| Gladys's Page |
June 20, 2007, Gladys writes:
It was so good to hear from you and to catch up on what you
have been doing with your life. I did go to your website and
really had fun reading about all my former classmates.
I guess it's time for me to fill you in on some of the things that
have happened to me during these 65 years. In a way, it seems
like a long time, and in other ways, it seems like only yesterday
when we were in school together.
I will first reminisce about my family. You may recall I was one of
seven children, 6 girls and one boy: Benny, Barbara, me,
Carolyn, Sharon, Beverly, and Donette. All my siblings are still
living and are located in the Central Texas area. All have been
hard-working and busy raising families of their own. Donette and
her daughter Laurie are cancer survivors of 17 and 15 years.
Donette had Hodgkins lymphoma at 39 and Laurie had a brain
tumor (meduloblastoma) at age 18.
Daddy died in 2001 of renal and heart failure. Mom is still living
in our old house in Digby Heights. She is 87 years old. Her
health has been failing over the last several years.
It was so good to hear from you and to catch up on what you
have been doing with your life. I did go to your website and
really had fun reading about all my former classmates.
I guess it's time for me to fill you in on some of the things that
have happened to me during these 65 years. In a way, it seems
like a long time, and in other ways, it seems like only yesterday
when we were in school together.
I will first reminisce about my family. You may recall I was one of
seven children, 6 girls and one boy: Benny, Barbara, me,
Carolyn, Sharon, Beverly, and Donette. All my siblings are still
living and are located in the Central Texas area. All have been
hard-working and busy raising families of their own. Donette and
her daughter Laurie are cancer survivors of 17 and 15 years.
Donette had Hodgkins lymphoma at 39 and Laurie had a brain
tumor (meduloblastoma) at age 18.
Daddy died in 2001 of renal and heart failure. Mom is still living
in our old house in Digby Heights. She is 87 years old. Her
health has been failing over the last several years.
You may recall that I jumped the gun and got married when I
was in the middle of my junior year (Jan. 16, 1959) at old BHS,
and missed out on some of the school experiences, but I was
so in love and didn't think I could wait until I graduated to get
married. Wayne had joined the Air Force just after we met (at
old Clements Drug Store). He came home on leave and wanted
to get married, so we did!!! Everyone thought that it wouldn't
last, but we are going on our 49th year. Believe it or not, I
finished high school in 1964 after we had 3 kids. Our last
daughter was born in 1973 while I was going to UMHB. I
graduated from there in 1977 with a degree in nursing and in
1983 from TWU with a MS in nursing. The first few years we were
married, I was a stay-at-home mom. I worked hard and devel-
oped fairly good skills at cooking and sewing. I sewed for the
public during the early years to help out with expenses. Wayne
spent several years in the Air Force, graduated from TCU with a
BS, UT with an MS, and BU with a degree in special education.
He taught and coached in Rogers, George West, and Temple,
Texas. Retired as a high school principal and then taught in a
Catholic school in San Antonio and Temple, and taught at Texas
Lutheran College.
was in the middle of my junior year (Jan. 16, 1959) at old BHS,
and missed out on some of the school experiences, but I was
so in love and didn't think I could wait until I graduated to get
married. Wayne had joined the Air Force just after we met (at
old Clements Drug Store). He came home on leave and wanted
to get married, so we did!!! Everyone thought that it wouldn't
last, but we are going on our 49th year. Believe it or not, I
finished high school in 1964 after we had 3 kids. Our last
daughter was born in 1973 while I was going to UMHB. I
graduated from there in 1977 with a degree in nursing and in
1983 from TWU with a MS in nursing. The first few years we were
married, I was a stay-at-home mom. I worked hard and devel-
oped fairly good skills at cooking and sewing. I sewed for the
public during the early years to help out with expenses. Wayne
spent several years in the Air Force, graduated from TCU with a
BS, UT with an MS, and BU with a degree in special education.
