After moving 24 times during their marriage, retired Lt. Col. Rufus Hoefer gave his wife, Sheila, the option of moving anywhere she wanted from their last home in San Antonio, where he retired from his civilian job as a hospital administrator.

She chose Spokane. Originally from Wyoming, Sheila missed the winters, although she admitted, “I wish they only lasted a month.”

During Rufus’ military career, the Hoefers lived in West Berlin, before the wall was torn down. They lived in Texas several times; Williamsburg, Va.; Washington, D.C.; Colorado; Oklahoma; and Maryland. Every two years the Army gave them “a new adventure,” said Sheila.

Why Spokane

The main reason Hoefer chose Spokane was that their son and daughter-in-law live here with their children, and they “needed to downsize.” They don’t plan on moving again. “It (Spokane) is a beautiful place with the flowers and the trees,” Sheila said. The Hoefers have become involved with the local arts scene because Sheila is an amateur artist. She says she loves the Museum of Arts and Culture and Friends of Manito. They also became interested in gardening. “We are having a fun time with our garden,” she said.

When friends visited from San Antonio, they said Spokane was one of the cleanest cities they’d seen. The Hoefers agree.

Settling in

The final touch that made their new house and city truly home was Sheila’s favorite lawn ornament, a goose. They bought it many years ago in San Antonio at a county fair. Two of their children were getting married that summer, and the goose was dressed in a wedding gown. They have always given it a place to roost since then. After so many years, the goose has acquired quite the trousseau. It wears the bridal gown in June and a bikini and sunglasses in July. It boasts several other outfits. It is the Energizer bunny for Easter, Santa Claus for Christmas, a ghost for Halloween, and has appropriate clothing for every season (although Sheila says the bikini looks like a thong). Because they are big fans of the San Antonio Spurs, the goose wore Tim Duncan’s jersey throughout the playoffs. The Spurs won in June, and then the goose put on the wedding gown.

Looking ahead

“We love it here. I think it will just get better,” says Sheila of her new hometown.