2025

Welcome! I see that you found it. My first digital Christmas letter. I’m hoping everyone enjoys the new format. It should be easier to read, and the photos will be nice hi-res images. Just click on the photo and you will see people you can actually recognize, as opposed to the dull dingy little groups of inkjet printed pixels of the past. Please do me a favor and drop me a note via the “Contact” tab above after you’ve looked over the site and give me any suggestions or point out anything that needs to be fixed or changed. Now, let’s get you caught up with all things Willis for 2025.

January

This was a typical January. Cold and nasty and not much happening. But Jane figured out a way to escape all that. She accepted Emily’s invitation to join her and Evan on a visit to Disney World. Just a quick trip to the land of sunshine, Mickey and Darth Vader. They took full advantage of their time, enjoying the park from rope-drop to fireworks. Jane told me that they had a wonderful time. She told me that 3 days after they returned when she finally woke up.

Luckily, she woke up in time to go to a candlelight concert we attended with Mark & Karen Becker downtown. A string quartet entertained us with the music of Whitney Houston as we sat in this old church sanctuary surrounded by about 1000 flickering candles! It was romantic, relaxing, and a testament to what can be done with led lights

February

Very similar to January. A couple of memorable events to start and end the month, with excitement somewhere in the middle. We started off with a visit from the Levitts. Joe and Francesca joined us at our place for dinner. Nothing exciting, just an evening of good food, something nice to sip on and lots of catching up. We started talking about our college days and worked our way up to the present. We realized that we’ve got some really great memories stored up from the last 50 years. Send me a note Joe, we need to do it again!

We ended the month with a trip to the symphony. The Beckers, Coopers and the Uricks joined Jane and I for the original Star Wars movie. Started with a nice Italian dinner and then we enjoyed the film with the orchestra playing the score. It was a fun performance, but I was disappointed that the orchestra did not play the music from the Cantina scene. I’m sure they could have figured it out. It seems like they didn’t want it bad enough!

The exciting part of the month was when the family met at Emily’s one day for no particular reason. We are just hanging around when Evan & Addie come into the room wearing matching T-shirts. Not unusual, except there were no Disney logos on these shirts. These shirts said “Cousin Crew” across the front. It didn’t mean much to me since they have a bunch of Wallace cousins. Then I felt the glare. Sarabeth is staring at Jane and I and then back at the shirts. And back at us. The “Cousin” in question was not a Wallace, but a Biddle! This was Sarabeth’s way of announcing that she and Zach were going to have a baby! Quickly thereafter we are all jumping up and down screaming and laughing and crying. It was at that point we realized we were scaring Evan and Addie. We explained everything to them, and they seemed excited about it for about 3 minutes. So, there you have it. The reason February was exciting. The due date is September 12th, so it will be fun watching Sarabeth take up more space in the photos as this letter progresses.

March

It is time to start what has become our annual Florida trip. Sometime after a leisurely drive through Atlanta, we end up in St.Pete, ready to start the Indycar season. We meet up with the Coopers and the Beckers Thursday evening. The weekend consists of 3 days of practice, qualifying and racing mixed among 3 or 4 different levels of cars, so there is something going on constantly. Most of us head to the track to christen the Cooper Suite the next morning. Karen and Jane decided on a bit of non-racing site-seeing. The next couple of days were special. Jane & I had the pleasure of sharing Scott’s hospitality with some of my high school friends. Saturday it was Bruce Bohanon and his wife Mary, and Sunday Bryan and Maggie Davidson. Both days were full of exciting racing, interspersed with short periods of relative quiet when we could actually carry on a conversation. I think both couples enjoyed themselves and had a chance to experience something new and loud. It was nice to spend some time with good friends.

Monday morning, we packed up and headed south to the Cooper’s place near Ft. Myers. A few days of pool time and a couple of rounds of golf. We also managed to sneak in a wonderful dinner on the beach at the Turtle Club in Naples. Other than the food, it was a great place for a group photo also. Alas, our time ran out and we had to leave, in search of someone else’s guest room.