He taught and coached in Rogers, George West, and Temple,
Texas. Retired as a high school principal and then taught in a
Catholic school in San Antonio and Temple, and taught at Texas
Lutheran College.
| Spring 2007: Gladys's husband, Wayne |
| Fall, 2006: Gladys and Wayne's daughters Front: Jill and Heather Back: Monica and Stacy |
Benny
Gladys
Barbara
Mrs. B
Mr. B
We have traveled some, but not as much as we thought
we would. The thought is, somehow, not as appealing as it
was while I was working. We have been to the East and
West Coasts and all over the Southern states and some
parts of Mexico. We do not have a strong desire to travel
outside the U.S. and do not like to fly. I like to have my
feet on the ground!!! Someday we may give in to taking a
cruise. We will probably travel to the Grand Canyon soon.
we would. The thought is, somehow, not as appealing as it
was while I was working. We have been to the East and
West Coasts and all over the Southern states and some
parts of Mexico. We do not have a strong desire to travel
outside the U.S. and do not like to fly. I like to have my
feet on the ground!!! Someday we may give in to taking a
cruise. We will probably travel to the Grand Canyon soon.
| We have four daughters, Monica, Stacy, Jill, and Heather: Monica, 47, doesn't work, but is always busy doing arts and crafts. She makes jewelry and sells it on the Internet. She has recently been diagnosed with Stage IIIc breast cancer. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy and has had a recent double mastectomy. She has four grown children, Chandre, 29; Michael, 25; Chance, 21; and Jayci, 20; one grandson, Sebastian, 5; and one on the way, Jake. Stacy, 45, has been a widow since she was 29. Her husband died after returning from Desert Storm. She was expecting her third child at the time. She has had a pretty rough road, but has graduated from UMHB with a degree in fine arts. She is very talented and does paintings and murals. Her children are John, 18; Michelle,16; and Dylan, 13. They are all involved with school and church activities. Jill, 44, is the owner of Avante Salon on Ave. M in Temple. She has been a beautician since high school. Jill has four children, Brianna, 22, who lives in Colorado; Brittni, 19; Nicole, 10; and Braeden, 5. She has one granddaughter, Zoe, 18 months. Brittni is in San Antonio with her husband, who is undergoing tests and rehab for injuries he sustained in Iraq. He suffered multiple fractures and facial injuries when their vehicle turned over while they were on a mission outside of Baghdad. Brittni was diagnosed with a brain tumor 2 years ago after suffering a skull fracture in an automobile accident. She is not having symptoms at this time and has opted to leave it alone for now. The tumor rests deep within the center of the brain near the hypothalamus. Manipulation to remove the tumor would likely cause some permanent impairments. We feel we should allow her as much quality time as possible and maybe the tumor will never give her any trouble. We must trust in God's goodness and realize He is our creator and fully in charge of everything that happens in our life. We can certainly empathize with Jeanne and her family as they are going through some rough times as well. Heather, 34, is a beautician and colorist, working for Jill part-time. She also teaches classes for Farouk Systems and travels to various areas when teaching. She has three children, Christopher, 16; Ashley, 14; and Arianna, 9. All the kids are talented musically and in acting. They are involved with multiple school and church activities. |
Since retirement, we have been helping with
after-school child care and going to multiple school
functions where grandkids are involved. Wayne plays
the steel guitar and loves to play Christian gospel music.
He plays for our church periodically. We are both very
active in our church---Memorial Baptist---and both sing
in the choir. We both teach Sunday School: Wayne
teaches adult men and I teach third- and fourth-graders.
We both are involved in growing a vegetable garden in
cahoots with Barbara and Buddy. The garden is
producing well. There is nothing better than fresh
black-eyed peas, green beans, squash, tomatoes, and
okra. We have our garden at our mother's house in
Belton.
