June sent the following to me after our class reunion. It was too late to include in our Class Handbook, however, I thought it deserved to be read by everyone anyway. Later I will send Part II, in which she tells us about her children and the painful loss of her husband Grady as well as her oldest child Tom........Marilyn
"You asked what I had been doing personally, and my husband and children were such a major portion of that, I seem to always talk about them. But I have had some really interesting experiences in my own right. Most of the paid positions I have held have been secretarial, except for the two before I finally retired. I worked for several oil companies during and between pregnancies in Midland, always with the intention of staying home with my children when we got out of debt (never happened). Then after moving to Sand Springs (a suburb of Tulsa) in 1980, I worked as a church financial secretary and later a pastor's secretary in the Baptist church that we had joined at that time (big mistake, working in the church where you worship). Later I worked for an attorney and a glass factory (Kerr Glass in Sand Springs) before quitting to travel with Grady, who had become Vice President of Sales for United Bearing Corporation and was traveling a great deal. About a year after that he was diagnosed with melanoma cancer on his head and began 18 months of grueling surgeries, radiation, etc., before his death October 22, 1991. I traveled with him as long as he could work, and stayed home until after his death. I was 53 at that time and had a really terrible time finding another job (who says age discrimination is dead?). Anyway, I finally connected with a part time job at Tulsa Community College before later going to work full time at an "entry level" position with Tulsa Health Department. This position turned into several promotions, including executive secretary in Human Resources, and finally as their Volunteer Coordinator, retiring early because of a great deal of arthritic and fibromyalgia pain at age 62. I was asked to take the Volunteer Program home with me and work from there online; then 18 months later to come back part-time to the Health Department in the same position for another 2-1/2 years (which I did). Pain again drove me home. I did some part-time work which was really economically necessary during this time with Broken Arrow Police Department, before going to work l/2 days for B'nai Emunah Synagogue as an Assistant to the Education Director. I dearly loved this position as I did the one at Tulsa Health Department. They were people-contact positions and in this context I absolutely flourished. Before retiring at Tulsa Health Department I had written two volunteer programs for them and had recruited and trained nearly 700 volunteers which became an absolute nightmare to manage and direct. The synagogue position taught me so much about religious diversity and loving and being loved by people of the Jewish faith unconditionally.
Unfortunately, the three lower discs in my back had completely disintegrated by this point (last Spring) and I had to stop work altogether and have a very large surgery. My doctor tells me it will be a complete year before I will heal from this surgery, and though patience has never been my long suit, I'm trying to develop some at last. In the meantime he will continue to run MRI's on a small mass further up on my spinal cord. He doesn't think this growth is malignant and may even disintegrate on its own; but will continue to watch it for a year or two to decide whether more back surgery is needed. I sincerely hope none is necessary--I'm tired of recovering and fully ready to be RECOVERED.
My youngest son, Chris, and I are preparing to move to Edmond. My house is now in the hands of a realtor, and hopefully will sell quickly so that move can be accomplished."
June Hash Curry,
October 2007
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