Wealthea's Full Story

This year, Food & Friends began shipping medically tailored meals to the rural parts of our service area where we have traditionally only been able to deliver bi-weekly groceries. We now ship prepared meals to those counties and have also expanded our services to include Garrett and Allegany Counties in Maryland.  

Those communities have historically been underserved, and not had access to medically tailored meals. One of the individuals we are shipping meals to every week is Wealthea Lynch of Cumberland, MD. We drove to Cumberland, MD from Washington, D.C. to hear her story and learn more about how our shipping program is empowering her while she contends with congestive heart failure. Here is her story:  

When Wealthea was young, she was a tap dancer. She met her husband Theodore at the skating rink three days before his Navy boot camp was over. Before they were married, Theodore would take the train from Keyser, West Virginia to Cumberland, Maryland to see her three nights a week. The last train would leave the platform at 6:30 p.m. and by the time the train was pulling into the station, they were already longing for the next time they would meet. 

Theodore was supposed to get out of the Navy before they were married on the 23rd of July in 1951, but he was not released. The Navy did grant him three weeks of leave, and he and Wealthea were married. They were married for almost five years before their first son Teddy was born, and then their second son Gary was born two years later.  

Every weekend he could, Theodore would come home to see Wealthea. He was on a Destroyer warship in the Mediterranean. Wealthea has pictures of him at the Palladium in Athens, Greece. He was also in the French Riviera, North Africa, Tunisia, and Italy. When he came back from his first tour of duty, he got transferred to an aircraft carrier. During the war, he could not tell Wealthea, but they were being sent through the Mediterranean with ammunition, food, and supplies going to the frontlines in Korea.  

From her living room in Cumberland, Maryland, surrounded by pictures of her family and mementos of her wonderful life, Wealthea shares her story:  

“I have had a lot of different jobs, I sold Avon cosmetics, I sold furniture. But then I got my dream job. Our dream was to go to Hawaii for our 25th wedding anniversary. I called one of my girlfriends who was a travel agent to book our tickets. She mentioned a potential job. She called me one day and gave me a test course to take. I passed, and they sent me to be trained. When I started out, we had to write all the tickets and itineraries by hand. I have been to Hawaii over 20 times. I have gone on trips to Europe, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, and through the Panama Canal. I have had a wonderful, wonderful life. It is amazing what doors that job opened to me.”  

When she was first hired as a travel agent, she was making $75 per week. She ended up making $300 a week and all her trips and expenses were paid for. She started as a travel agent in 1978 and she did it until she was 62 years old. She used to organize large groups and lead culturally immersive walking tours through Waikiki, Hawaii.  

Wealthea and Theodore celebrated her 50th birthday at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. The entertainers came down from the stage and asked the audience where “Woe” was. Woe is Wealthea’s nickname.  

“Everyone was shouting, ‘Woe is right here,’ The whole audience at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel sang Happy Birthday to me. They came down off the stage and put leis around my neck. It is a birthday I will never forget for as long as I live.” Woe recounts this story with tears of joy, her favorite birthday memory.  

Five years ago, Woe lost Theodore to cancer. He had to endure 40 radiation treatments. He also had heart failure and suffered a stroke in their carport. She misses him every day, and often looks at the portrait that Theodore had commissioned of her when he was in Italy – another cherished birthday gift.  

About a year ago, Woe was having trouble with her shoulder and her son took her to the hospital. They found out while she was at the hospital that she had heart failure. When she was sent to the heart clinic six months ago, the team at the heart clinic referred her to Food & Friends. This would not have been possible without the support of our donors, and if we had not launched the new program to ship meals to Garrett and Allegany counties.  

“I love the fruits, the soups, and the dinners. My favorites are the ones with seafood and chicken. I like rice and vegetables, and they put a lot of those in the meals. They come every Thursday. There was one challenge with a FedEx delivery, and Food & Friends called me immediately and my food for the week was delivered 24 hours later.”  

Woe also connects with her Community Dietitian Agata Williams, RDN, LD, who helped her with tips on healthy eating and gave her a salad dressing recipe to complement the dishes we are sending. She knows that Agata or a member of our Client Services team is always there to answer any questions that might arise.  

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Woe was afraid to go to the grocery store. Even though she is triple vaccinated, with congestive heart failure, COVID-19 could be fatal. Having  deliveries from Food & Friends means she is safer in the comfort of her home and neighborhood. She also is experiencing mobility issues and walks to her mailbox every day, or enjoys the weather on her patio, but getting around is a challenge. However, thanks to our generous donors, we are making it a little easier for Woe and helping her have more time to spend with her loving grandkids.  

Want to help Food & Friends support clients like Wealthea? Learn more on our volunteer page or click here to donate!