Luckily, the Arthur’s of Sarasota had such a room. Jenny and Alan were the perfect hosts! Alan and I went to a car show early Saturday morning, but other than that, everything else we did just kind of happened. A typical day was wandering around thrift shops in the afternoon, dinner at Walt’s followed by an evening watching an old movie on the couch. We did spend one evening listening to a great band as we ate hamburgers and drank beer at our new favorite place. Wish I could remember the name of that place. It was time to cross the state of Florida, in search of another guest room as we started the journey homeward.

But heck, we’re driving across Florida so we might as well meet up with Donna & Pete for a bite to eat. I mean, you gotta eat, right? Somewhere near Orlando, at an intersection that wasn’t there 3 years ago, at a chain restaurant that wasn’t there one year ago, we met up with friends that have been around for a long time. It was fun. We caught up each other about kids and retirement plans and just stuff that old friends talk about. We managed to remember to take a photo for the Christmas letter and hit the road for Jacksonville. I know that all sounds like your basic “two ships crossing in the night” sort of thing, but it’s important to make connections with your friends whenever and however you can. You don’t want to be regretting a missed chance.

We made it to Jacksonville to see Jerry & Lisa. It was going to be a short visit. Lisa was still working and we got there Sunday evening. But we had enough time to get all the important stuff done. All the sitting around talking and catching up. Jerry was nice enough to give us a quick little Jacksonville tour the next day and even indulged us with a trip to a thrift store. Jane picked up a nice fur coat. I actually don’t know how nice it is, but it is the nicest she has ever bought. She hasn’t worn it yet but tomorrow may be her chance. It’s supposed to get down to 2°. Anyway, we had a great visit and left the next day. It was finally time to go home.

April

This was a fun month. My niece Megan and her husband Alvin were visiting from Singapore. This doesn’t happen very often, so it was important that we see them. The Pacers were just starting their first series in the playoffs. This doesn’t happen very often, so it was important that we see them. Alvin is a big NBA fan, so a plan was devised. Those two, along with my niece Dawn, drove up from Cincinnati. We had a nice meal at Harry & Izzy’s and then wandered over to the Fieldhouse. It was a great game that the Pacers won, which was the start of a long road that ended in game seven of the finals, just one torn right Achilles tendon away from a championship. Jane & I enjoyed the game but really enjoyed the family time.

Next was Easter. And a perfect excuse to show you pictures of our grandkids being cute.

Jane is still fired up about her watercolors. She had a chance to exhibit with the Indiana Watercolor Society at a new venue in Plainfield. This was a pretty big deal. This isn’t just some sort of club, it’s a society! She had a nice piece that fit in well with the other exhibitors and she enjoyed the artist’s reception. And she has another show in just a few paragraphs

May

I started this month with a project. I built our backyard deck back in May of 1993. It served us well, but even with yearly maintenance, it now needed a major overhaul. I needed to remove and replace all the decking, adjust all the joists around the trees that have grown over the last 32 years, and level everything up. I’ll let you know when I get it finished up.

This was also the time that golf season really kicks into high gear. My old janitor buddy Micheal McKinzie-Veal and I tried to play golf together every Monday morning that we were both in town. We kept at it all year, even playing once in December. His wife Mercedes suggested that it would be nice to maybe get together on Monday evenings for dinner. She’s a smart lady, so we thought we’d give it a try. That also lasted into December and is continuing on into 2026. We have a great evening talking about our travels and our grandkids and other important stuff. Mike and I are much better at eating and talking than we are at golf.

Jane had another IWS show, this time at the Eiteljorg Museum downtown. It just so happened that the opening reception happened to be on a day when my sister Teresa was coming through Indy, so we have a nice family photo to post here.

A few days later, it was my turn to go to Disney with a grandkid. Emily, Addie and I got there early, stayed late and enjoyed every minute in between. I enjoyed the one-on-one time with Addie that I don’t get too often. I saw a lot of princesses that week, but my favorite flew home with me!