I love to read a variety of books and read every chance I
get. Wayne watches old movies and old war
documentaries while I read. I have recently learned how
to crochet and made a baby blanket and a bedspread. I
like to sew clothing and do embroidery, but am still
perfecting my embroidery skills. I have a new sewing
machine that does embroidery, and I am really having
fun doing dinner napkins, pillowcases, and sheets for
weddings. There are so many things I still want to do, but
the time just flies.
I hope this has not been too boring to you. (Note: Not!!!) I
would like to go back on the Internet. (Note: Gladys said
by phone that, having retired, she doesn't have an
Internet connection.) I just don't seem to have time to
spend perusing the Net. I finally gave in to pressure
from my kids in May and got a cell phone. I hate the
darned thing, and do well to figure out how to answer
and make a phone call, although it is nice to have when I
am out and my husband or kids need to contact me.
As you can see, we have gone through some hills and
deep valleys during our married life, but we were never
promised a life without problems and we know we are
stronger because of them. I hope you do not grade my
grammar or sentence structure, as I do not claim to be a
good writer---but I feel I was a darn good nurse!!!!!
Best wishes, Gladys
after-school child care and going to multiple school
functions where grandkids are involved. Wayne plays
the steel guitar and loves to play Christian gospel music.
He plays for our church periodically. We are both very
active in our church---Memorial Baptist---and both sing
in the choir. We both teach Sunday School: Wayne
teaches adult men and I teach third- and fourth-graders.
We both are involved in growing a vegetable garden in
cahoots with Barbara and Buddy. The garden is
producing well. There is nothing better than fresh
black-eyed peas, green beans, squash, tomatoes, and
okra. We have our garden at our mother's house in
Belton.
I love to read a variety of books and read every chance I
get. Wayne watches old movies and old war
documentaries while I read. I have recently learned how
to crochet and made a baby blanket and a bedspread. I
like to sew clothing and do embroidery, but am still
perfecting my embroidery skills. I have a new sewing
machine that does embroidery, and I am really having
fun doing dinner napkins, pillowcases, and sheets for
weddings. There are so many things I still want to do, but
the time just flies.
I hope this has not been too boring to you. (Note: Not!!!) I
would like to go back on the Internet. (Note: Gladys said
by phone that, having retired, she doesn't have an
Internet connection.) I just don't seem to have time to
spend perusing the Net. I finally gave in to pressure
from my kids in May and got a cell phone. I hate the
darned thing, and do well to figure out how to answer
and make a phone call, although it is nice to have when I
am out and my husband or kids need to contact me.
As you can see, we have gone through some hills and
deep valleys during our married life, but we were never
promised a life without problems and we know we are
stronger because of them. I hope you do not grade my
grammar or sentence structure, as I do not claim to be a
good writer---but I feel I was a darn good nurse!!!!!
Best wishes, Gladys
| About 1996: 11 of the 14 grandchildren |
| 2006: Heather's Arianna, 9 (left) and Jill's Nicole, 10 (right) |
| 2007: Jill's Braedan, age 5 (left) |
| 2007: The Great-Grands! Sebastian, 5, and Zoe, 18 mos. |
During my nursing career I worked at all the local
hospitals---Santa Fe, Veterans' Hospital, Kings Daughters,
and Scott and White. I taught in the Nursing School at
McClennan Community College and Temple College, and
spent 5 years in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps as a Captain,
and made Major while in the Reserves. I worked one year
for the Henry Jackson Research Foundation doing
research for a grant I received while in the Army. I have
retired three times, the last and final being April, 2006.
hospitals---Santa Fe, Veterans' Hospital, Kings Daughters,
and Scott and White. I taught in the Nursing School at
McClennan Community College and Temple College, and
spent 5 years in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps as a Captain,
and made Major while in the Reserves. I worked one year
for the Henry Jackson Research Foundation doing
research for a grant I received while in the Army. I have
retired three times, the last and final being April, 2006.
| Feb. 1991: USA Nurse Corps Jan. '91 - Jun. '96 |
Beverly
Carolyn
Sharon
| Donette not present |