Donna Boyce Trexler - Geertz Author
This picture was taken on a Summer Trip in Cape Cod, Mass 2010 with her husband Joe
THE AUTHOR: Donna Boyce Trexler Geertz grew up in Tarrytown, NY in the county of Westchester about 45 minutes outside of NYC. She took Ballet and Modern Dance from the age five through High School at the Steffi Nossen School of Dance. She attended Sleepy Hollow High School, where she was part of the Twirling Team as well as in Drama Club. She babysat from age 12 to make extra money, but mainly because she has always loved children.
she started dance lessons
at age 5 through high school
Lorraine Berge and Susan Hodges
This is a site about the Steffi Nossen School of Dance
http://www.amazon.com/frequently-encourages-Westchester-schoolgirls-translation/dp/B0038Q4SWO
Donna modeled from a young age in upscale Department stores and later in the Garment District in NYC (her Mom even had her in a Baby Beauty Contest in her baby carriage at age one at a local park) and she attended Modeling School in NYC at age 15. Donna worked on the top floor of the Tiffany building on Fifth Avenue NYC for an adverting agency just out of high school. She was Miss Staten Island and Miss Westchester County and runner up for Miss New York State in the Miss Universe Pageant, as well as an airline stewardess for United Airlines living in both Chicago, Illinois, and NYC. She was lead singer in a band in the 1970’s.
Contest Copa Cobana 1965
It has been years since New York has seen anything quite like the old Copacabana. The Copa, Manhattan's best-known night club, was also the most popular nightspot in America. From the moment it burst onto the scene in 1940, an aura of glamour and sophistication hovered over the Copa. This Latin Nightclub had spectacular shows filled with beautiful showgirls, wonderful food and world acclaimed entertainment. It was a luminous glow that, over the course of five decades, served this illustrious establishment well, beckoning the people who made it famous-Hollywood stars, sports heroes, foreign dignitaries, and the town's leading families, including the Kennedys, the Roosevelts, and the Du Ponts. The Copa was a showcase for past, present, and future stars, including Joe E. Lewis, Sophie Tucker, Jimmy Durante, Julie Wilson, Tony Orlando, and Wayne Newton. Through vintage photographs and stories from performers, Copa Girls, and other people connected with the Copa's history, The Copacabana, now closed was a landmark institution that became an American cultural icon.
Oy vey!!
Donna with her Dad at Copa Cabana Miss Universe Pageant
1966 Based in Chicago for 1st 6 months, United Airlines Flight School. She loved Chicago, then transferred To NYC with roommate Connie
I have been friends with Connie Boylan since 1966, we flew for United and were roomates, she lives in California ... I miss her, but we talk about once a month to play catch up and her daughter is my God child. True friendship never ends.. we never skip a beat when we get on the phone and just pick up where we left off!! She is a TRUE forever friend .. one I am very grateful to God for.
Modeling for United Airline Magazine
Fred came into her life.. My roomate and flying partner, Connie and I had an apartment in NYC as our home base was NY. Connie met Richard and they were engaged. Fred was good friends with Richard and they introduced us to one another. Fred was home for a short break from the War, and it was a whirlwind, mostly long distance romance. After our honeymoon cruise to the Bahamas, we drove to Perrin AFB in Texas.
Donna married Fred Korker a USAF pilot from NJ in 1969 they had two boys ..
Chip and Todd .. Fred lives less than two miles away with his wife Julie they are close to the boys and all their friends and have many family get togethers at their home. Fred also fixes all of Joe's and my many computer problems..Thank God!
He is such a blessing in our lives.
Family get togethers at Fred and Julie's, family and extended family Fred and Judy (who is like family) snapping pictures of Tristan and his fish, Todd, Jay Drea and Amber in background
Fred and Julie .. they have been an intregal part of Chip and Todd's life, their spouses, and their grand-children
THEN .....
Came Bart into my life. He was looking for a babysitter for his two children Mark and Keri. He had custody of them and he called the church I had attended since birth. At the time I was divorced and working in Westchester County as a Broker's assistant at Merrill Lynch. I was also leading a small youth group at my church. So, the church secretary had befriended me and mentioned me to Bart when he called.
Bart contacted me and we spoke night after night and then began dating. We went to the same High School, Sleepy Hollow, and we knew each other at that time. Now we were in a dilema to get a babysitter! We did find one and to give each other a break, one Friday night I would have the children at my place and the next weekend he would take the children overnight at his home. Mark said one night after being uprooted from my house after a date with Bart.. or my children being awakened, sometimes in icy cold weather to be taken home with me.. Mark said with sleepy eyes one night "Why don't you two just get married?W"!! and we did!! We married almost a year after we met at my Parents home with Bart's parents and sister and her husband and my parents and my sister and her husband... and of course our children. We were in love till his dying day, December 2004 almost 30 years.
