The feature family for November is Dr Christopher Bish and Dr Elizabeth Bish, who have come to us after a multinational journey that began when they met in their home country of England. Let's take some time to learn about this fascinating couple and how they chose to live in Moore's Ferry!

I grew up in England, just south of London, and my wife, Liz, grew up in Yorkshire, in northern England. Fortunately, our paths crossed when we met in the hallowed and somewhat malodorous corridors of the Dyson Perrins lab in Oxford. We were both studying for our doctorates in organic chemistry, and, coincidentally, we were both sponsored by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.  After a couple of years together, we got married in Balliol College chapel and then moved into our respective careers in industrial research. I was employed initially by 3M, and then I spent 37 years working for DuPont. Liz worked for Courtaulds, followed by Mars Confectionery.  When Du Pont offered us a temporary assignment in southeast Texas, shortly after our first son, Jonathan, was born, we made our first transatlantic move, and Liz became a stay-at-home Mum. Our daughter,Helen, was born in Texas, and soon after that, we were moved to Louisville, KY, prior to our second transatlantic move, this time to Geneva, Switzerland. Our middle son,David, was born in Geneva, and soon after that, we made our third and final transatlantic move back to Texas. Our final corporate move was to Pennsylvania, where our youngest son, Thomas, was born and where we stayed for 26 years. Liz stayed home with the children as they grew up, but then returned to school to earn an education certification. When our youngest started kindergarten, Liz went back to school again and taught all levels of Chemistry at a local high school. 

As retirement approached, we decided to escape the chill of northern winters and move south. We spent several years researching various areas and eventually settled on Hickory and Moore’s Ferry. It was a wonderful choice, and the longer we live here, the more pleased we are with that decision. We enjoy walks, and have been on the lake a couple of times. We love the scenery and the weather here. There are also so many things to do, and we find ourselves very busy if we choose to be. I sing tenor in the Hickory Choral Society and enjoy gardening. Liz has taken up old hobbies such as sewing and art, but also enjoys working out at the YMCA. We also enjoy traveling, and we have been fortunate enough to take several trips to Europe since moving here. We are living a wonderful life in Hickory. 

We are both still passionate about science and its applications to a beneficial life, and something we have been exploring more since our retirement is climate change and its alarming consequences. We feel a challenge to reduce our carbon footprint and do our part in helping to preserve our beautiful environment, details of which will be described in a future article.