VILLAGE MEMBER STORIES

Angela Hiley, Durham

Angela and her husband David moved to Durham in 1999.  “We came to this area because David was hired to be Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at UNH. David grew up on the Gulf of Mexico and wanted to be close to the ocean again. We both love the seacoast and the closeness to Boston and the mountains.

Before moving to NH, we had lived primarily in the Southeast (Auburn and University of Georgia; Memphis, TN; and Richmond, VA)  with an academic year in Princeton, NJ, and two summers in Berkeley, CA, and Washington, DC. “

Life Before Retirment:

Angela had different chapters in her professional career: educational therapist in Athens, Georgia; founder and director of a fair housing organization (Housing Opportunities) in Memphis, Tennessee; and twenty years working for FedEx Corporation in economic and financial analysis, industry analysis and strategic planning.  

“My last few years at FedEx involved working on a project to integrate the five global FedEx regions to adopt consistent systems and pricing. It was challenging and exciting. I like big picture planning and systems thinking which I have always incorporated into my personal life. I really enjoyed the job but grew tired of the constant travel. My priorities changed — I was getting older, 9/11 happened, family needs increased, along with grandchildren. I began to dread the travel and being away from home, so I retired earlier than I would have if we had remained in Memphis where FedEx Corporate was located. This was a good decision for me and my family.”

How do you view retirement?

“My love for international vacation travel continued through immersion travel, where you stay long enough in an area to be really familiar with it.  David was asked to lead two UNH study abroad programs for a semester in 2006 and again in 2013. We traveled a lot in Eastern Europe. We have always enjoyed travel in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The experience of living in Budapest made us want to do more extended stay traveling. So, when David had his sabbatical, we went to London. We went to Barcelona for a month during Trump’s inauguration and participated in the Women’s March, which was a lot of fun.

I have had a really good time and have gotten involved in so many things—and have been very involved with my grandkids. My daughter lives in Durham with her two boys and my son Patrick lives in Georgia with his three children.

One of the first things I got involved with in this area was Great Bay Coast Watch in 1999 where I did water sampling and monitoring of phytoplankton. Since this was a one day per month activity, I could participate in this program while working. After I retired, I trained to become a UNH Marine Docent in 2007 and became a volunteer with the Coastal Research volunteers out of UNH. One project I enjoyed was monitoring horseshoe crabs. They spawn in Great Bay during high tide in May and June; our task was to count the mating pairs, and single males and females in designated sectors. We have hundreds on our shoreline. This was not my background at all, but I learned so much.”

What aspects of being a Village member do you find most helpful or enjoyable?

“I like the idea of helping others when we don’t need help. . . and when we need help, knowing that it will be available. Since 2013 my mother was in assisted care near us, and that took a lot of my time and energy to  manage her care. We do not want to put that type of responsibility on our children. We want to stay in our home and manage as long as we can. It makes sense to have an organization like Seacoast Village that can be there to provide support. It is comforting."

If you were to encourage a friend to become a Village member, what would you tell them?

“I would tell them this is an organization that was created to assist with various needs so you can remain at home as long as possible. I have been telling some neighbors and friends. It is not for everyone. I am impressed with all the helpful information on the website and educational resources. I know that the resource information is there, and that I can come back and review it again. Trying to understand the services that are available and the legal documents, takes a lot of time and energy.

Since my mother died in March, I said to David, ‘we need to get organized and get things in order’. We really like the resources and quality of people at Seacoast Village. It offers a forum for us to ask questions and to talk with each other. I have started proselytizing these issues to others.”

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