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Seniors learn to spell v-i-c-t-o-r-y in Naperville

Cantankerous was the word that sunk Doris Baittie on Wednesday.

But cantankerous she was not, describing the senior spelling bee in Naperville as "lots of fun."

Baittie, 74, of Aurora, was the runner-up at the word war after being bested in the bee by Eric Easterberg, 51, of Naperville.

The event was sponsored by state Rep. Darlene Senger, a Naperville Republican, and state Sen. Randy Hultgren, a Winfield Republican.

Hultgren said the spelling bee was a chance to bring people together for a competition most remember from their grade school days.

"It brings back terror to some of us but also good memories and that's what's fun - building new friendships, tapping into a wonderful resource, our seniors, and just making connections with them and for them to make connections with each other," he said.

Six seniors showed off their spelling skills in the competition. Entrants had to be 50 or older and live in Senger's House district that includes Naperville and Aurora.

The word bank started fairly simply with words like fiesta, bagel and massage. As the rounds continued, they got a bit tougher with linguistic hurdles such as dissertation, hypocrisy and staccato.

The spelling competition went 29 rounds in all, winding down to just Easterberg and Baittie, neither of whom had ever been in a bee, even as children.

The tide turned for Baittie when she received the word cantankerous and quickly spelled out "c-a-n-t-a-n-k-e-o-u-r-s."

"As soon as I spelled it I knew I did it wrong," said Baittie, who works in human resources/labor relations for Nicor.

Easterberg, a software engineer, spelled cantankerous correctly, then also spelled metallurgy to win the title.

He said he has always been a decent speller but admitted the competition is partly luck of the draw in terms of getting a familiar word.

"It could have been any of us," he said. "It was a pretty challenging group up there. They were some good spellers."

The two received Barnes and Noble gift certificates for their spelling success. Both will move on to the regional competition in Addison in July. The winner and runner-up of that contest will compete at the state fair in August.

Also competing Wednesday were Mark Quinn of Naperville, Jan Heilmann of Naperville, Muriel Odeen of Naperville and Graciela Estrada of Aurora.

Naperville City Councilman Kenn Miller and Aurora Alderman Lynda Elmore served as judges on Wednesday while Peggy Barry, community services manager for the Naperville Public Library, handled pronunciation of the words.

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