FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
Felicity means happiness, and she means it
BY SUZANNE LOUDAMY Staff writer

Felicity displays some of her knitting work.

There is a golden treasure nestled in the Willows of Whitehouse.

She appeared in the Tri County Leader office one day, seeking information about setting up a booth to display her knitting in the upcoming Kris Kringle Mart. Her sparkling blue eyes and contagious laugh filled the room and it was obvious that the public needed to meet this fair lady.

Her name is Felicity Spray. Felicity! What a great name and so perfectly fitting. Armed with a charming British accent, knitting needles and a wit beyond measure, Mrs. Spray lives an active life that would wilt most teen-agers.

Mrs. Spray fills her days and nights with action. The only time she is still is when she is sleeping. No wonder she is in such great shape for a lady of her age. Not that her age is an issue, because a lady never tells her age and this lady didn't ask.

Her knitting is a life-long skill learned at the knee of her mother.

"All the women in my family knitted," Mrs. Spray said. "I just learned by watching them and following what they did."

A young Felicity Spray and friend show off their dancing skills. Spray is now taking tap lessons at a local studio.

She recalls spending many an hour near the fireplace of her home in Burwell, near Cambridge, in England.

"On the blackout nights during the war, it would be all the light we had in the house and all that there was to do," she said.

In 1963 she came to the U.S. It was only a few years later she began working for the U.S. Post Office. There she met her husband Dave. Together they worked 68 years in the postal system.

When they retired they did not want to stay in Austin so one day they got in the car and started to drive. They knew East Texas was an area they liked with family in Greenville and Decatur, a drive to visit would not be far. After visiting a couple of other East Texas cities they found themselves in Tyler to spend the night. The next morning, a realtor listened to their needs and wants in a home and he brought them straight to Whitehouse. It was love at first sight.

"It reminded me a bit of my village," Spray said. "It was small enough to feel at home and large enough to have what we need."

Retirement life is nice for the Sprays. She enjoys knitting and taking her wares to arts and crafts shows and he enjoys his computers.

"We really enjoy the slower pace of life now," Spray said. "But I'm not one for being idle. I'm even active when I'm watching TV."

Mrs. Spray loves sports of all kinds; the Stars, the Spurs and the Redskins are some of her favorite teams.

"When the Redskins are playing poorly, I can knit half a sweater," she said.

Her work is quite beautiful and unique. She prefers English yarns and her classic English patterns. In the past when she has visited "back home" she took lots of presents in suitcases and returned to the U.S. with them full of yarn. Now days her sister, who still lives "across the pond" sends her a good supply.

"We'll be going back next year for a wedding," Spray said. "I'll come back with a fresh lot then."

Her work is admired and purchased by customers from Tyler to Tucson.

While the knitting keeps her hands nimble and the sports keeps her blood pumping, her dance classes keep her toes tapping.

"Felicity is an amazing woman," Cassie Schmidt said. "In my adult jazz class we can't wait until Felicity comes in. She is so full of energy and you can tell she loves music and dance and she loves life!"

Schmidt is the owner of Cassie's Whitehouse School of Dance.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Spray recently had to retire from jazz class. Her doctor thought it was too much for her. But that has not slowed her down in tap class. Yes, this hoofer is also in an advanced tap dancing class at Dance and Drill in Tyler. She is very much at home on the hardwood floors. She was a dancer for 14 years at Simpson's School of Dance as a child.

Agile in her physical being, Mrs. Spray is just as flexible in her brainpower. She spends hours each week working crossword and sudoku puzzles from tabloid magazines and sending them in for prize money.

Relaxed and laid back, happy and sassy, funny and full of life - that's Felicity Spray.