This falls into the “Elderly, lovely canine/New tricks” category. Jane and I bowl together in a church league. I typically do a bunch of sporty type things on a regular basis. Jane, not so much. And she just never could figure out why it was so important to me. Why I would not be fun to live with after a bad tennis match, or any IU football game. (Note subtle use of foreshadowing. It’s a fancy writing trick. Right Lauren?) She has now figured it out. This lady that I have known for about 71.428% of my life is now hooked on bowling. We just finished this year’s league, and she signed up for a summer league with Scott and Liz. She now takes lessons with a pro and owns 4 bowling balls. She insists we go practice on a regular basis. The people at the bowling center all know her. I love it! It makes me so happy she has found this new passion! Check out the photo I included. It took a special bowler to leave a spare like that!

We had the opportunity to spend Qualification Saturday at the track in the Cooper suite. It was a great day with friends, but the next day was really special. Evan got to take his first ever visit to IMS to see and hear the cars. He seemed to enjoy it, though not really sure he understood it. But I trust that someday, he will skip school to go to the track, just like his mom.

I finished off the month with the golf trip to Myrtle Beach. Dave & Richard Emery and I along with about 24 others meet for 4 days of golf, food and drink. I’ve been a part of this group for the last 5 years. But this year was a bit special because Mark Becker joined the group. Unfortunately, Mark played too well, and his opportunity to join us next year is up for a vote. We’ll see how it turns out.

June

This was a rather slow month for us. I guess it was because I spent all my time finishing the deck. And Jane used it to work on her bowling. So, I guess we’ll just use this space to show you the deck and a bunch of cute grandkid photos.

July

It was family vacation time. Adam is out of school and Emily and the kids think the family vacation is a good idea. Zach and Sarabeth get one last fling before they become parents and their world turns upside down. Let’s head to Orlando! Disney? Of course not, we’ve done that at least twice this year. Universal? Sure, why not? And it was fun, but not as much fun as we had playing with the kids in the pool and just watching them have fun doing whatever they happened to be doing.

We had to get home so we could get the house ready for the first baby shower. We are just about 2 months away from SB’s due date. No time to waste. So, the house was cleaned and all sorts of little snacky things were prepared. Ballons were blown and photo backdrops were set up. And my brother-in-law Donn, Dave Emery and I were exiled to the basement. We took turns sneaking upstairs and grabbing a plateful of those snacky things. It reminded me of being a kid when mom & dad used to host bridge night at the house and us kids had to stay in one of the bedrooms. Except the snacky things are much better than the mixed nuts and weird little chalky green mints of 1965.

August

School is starting and I thought I would let you know that Emily is going back into the workforce. She was offered a job as an instructional coach at Avon High School where Adam teaches. She will be teaching the teachers.

It’s Indiana State Fair time, and Jane & I are back on the clock. Jerry & Monica let us come back! This would be our 5th year of checking IDs and working as bouncers at “The Taproom”. Actually, I let Jane do all the bouncing. Another good year. We had visitors from 38 different countries. Tasted some really good beer and saw a bunch of friends. Made some money and realized how much we appreciate our retirement. I don’t think we could work much more than 2 weeks a year. But what a great place to celebrate our 49th anniversary! Next year’s going to be special.

The next thing on the calendar is another baby shower. This one was hosted by Zach’s mom Kelsey and her family. I didn’t have to go sit in the basement for this one, but my understanding is that it was a lot like the last one. And her timing was impeccable.

Four days later, Sarabeth FaceTimes us as we are right in the middle of watching “Elsbeth”. And she is holding a baby. Not just any baby, but our brand-new grandson Cohen Jesse Biddle! Three weeks early, but perfect. Not much else to say, so just look at the pictures. I do need to rewatch that episode of “Elsbeth” though. And Jane needs to return that bracelet with the September birthstone.

Football season has started.

