By: Kevin Jones
There are a whole host of reasons to love living at Albemarle Plantation, and all residents have had their own inspirational moment when they said to themselves, “This is the one.” Joe and Wendy Vaites had that moment too.
Their story started when they received a postcard in the mail about a community in eastern North Carolina offering them a Discovery Package to visit and take a look at Albemarle Plantation for themselves. Joe and Wendy had never purchased a home before, and doing so for the first time, post retirement, can be a little daunting.
While visiting, they were pleasantly surprised to see AP was not the typical retirement community. What they saw was a thriving family community and were struck by how many folks stopped them “just to say hello.” The fountains, playground for the kids and the natural beauty of the waterfront area really touched them. They especially liked seeing all the white fences in the Pasquotank area as it reminded them of the horse farms near their home in southeast Pennsylvania.
It was about 50 years ago that Joe and Wendy had purchased land and built their own home in which to raise a family. It was a home in the country where you could melt away all the stress of metro life. After reviewing a few houses here at AP, they walked into one in Randolph’s Village. As Wendy put it, “I took two steps in the front door, froze, and knew this was the one.” Joe, on the other hand, freely walked in and after a few moments encouraged Wendy to come and see all the rest. They loved it. Their prayers were answered, they purchased the home and relocated to AP in September 2021.
Prior to retirement, Joe had his own commercial and industrial architectural firm and was a professor at the Williamson College of the Trades. Wendy was a full-time mom to their son and two daughters and went on to become a special needs teacher. How Wendy became a special needs teacher is a great story.
Here is a short summary… One of their daughters had a learning disability. Refusing to accept what the school had told her would be their daughter’s limitations, Wendy set out to educate herself on how to help her child achieve. Not only did Wendy help their daughter get to and through high school, the young lady went on to obtain a college degree from Hofstra in 3 ½ years as well as a master’s degree. She is now a teacher. Their son and other daughter are also teachers with families of their own residing in various areas of PA. Joe and Wendy have seven grand children.
Wendy enjoys decorating the house, knitting, and attending art shows. Joe likes fly fishing and playing bocce. Together they like kayaking and boating in
general. In fact, I’m told they just acquired a boat and anticipate joining the Osprey Yacht Club. Since September, they have been doing a bit of traveling but truly hope to settle down and further enjoy living at AP. When you see Joe and Wendy, stop and say hello.
Wendy and Joe can be contacted at: Wendy –wvaites@verizon.net | Joe – jvaites11@verizon.net