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14 | OHCC LIVING | MARCH 2020 | Wine Club Group Five had a surplus of beverages accumulated over 2019, and some extras donated at the end of the year by the Wine Club from their surplus funds. The coordinator stored the surplus in a cabinet in her home, which by year-end was nearly bursting. Our plan was to have a year-end party, not really a tasting, to celebrate the holidays, enjoy some of the surplus wine, and to distribute the remainder for people to take home. One of our wonderful members, Meredith Fellows, offered to host. And so we planned it, but it's not how it happened. Sadly, Meredith developed some serious health issues in the interim, and was hospitalized, and could not host. She didn't want to cancel, but instead wanted to postpone our party until January, when she hoped to be better. But it was not to be. We got word on Dec. 18 that she had passed away, after a brief illness. We were all in shock. Meredith had recently remodeled her Costa Esmeralda home and opened it up beautifully. She was so happy with it that she offered to host Group 5 every month, which of course we couldn't do. She was a fixture at the pool and we often saw her working out in the exercise room and walking the village loop. She had waited a long time to retire and was finally enjoying it. So, on a January Thursday, 15 of us gathered, along with seven of Meredith's friends who are not in our group or not even in the Wine Tasting Club, at Joan Kluis' spectacular home, to celebrate Meredith's life. We tasted some favorite wines that were left over from our 2019 tastings, and enjoyed some wonderful appetizers and other desserts. We enjoyed a special cake decorated to honor Meredith. At the end of the evening, we had a quick raffle to see who would be taking home the leftovers of the still-leftover wine. Everybody won. The Wine Tasting Club is open to all OHCC residents. We have tastings in members' homes every month. Annual dues are $12. Wine Tasting Club