Indiana 27 – Old Dominion 14

September

Another big month. All sorts of fun things. First off, I need to share this photo from our Wednesday evening golf outing. I don’t know who this guy is, but he teed off before us that evening. By himself, just going to get in a quick nine. Look at that photo. I didn’t know that Calloway even made a baby stroller! This guy carried his clubs and pushed the baby stroller. Like I said, I don’t know this guy, but I can guarantee his wife knows nothing about this! Or, this is why you don’t ask your brother-in-law to babysit.

Indiana 56 – Kennesaw State 9

Chris and Danielle came over for dinner and to spend some time with us Sunday evening. And while they were here, Chris changed the brakes on Jane’s car. The promise of grease and grunting is the only way I can get Chris to come visit. But after the hard work, we had a great chance to talk and catch up and look at pictures of Cohen. Unfortunately, we forgot to record the moment with a photo. Maybe next time. I’ll check the maintenance records on the Cadillac.

Indiana 73 – Indiana State 0

Ok, I am excited about Indiana football. Last year we got a new coach. And a magical spell was cast across the land! At least that is what it felt like. We had the best season in our history. We went 11-2, our only loses being the two teams that played for the championship. So, when my former college roommate suggested he and his wife come up from Dallas and that we get tickets to a football game, what could I say? Pete and Mary Ann arrived Thursday evening. We spent Friday in Indy visiting the art museum and other typical Indy attractions. Saturday morning, we headed to the lake house for a bit before we left for the game. It was a night game, and we decided to get there early enough to soak in the atmosphere. It was a Dorothy moment. We weren’t in Kansas anymore. Unless Kansas was a big-time football school! This was so different from anything we would ever associate with Indiana football. We’ve been going to games for nearly 50 years and never saw anything close. It used to be that when you saw an arial photo of a full Memorial Stadium, the other team on the field was Ohio State. Their fans would fill our stadium, but they wore red too, so it looked like Hoosier Nation came out in force. Not anymore. The place was sold out and was all Indiana Crimson. We were playing Illinois. This one made me nervous. Illinois was supposed to be this year’s Indiana. They were rated 9th at the time. But I wasn’t nervous for long. We killed them. It was cold and rainy. It was beautiful. Everyone yelling and high fiving each other every time we scored. My hands were sore at the end of the game!

Indiana 63 – Illinois 10

We spent the night at the lake and then headed over to Nashville the next day. Pete hadn’t been there since college. It hadn’t changed. We did typical Nashville stuff and ate at this cute little family restaurant in Beanblossom on the way home. The next day we visited the IMS Museum. I would highly recommend the place now that it has been remodeled. We had a great time, and Pete seemed to enjoy the driving simulator. We eventually let them continue their mid-west journey and eventually arrival back in Dallas.

I need to let you know that I don’t watch IU basketball games on TV. I record them and if we win, I watch it. I can’t help it. I get so nervous watching live that I get the shakes. I tend to yell and throw stuff. It’s not good for me, or my family. I can watch it on TV if I am surrounded by IU friends, or I can watch the games in person and I’m OK. But I can’t sit on the couch at home and watch an IU basketball game. I never had an issue with football though. I planned on getting beat. I knew we would play just well enough to get my hopes up and then we would choke in the 4th quarter. If we won a game, it was a beautiful thing and a gift from God. But after last season, that has changed. Now, big football games have the same effect on my body and personality. We played Iowa on the 27th. I took off my watch, stashed my phone upstairs and Jane & I watched a movie on Netflix. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Indiana 20 – Iowa 15

We all got up early on Saturday morning to watch 4-year-old Evan play his first soccer game. What have we done?

October

Jenny & Alan’s son was getting married, at their house. Jane said she would be glad to help. And Barb, who won’t miss a party, came up from Sarasota to help. The wedding was Saturday. The girls jumped in the fray Thursday. I didn’t go up until Saturday morning. Everyone did a great job because the wedding was beautiful, it went off without a hitch and the party lasted well into the night. The next morning, we cleaned up, went out for brunch, hugged each other and went home. Work is not quite as hard when you are doing it with friends.

