Roy “Buddy” Wellerson’s love for airplanes began at a young age. In 1939, when he was 11 years old, Buddy received an honorable mention for his entry—a highly sophisticated aircraft design—in a Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade float design contest. As a teenager, he took evening classes at the Manhattan School of Aviation after a full day of classes at a traditional high school, earning himself diplomas from both institutions.
After graduation, he joined the U.S. Navy as an electronics technician, where he served as a member of the “Hunter Killer Group,” whose mission was to look out for nearby enemy submarines and report them to American submarine pilots.
Today, Buddy is a resident at Bridges by EPOCH at Mashpee, and at the age of 88, his love of planes and aviation remains very strong. So you can only imagine Buddy’s excitement when he and other Bridges by EPOCH residents and staff took a recent trip to the Cape Cod Airfield in Marstons Mills, MA. He even got to fly as a passenger on a 1956 Cessna 172!
“It was a fantastic experience,” Buddy said as he stepped off the plane. “Such a wonderful sensation.”
The staff at Bridges by EPOCH at Mashpee was thrilled to be able to organize this special experience for Buddy.
“It’s always our goal to make our residents’ dreams come true,” said Erik Hammerquist, Executive Director at Bridges by EPOCH at Mashpee. “We make a tremendous effort to center our programming and trips around residents’ lifelong interests and passions. There’s nothing better than creating experiences that are truly meaningful for them.”
Many thanks to Cape Cod Airfield for giving Buddy “the ride of his life!”