A Natural Experience

Taking Lifelong Skills to a Fulfilling Retirement

Walter and Marie Hussey’s habits of scrutinizing, planning, organizing, and making better things happen continued to flourish when they retired. Lifetime careers had been dedicated to intense involvement and responsibilities as civilian employees of the United States Navy. She is a chemist-turned environmentalist, he a self-professed geek engineer in nuclear submarines and NASA, their paths had fortuitously converged late in their lives when they discovered the precious rarity of true soulmates. Their joy in being together for the next 25 years was interspersed with painful times requiring mutual strength when dealing with cancer. But their lives continued to be invigorated by their involvement with the Fluvanna Chapter of Extension Master Gardeners, the Rivanna Master Naturalists, and a nearly 1,000-acre park in rural Virginia. Shortly after relocating, it didn’t take long for them to envision physical and educational embellishments that could make the park even so much better than it already was. Then they just naturally stepped in to bring new concepts about. This is the story of Walter and Marie creating a legacy within the historic setting of Fluvanna County’s Pleasant Grove Park.