We play Oregon this week. At Oregon, they have an 18-game win streak. 15 minutes before kickoff I threw Jane into the car, and we head off on an adventure. I decided that we needed to visit Cataract Falls State Park. So, we headed east and walked around the park taking photos. This late in the year, the falls aren’t really falling, but it was still pretty. We headed back toward Indy and stopped for dinner at a cute little place in Cloverdale. By the time we finished our pie, the game was over. It was a sweet drive home.

Indiana 30 – Oregon 20

I blame all this on Evan. When he was a baby, we all went to the art museum in October when they fill the grounds with 1000s of pumpkins & gourds. And Emily took these cute photos of him nested in the pumpkins. After that, it became a tradition to take “kids in pumpkins” pictures. So here is this year’s edition, with our newest little “punkin”. Emily is on fall break, so a couple of days later the girls head to Nashville, just like in Christmas letters of the past. If you want to know what all they did, read the Christmas letters of the past.

Indiana 38 – Michigan State 13

For the last 4 or 5 months I have been telling Dave Emery that he needs to come up to Indy so we can do some fishing and play some golf. It’s October. We gotta do it now. They have started lowering the water at my lake house and I can’t get my boat out. No fishing, but we can still play golf. We played a couple of rounds. Once at The Fort and another at Twin Bridges. Mark and his brother-in-law Rick joined us for this adventure. The Fort started off nice, but the weather swooped in on us on #9. Rain and a nice steady 30mph wind. We made it to the clubhouse, waited about 45 minutes and started back on #10. Then waited under the trees at #11 for about 20 minutes and then finished up the round. We didn’t play all that badly if you scored it as “strokes per hour”. Scott took Rick’s place the next day. Twin Bridges was just a horrible cold nasty day with greens as slick as snot. I sure am glad I was with that group of guys. That was the only part of the day that made it somewhat fun. Misery enjoys company! On the bright side, Dave brought up some fish, and we ate really well that evening. Dave, lets not wait until late October next year.

That weekend my nephew Eric and his family were in town for a lacrosse tournament at Grand Park. They got in early enough that we had a chance to meet for dinner Friday night. It was great to spend some time with Erik and his ladies. I finished the weekend by not watching IU play UCLA.

Indiana 56 – UCLA 6

November

The month started on a Saturday. It was a beautiful fall day, and the leaves were finally starting to turn. Here is a photo from our front steps.

Indiana 55 – Maryland 10

That evening we joined the Coopers & Beckers at the symphony in Carmel. Finally, a cultural event that Scott could truly appreciate, “Bugs Bunny at the Symphony”. We had a nice dinner before the show and afterwards we all went to Jenny & Alan’s annual Halloween party.

Indiana 27 – Penn State 24

Just a reminder that throughout this letter we have been meeting up with Mike & Mercedes most weeks for dinner. We have expanded our choice of venues, with an emphasis on pies.

And another little tidbit. Please note that Jane regularly meets with different groups of former co-workers. Christmas, and Pi Day and sometimes just Mondays or Fridays. It doesn’t really matter. You don’t need an excuse to get together with friends.

My brother invited us to the “Cincinnati Storytelling Festival”. We joined Bob, Jean and my niece Dawn for an early dinner and a great show Saturday. We heard stories from 6 different storytellers. All different and all very entertaining. I am on the lookout for storytelling events here in Indy that I can invite my friends to see. And while all that was going on…

Indiana 31 – Wisconsin 7

The next weekend, Phil and Tammie joined us and the Coopers downtown for Seinfeld. Nice dinner and great show. That Seinfeld guy is funny. He should try TV. I picked out the photo according to the pose of the guy in the background. He was really enjoying himself.

Thanksgiving was eventually celebrated on the Sunday after, due to sick grandkids. But that was OK because by then we had even more to be thankful for….

Indiana 56 – Purdue 3

December

This month starts off on a high point. We are spending a week in St. John with the Coopers & Beckers. We get into our condo just in time to watch the IU-Ohio State Big Ten Championship game. We are both 12-0. IU hasn’t beaten OSU since 1988. And I have to watch the game live! But I was surrounded by mostly IU fans, and it worked out just fine.

