They had breezed through "vicissitude"; now, Team 11 had only to spell "xenobiotic" to clinch first place in Tuesday's Spell-Off for Seniors.
Gail MacDonald, 63, and her spelling bee partner, Leonard Kozle, 64, both of Westland, briefly talked until it was showtime for MacDonald.
"X-E-N-O-B-I-O-T-I-C," she spelled.
"There is a winner," said Mark Somers, one of two judges as well as a judge in 19th District Court in Dearborn.
The spelling bee, held at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, was the first county-wide spelling bee in Wayne County for older adults.
MacDonald and Kozle bested 10 other teams Tuesday that were winners from qualifying bees with more than 500 participants.
"It feels fun -- a lot of fun," said MacDonald, a retired middle-school teacher who taught for 35 years. "We had a great time."
"I think it's fantastic," Kozle said. "I had no question in my mind we were going to win."
Participants came from Detroit, Allen Park, Grosse Pointe, St. Clair Shores, Plymouth and other communities.
In the Spell-Off for Seniors, instead of one speller at a time, competitors were in teams of two, stayed seated and were allowed to consult with each other.
The second-place winners were George Green, 86, and Carmen Paniccia, 73, both of Dearborn. The third-place winners were Marilyn Reinink, 75, of Westland and Anne Wasil, 87, of Plymouth.
The first-place winners each received a free one-night stay at the Detroit Metro Airport Marriott Hotel in Romulus and gold medals.
The second-place winners each received a $25 Target gift card and silver medals.
The third place winners each received a $15 Target gift card and bronze medals.
"I'm an old spelling bee champ," MacDonald said. "I'm one of those obnoxious people, if I see a sign misspelled, I want to go up and correct the misspelling."
Her husband of 41 years, Bill MacDonald, 65, said, "She drives me nuts. I can't even spell 'spell.' "
Their two grandchildren, Ethan MacDonald, 8, and Avery MacDonald, 10, both of Howell, were there for support.
As for Kozle, former owner of a recycling company and a retired MGM Grand Detroit casino card dealer: "I just thought it would be fun," he said of the bee.
County Executive Robert Ficano said spelling bees are good mental exercises for older adults. "Keeps everybody's mind sharp and, at the same time, they have a lot of fun," he said.
The spelling bees were so popular that they will be expanded next year, Ficano said.
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They had breezed through "vicissitude"; now, Team 11 had only to spell "xenobiotic" to clinch first place in Tuesday's Spell-Off for Seniors.
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