomers Club, where she
became friends with Judy Gilman, and with the Assistance League. Currently Frances is Vice-president of
Membership for the Assistance League and is very involved with their
programs.
Over the course of Marvin’s
career in the Air Force, he and Frances resided in Ohio, Texas, the Panama
Canal Zone, Kansas, California (where Marvin was on a special assignment), Florida,
Spain, Germany, Oklahoma, and Korea (when Marvin was Vice-president of Samsung
United Technologies, a joint venture between Samsung and United Technologies). Frances particularly enjoyed the time in Spain,
where she and her husband made many close friends, and in Germany, where she
had an appreciation for the Germans’ cleanliness and industriousness. In Spain and Germany, Frances was able to
learn the local languages to some extent, but she found it very difficult to
learn Korean during her stay there.After retiring from the Air
Force, Marvin Spallina worked for several years for a company involved with
government contracts. This provided
another connection to Judy Gilman, as Judy’s husband, Chuck, and Marvin knew
many of the same people through their work, even though with different
companies. Frances and Judy used to walk
together, also.
Frances reports that she is
very happy to establish some roots after having lived most of her life as,
first, a daughter and then the wife of a serviceman.
The Guild is very pleased to
spotlight this member who has led such an interesting life.
Written by Mary Sue Warner, Social Committee Chair
~~~