As a couple, Donna and her late husband Bart who passed away from a brain tumor in December of 2004, counseled and ministered out of five different churches and in prisons, along with doing retreats and conferences. They also pioneered and co-pastored Heart To Heart Christian Church, and ministered to many who were called into
leadership. Their home was a place for leadership to come and stay
for weekend ministry and healing too! Their church was in Summerville, South Carolina.
Bart & Donna Trexler at
Heart To Heart Christian Church
North Charleston, SC Bart,
Donna and friend made the background banner
Bart died from a brain tumor in 2004
Within a six year period of time Donna
lost her best friend and mentor, her Father,
her Mother in law who had lived with her and
Bart for five years, her favorite Aunt, her brother
in law and her mother who died only 9 months
before her late husband. During that same time
her son in his early twenties went through testicular
cancer, her sister had non-hodgkins lymphoma and her
son in law kidney cancer.
Only God was able to bring her through this
extremely rough time... It was overwhelming, and she is so grateful for all those who prayed her through
this ordeal.
AND THEN....
GOD BLESSED HER WITH JOE....They met in a prayer room on a Christian dating site in 2005 and married October 17, 2007 in a darling Chapel in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, their favorite place. They invited their best friends from Charleston, SC to their cabin in Pigeon Forge, and had a super time! Joe has three grown children, Ben, Rose, and Jessica who is married to Scott. They live in the midwest.
Joe with a Centurian at the
Holy Land, Orlando, FL
"Squir- relbill" because she spins around and jumps like a squirrel, and she makes little noises like a gerbil! She adores him and he loves her to pieces!
Our Wedding Day
Oue Wedding Chapel in the Smokey Mountains
Our dear friends Jerry and JoAnn Parrott she is my BFF in Charl- eston!
The Loon Lodge in Kentucky, now closed.. it had animated forest animals and the decor was amazing .. the food fantastic. Waaaaaaaaaa!
I can't say it has been easy these last few years. Joe and I have forged many storms together, but we continue to reach out to God as our anchor. Joe has been a true blessing in my life. We both have many physical problems, but he has been a servant and a tender caretaker. He is forever daily reaching out for new ways to bring in financial gain. Because of our limitations health- wise, we have banned together to work around our circumstances and trust in God. He is my best friend and companion. We are a good team!
Donna is happily married to her husband Joe a native of Muscatine, Iowa. Joe attended Bible College in Seattle, WA and is gifted in teaching. He has just completed a book about the attributes, characteristics of a Christian (Transforming from Glory to Glory). He hopes to publish this informative piece of work soon. Joe and Donna met on a Christian Singles site in a prayer room! They have been married 3 ½ yrs and reside in Port Saint Lucie, Florida where they do Artisan work creating natural jewelry, perfume and spa items along with other designer items. They enjoy ministering in the Marketplace and Donna’s passion is counseling people online and through sharing her life experiences. Their products can be found at Artfire, their Artisan store: Three of her four grown children Mark, Keri, Chip and Todd live nearby with their families, and her husband’s three children (Jessica, Ben and Rose) live in the Midwest. They have ten grandchildren. Donna will be 65 in June 2011.
You can view their creations on Artfire:
http://www.artfire.com/users/OHMYCREATIONS
or on Ebay where they have over 2,400 items:
http://stores.ebay.com/blessingsfromdnj40
My husband Joe
Donna has 15 blogspots:
Donsie's Dialogs For the Diva~ main blog
http://donsie1.blogspot.com/
All about Christmas
http://allcreationsing.blogspot.com/
All about Prayer
http://askseekandknock.blogspot.com/
All about the Seashore
http://beautifulbrokenshells.blogspot.com/
For men, fathers, blessings
http://blessing4fathers.blogspot.com
Finding God in Autumn beauty
http://gloriousautumn.blogspot.com/
For your pooch!
http://hautedoggie.blogspot.com/
Musings and ponderings
http://memoriesmusingsandmore.blogspot.com/
Words and Teachings from Joe
http://myexpressojoe.blogspot.com/
Our Blog Shop
http://ohmycreations.blogspot.com/
Refreshing under the Palms
http://palmssanctuary.blogspot.com/
Memoirs of times past
http://reflectionsofyesteryear.blogspot.com/
Intimate time with the Lord
http://timeswiththeking.blogspot.com/
When you need comfort
http://thecomfortersarms.blogspot.com/
Whimsical words and Wonders
http://wonderlandwhimsies.blogspot.com/
THE STORY ABOUT PEACH LAKE ......
Peach Groves at Peach Lake
Grandpa and Grandma Nickels and Boyce bought Bungalows at Peach Lake
Courtland & Dorothy Boyce
Dad and Mom just home from honeymoon
Christ- ening Day with my Mother, My dress is an heir- loom
Mom is another word for LOVE
Dad and Grandpa Boyce with me
Dad and Mom at the Country Club
This book started in my heart as a tribute to my Mother who passed away in March 2004 nine months before my late husband pictured above. Mother lived with us and then in a nearby Nursing Home about the last two years of her life. This little honoring of my Mom for Mother’s Day has turned into a book for my children, family and friends of many thoughts and memories about my childhood summer vacations in a place called Peach Lake in New York State and more!!
