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Wellman’s first
see. ________	_
family settled in
BY ED LEPOMA
Wellman’s first family, Pete and Royce Ann Woody, are now snugly ensconced in their Waveland home, and looking forward to the coming holiday season.
The Woodys represent the first in the vanguard of a large number of new residents expected to move into the Bay-Waveland area as the giant Pearl River Wellman plastics/ fiber plant takes shape at Port Bienville Industrial Park.
So far, about 40 Wellman employees have settled in the area, choosing to live in one of the two cities, or in Picayune, Diamondhead, Long Beach, Gulfport, and as far away as Moss Point.
The Woodys opted to purchase land at Acadiana Bay, an upscale residential community on the eastern edge of Waveland being developed by contractor Julie Rossen. They selected two lots just behind Rossen’s home, which faces the beach, and moved into the 3,500-square foot, two-story Acadiana-River Road-style house last August.
Woody was born in Mobile and grew* up in Pensacola. This is the first time in 25 years that the Woodys have lived close to their families.
Moving to their new home in Waveland was a bittersweet time for the Woodys. Two weeks after they settled into the house, Woody’s 83-year-old father died. Woody- is proud
that his parents celebrated 54 years together. The couple is looking forward to having his mother and sister come in from Pensacola for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Royce Ann’s parents are deceased, but she’ll have aunts, uncles and cousins in from Mobile.
And, the Woodys two college-age children will be home. Son, Neal, now 21, graduates from the University of South Carolina in Columbia with a major in finance this year. Eighteen-year-old daughter, Lauren, is a freshman at Auburn this year with an aim for a degree in fashion merchandising. She stayed at the new house about a month before she had to report to college, a little more time than Neal had to explore the area.
The Echo visited with Royce Ann Woody at the family residence recently before the man of the house arrived home from work. She is a petite brunette, and is comfortable with her husband as the sole breadwinner, but takes pride in her family and in her church-related work.
The Jack Russell terrier named Odie barked at the guest from the rear porch. Royce Ann said there is a family cat too, a gray-colored mixed breed named Teddy Bear.
“We moved four cars and two animals down with us,” she said. “That was- a me-
morable trip.”
It seems theirs was a romance destined to be long-lasting. They met and dated at Pensacola High School, at-