THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 6, 1995 TAG: 9510050193
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
Joyce and George Denby were never ones to be put off by the prospect of hard work.
It had been no easy job, after all, to raise five children on what she earned as a private-duty nurse and what he brought home from his general contracting business.
So when they found a small house in Acredale they could afford, the Denbys weren't daunted by the labor that loomed.
Sure, the place needed a lot of work, but the price was right. The home had been long neglected by its previous owner, and it was going to take a lot of elbow grease to get it in shape. In fact, the yard was so overgrown that the couple dared not light a fire in the living room fireplace for fear that the brush which reached nearly to the top of the chimney would catch fire.
Yet it would be worth all the work, for after nearly 25 years of marriage, Joyce and George Denby were looking forward to taking life a bit easier, spending more time together.
But all their careful planning appeared to have been thwarted, their hopes dashed, when, soon after moving into the house of their dreams, disaster struck.
In April 1994, George, then 57, had the first of what would be a series of heart attacks. Joyce, 59 at the time, gave up work to care for her ailing husband. Over the course of the next year, George had three bypass operations, and Joyce continued to nurse him through the long convalescences which followed each.
Things were finally on the upswing when, last March, Joyce had a stroke - a major one which left her partially paralyzed. And last month, George, too, was hospitalized from a stroke.
``I told my wife, `We're going to lose everything,' '' remembered George of the days immediately after his stroke. ``But my wife said, `God will take care of it.'
``You'd be surprised what the Lord can do,'' he said Saturday as his front yard swarmed with dozens of volunteers.
Betty Armistead wielded a chainsaw, buzzing through wrist-thick branches of brush, while Gini Barnes, Stan Streit and Jay Reid brushed a fresh coat of beige paint on the garage siding. The four are members of St. Aidan's Episcopal Church whose congregation decided to take a hands-on approach to evangelism.
``There is the tendency to overlook need right under our noses,'' said Nanette Mercer, co-chair of the St. Aidan's committee charged with focusing on folks who need help.
In finding someone who needed help, Mercer got in touch with Sharon Prescott, who coordinates the city's Reside With Pride project. The liaison effort is under the auspices of the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation. Prescott knew about the Denbys' situation and passed it on to Mercer.
Inside the house Saturday, Joyce Denby looked on as Carol Rooney from Kempsville's Emmanuel Episcopal Church carefully snipped threads that held sun-rotted linings to still-usable gold velvet draperies.
``If it weren't for Reside With Pride, Nan wouldn't have known about all the others who wanted to help,'' said Rooney. She is one of a number of members from other churches who joined about 20 St. Aidan's volunteers for the all-day clean-up, paint-up, fix-up effort.
``God sent us all together. That's how we're connected,'' said Rooney, looking up over her glasses from the drapery spread across her lap. ``But for the grace of God, they would be homeless, out on the street.''
Joyce Denby, who is now able to walk with the help of a cane, beamed as church women poured through the house, giving it a good old-fashioned fall cleaning.
Teen members of the Episcopal Young Churchmen from St. Aidan's did their part, too. Timothy Stutts, 14, was careful not to get any paint on the brick as he edged windows with a small brush.
While St. Aidan's put some money into the project, the biggest investment was that of time and love.
``A lot can only give so much money, but they can take a Saturday to help,'' said Mercer, adding that the church intends to rehabilitate two more homes this year. MEMO: To volunteer or apply for help, call 563-1000.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by NANCY LEWIS
George and Joyce Denby were grateful for the help of the
volunteers.
Timothy Stutts paints a window on the Denbys' home.
by CNB