Indiana 13 – Ohio State 10

This was our 3rd vacation to St. John. And we did the stuff you do there. We played in the ocean, sat on the beaches, relaxed at the pool and ate very well every evening. But one of the neat things about the island is the animals. Donkeys, deer, chickens, and iguanas all just roam the island. You will be sitting at a restaurant, and a chicken will walk between your legs. We left our condo and nearly tripped over a deer. He just looked at us and moseyed on his way. Pay attention while driving because a donkey might be standing in the middle of the road around the corner. Near us was one hen with eight chicks. When we walked too close, they would all run hide under mom’s wings. One afternoon, the girls hear a lone “peep” coming from the shrubs. Still there that evening. Kind of a sad sounding “peep”. They discovered that a chick had fallen down some sort of a vent pipe for the pool. It sat at the bottom of a 3” diameter PVC pipe about 8” down. Thus began “the great chick rescue of 25”. We all sat around the condo brainstorming, ala Apollo 13. Our condo did not have an extensive collection of poultry rescue tools. Finally, armed with a flashlight and a long barbeque fork, we headed to the bushes. The “peep”s were now fewer and weaker. I slid the fork down along the inside of the pipe, careful not to skewer the bird. Once past it, I angle it and lift. A moment later the little guy wobbles off into the dark. We have all decided the chick found his mother that night and was happily running through the grass with his siblings the next morning. Do not try to tell us otherwise.

Once back in Indy that same chicken saving gang attended the ISO Yuletide Celebration. It has become an annual event. Kind of a nice way to end the year and celebrate all of the fun and adventures we shared together in 2025. We enjoy the show so much that Jane & I invited Teresa & Laura to Indy for the next day’s performance. It’s a fantastic show and I need to try and get more family up here to enjoy it with us next year!

Next came another December tradition, Winterlights at Newfields. The grounds of the art museum are totally decorated with lights. Cohen seemed to enjoy it, but Evan and Addie seemed amazed. It was fun, again.

We had a nice simple family Christmas at home. I love watching my grandkids open gifts. They are grateful, and every gift was a surprise that made them smile! Which made us smile. Neat how that works.

Alvin & Megan were back in the US for Christmas but had to go back to Singapore at year’s end. Just so we could see each other, and they could meet Cohen, they, along with Bob, Jean & Dawn drove up to Indy for the day. We had a nice day and a great meal at St. Elmo. It’s always fun to see them and we always seem to eat very well when we’re together.

On New Year’s Eve, I kissed Jane at midnight.

January

I don’t typically cover January in these letters, but we have some unfinished business to attend to. New Year’s Day was Indiana’s first game in the CFP. We were playing Alabama at the Rose Bowl. We watched at Zach & Sarabeth’s house. I needed the comfort of Zach screaming and cheering with me to make it through that one. And just a touch of bourbon. It was a good night! You will see no photos of that evening.

Indiana 38 – Alabama 3

The next big deal was the official Willis family Christmas. This year it was in Brandenburg, KY and my sister Nancy’s new house. There were 24 of this year. We got there Friday evening, just in time for the IU game. We were playing Oregon, a team we had already beaten once this year. I was nervous, because it’s hard to beat a good team twice in a season. We didn’t just beat them, we spanked them!

Indiana 56 – Oregon 22

Friday night made the rest of the weekend that much more enjoyable. Evan and Addie were playing with their cousins. The men folk spent most of our time in the basement watching basketball and the ladies did…something. But we all managed to eat very well that evening and the night ended around a firepit with a cigar, looking at the stars. We headed home, and the only thing left for this Christmas letter is one final football game.

I was sick. Just a nasty cold, but I couldn’t go watch the game with Zach. It was just going to be Jane and I. But I had to watch it. It was a tough game, but my team did what they needed to do.

Indiana 27 – Miami 21

National Champions

I hope your year was as great as ours. A beautiful grandson and a football miracle.

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Wayne & Jane