Paul and Janice Wimmer grew up together in Roanoke Virginia. They married young , had children and lived their lives together. Both Paul and Janice absolutely loved the game of Golf. When Paul retired, he managed to get a job with the Ashley Plantation Golf Course outside Roanoke. He worked and played at the club every day. Janice joined a women's golf group and her best woman friends were those she spent time with on the cool Virginia manicured grass of the golf course.
One of the Wimmer children, Cynthia Weatherly, eventually moved to Castle Rock, Colorado with her husband and children. This was a big thing for this close, tight knit family. All of the Wimmer family had lived in and around Virginia their entire lives. But as Paul and Janice visited Colorado, they became accustomed to it and developed a deep affection for the state as they saw their grandchildren grow and thrive in the Rockies.
The Wimmer's made a summer visit to Colorado just when the International was about to begin at Castle Pines. Cynthia had gotten a job working for a lawyer in the North End of Castle Rock in a modern office building. The Castle Pines developer was also in the office building and Cynthia told the secretary of the developer about her parent's love of golf. She got two tickets to the International and Paul and Janice got to go to the tournament.
They were thrilled. They lived and loved golf and knew all the pros by name and by sight. They appreciated all of the subtle nuances that escape non-golfers. When they returned to Roanoke they took their memories with them and shared their adventure with their golfing friends.
About a month after the International's 2005 tournament ended, Paul Wimmer was golfing with his friends. He felt a sharp pain in his head and fell over. He died there on the golf course. Paul had done so much for the golfing community in Roanoke that the golf club built a pavilion and named it the Paul Wimmer Pavilion. After the funeral, the celebration of Paul's life, the coming together of distant family for this rite of passage, everyone went on their way and Janice was left all alone for the first time in her life. Loneliness can cut like a knife and this knife cut deep. Janice' will to live was severely tested and she was hospitalized herself with suspicion of a ministroke.
As the months passed, Janice began to live again. Her friends were able to get through to her and she started the road back to becoming socially active. When summer returned, she felt the time had come to return to Colorado and see her distant grandchildren. It was August again and the International was back in town. The Castle Pines Developer learned of her story and her return. The developer got her two passes to the golf Tournament - Patron Passes. Janice will go to the International with her daughter Cynthia and the memories, dreams, and thoughts of love, family and golf will pour down on them like Niagara Falls. Fore!