But, first let me give you a little history of Peach Lake, the place I spent most of my childhood summer’s as a child, the place this story is about.
I found the history information below, at wikipedia and it was written by an amazing man who has just contacted me. Warren Lucas. He has been writing a book about the Bloomer Family and the Peach Lake area since 1972! He has put great labor into this endeavor here is the information website for Peach Lake
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peach_Lake,_New_York
Mr. Warren Lucas lives in North Salem, NY .. if you are interested,
He sent me exerpts from his book which I have found to be wonderful!! The name of his book is: The Making of Bloomerside
The land had been under the control of the Mohegan Indians during the 1600-1700’s where the lake was called Lake Pehquenakonck, meaning “the nearby hill place”. Later it was called Peach Pond which was a derivation of the Indian Pech-Quen. By the mid 1800's, the name was changed to Peach Lake. The local middle school is called Pequenakonck (pronouced pee-kwon-a-konk) and the Country Club at Bloomerside is called Pehquenakonck Country Club.
Peach Lake is in two towns; North Salem and Southeast, and two Counties; Westchester and Putnam. Peach Lake was originally farmed by several families. On the west side of the lake the Bloomer and Palmer families, on the north side, the Ryder family and the Vail family on the east side of the lake. The area started out as a strong dairy farm area with Borden Condensed Milk factory being there, but it closed in 1914.
The Ryder families, who have for generations controlled the Putnam County National Bank in the Town of Southeast, have farmed land on the northern end of Peach Lake since the 18th century.
There are four large residential communities around Peach Lake. Three cooperatives; Bloomerside and Vails after the original farming families, Pietsch Gardens Cooperative originally owned by the Pietsch family (purchased in 1926 from the Teagarden family) and 'Northern Westchester Country Club' (aka Hotel Property) formerly owned by the Palmer family in the early 19th century. These four communities comprise approximately 460 homes which started as summer homes and communities about 1914.
I hope you enjoy reading my fond remembrances. I have tried to be as accurate as I can remember, if there are any rememberances of your own that don't line up with my fading mind, please let me know!! Also, just to mention, at my age, and after a few strokes, my mind is not as sharp as it used to be, so I may repeat myself, and some of my sharings or pictures may be out of time sequence, so forgive me ahead of time. The funny part, is if I am either writing or ministering, God has graced me to keep on track... Blessings, Donna/Donsie
I would love your comments on anything I have written and especially if you have any pictures or memories of Peach Lake or memories of your own about growing up.
SOME FAMILY PICTURES:
My husband & best friend, Joe June 2010 on Family trip to Iowa where he grew up
Iowa is the Corn State Yummy!
My four children whom I adore Mark, Keri, Chip, Todd and Me During family cruise 2005
Our darling 4 1/2 lb Pocket Yorkie
Gidget she is the love of our lives!
Joe’s son Ben in Iowa
Day trip with Joe’s children in Iowa
Ben at Olive Garden with us
Joe and Jessica on Carousel
Husband Joe and daughter Rose
With Rose Joe’s Daughter with friends at our home in Fl for Easter
Rose and Me at Shipshewana, Illinois - Amishtown
Joe and Rose at Disney Spring 2008 and Mardis Gras with her friends
Mardis Gras Banner
Eating Spaghetti with our hands on our patio Spring Break for Rose & her friends 2008!!
Three Caballeros!!!
Patrick, Joe, Mandy, Megan, Michelle & Me
Chip Jamie and Brandon
Son Chip and Daughter Keri
An afternoon out with Chip ... sheer delight!
Gran- daughter Rhiannon, Alyssa and me
Rhiannon my Grandaughter
Gran- daughter Paige, Todd and CJ
Kingfish!
Hardway Kingfish Tourn- ament they won
With Marty, Jay and Josh grand- son Jeshua was there too~ and me too on platform what a day!
With Drea my youngest Grand- child Valen- tine's Day
Todd and Paige having fun!
Daughter Keri and Mike
There's got to be a Hawaiian Wrasse here somewhere!
My free spirited daughter on cruise!
Princess daughter with Gidget
Grand- sons Jeshua and Zachary
With Grand- children Kaylin & Shaina
Aww precious Courtland
Tommy and Me
Tommy and Me I was engaged to Fred at this time
My sweetie Tommy.. he had so much energy!!
Kissing Tommy's sweet little hand
laughing Grandson Zach at circus!
©PEACH LAKE MEMORIES 5/21/11
Peach Lake Memories is a 15 Chapter book with vignettes about my childhood memories. It is copyrighted. Please ask for permission before using any information in my book. Thank you .. donnatrex@yahoo.com
