Occupation: retired

Comment:
 As many have noted, real life often turns out different from what we imagined when young.  I grew up "knowing" I would be a teacher.  I graduated from U of Delaware in 1970 with a BA in English and a teaching certificate and began teaching 10th grade English outside Wilmington.  Early on I realized that, while the teaching part was pretty good, bureaucracies and I weren't really meant for each other, so I resigned after two years.  I then discovered my business and financial side and spent the next 29 years in the real estate and mortgage business with a focus on investment property.  I satisfied my teaching urge by teaching investment and property management courses to Realtors and University Continuing Education students.

I've been married since 1981 to Rich Abel, second marriage for both of us.  We've enjoyed a happy life sharing our interest in music, travel, and the outdoors.  Our (Rich's) children have grown up to be happy and successful.  Glenn is a career Naval aviator and currently Captain of USS New Orleans.  Sandy, a former Navy JAG, held positions at the National Security Council and the Pentagon, and is now Senior VP at a defense contractor.  We have 6 beautiful and talented grandchildren ages 2 to 9.
 
In 2001 we began the most fun and meaningful part of our lives when, thanks to good savings and a helpful early retirement option for Rich, we left the world of paid work to primarily dedicate ourselves to helping other people do better in their lives. We were accepted as Peace Corps volunteers with pending assignments, but both times Rich had medical issues that prevented us from departing.  Instead, we spent a year in Oregon (2003-2004) with Americorps/VISTA developing and implementing a business training program for disadvantaged people, a program still up and running today with more than 600 people served and over 250  businesses started.
 
The experience was so heartening that we signed up for another year - 2006-2007- this time for community economic development work in southern West Virginia, an area devastated economically by declining coal and timber industries, and a place where health and environmental risks are everywhere.  We worked hard and came away with a great respect and appreciation for the people and culture there.  Even now, not a week goes by that we don't think or speak about our experiences and hopes for the future of the people in that area.

Since then we've entered the "live fast" part of our lives - travel, family, and some volunteer work including tutoring, teaching ESL, and working on voting rights and government transparency issues.
We continue to live in Wilmington,  spend time at our place in Lewes, DE and winter months in Safety Harbor, Florida.  Otherwise, we travel A LOT.  Having been to over 70 countries, we joke about our to-be-written memoirs of "Rich and Becky Revolutionize the World," including Syria (before the war), Egypt (before the revolution), Tunisia (after the Arab Spring), Ukraine (shortly before Kiev was burning on CNN), Cuba (where locals told us that visiting America was only "in their dreams").  A few years ago we spent a month of study in Prague (earned 6 undergraduate credits!) and walked daily to school through the Old Town past the famous clock you see in travel brochures.  A while back we did a 30-day rail pass all with stop-offs all over over Canada and U.S. -  over 10,000 miles by train.  We enjoy visiting national parks and riding our bikes on long rail trails.  Right now we feel is our window of opportunity to keep on the move until we have to attend to health or welfare concerns of ourselves or my siblings.  Life has been lucky and good for us, and we wish the same to all WJ classmates.  See you at the Reunion.
 

Occupation: Real Estate

Comment:
To My WJ Classmates,

The  50th reunion was overwhelmingly Wonderful.. It just went too fast and I did not not have nearly enough time to connect with everyone that I would have liked. A BIG thanks to the committee!

Happy trails to ALL until the next reunion.. 55 th maybe?

A quick Bio for me:

Graduated University of Maryland, and married in 1971. Moved  to Howard County MD in 1973. Got into the Real Estate business doing  sales, management, development, home building, investments and property management etc.. And  I'm still here 46 years later. Currently I am in the process of  "winding down" my businesses.

My first marriage ended  in 1988 having produced 2 great kids, Hunter and Lauren. Both college grads,  happily married with children, gainfully employed and  neither live with me !

I enjoyed the single life for 20 years and  remarried in 2008 to Kathy who is a successful Realtor and has a wonderful adult daughter Bianca . My job is to  basically carry the heavy packages and stay out of Kathy's way . The good news is she loves me in spite of my faults..so lucky me.

I spend a lot of time with my hobbies. Gardening..Flowers and vegatables.. Ravens Football.. Hunting  on the Eastern shore.. Lots of travel.. Naples or Scottsdale in February ..Rehoboth in the Fall..Europe in the summer and anything else that that I can think of that is fun.. Right now, I spend as much time as possible with the grandkids (3 boys and 2 girls)  all under the age of 5. Yup..they call me PopPop and I love to spoil them. So life is  good!
 


 

Comment:
From the 40th reunion:
 

I taught school at Takoma Park Middle School, in Maryland, for eleven years and then I moved to Arizona.  I taught at Rio Rico High School until 2007 when I retired.  I subbed for a year but my mom's health took a turn for the worse so I stayed home and took care of her until her death this last March.  I now take care of my 3 horses, dog and 2 cats.  I volunteer at the local no kill Animal League and when the heat is no longer a factor I'll volunteer a local horse rescue.

Occupation: Business Analyst

Comment:
WOW!  50 years and I don’t feel much older than 30!  Life has been good. I was married, had three children (2 boys and a girl in that order) , graduated college with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Moved to Texas and worked as an admin assistant for EDS (now HP) and worked my way to being a programmer. The move to Texas brought many changes.  We arrived with the announcement that we were living in the Suicide Capital of the US, so I volunteered with the Crisis Center for about 4 years. Then my own crisis happened and I was divorced.  In 2002 I remarried.  I retired in 2004 from EDS/HP and then moved on to work with a feisty Irishman for 5 years fixing the old dial phones for the US Forest Service. That company lost their contract and closed the office in Dallas.  Next I moved on to a start-up company called VCE working as a business analyst. This company competes with IBM and HP – and in less than 5 years sold over 2 Billion dollars of product.  We are more successful than Amazon! I am still working and living here is “way too hot Texas” and would love to retire back east where the weather is cooler (but more humid).  The reunion was awesome!  Not enough time to visit with everyone I was hoping to see – but really enjoyed the time I spent talking to those whom I did see.  If you did not come – you missed a great time. THANK YOU to the committee for putting together a great event!  I wish you all a life of happiness, joy and peace. 

Comment:
Attended Montgomery College, then transferred to the U of MD. A marriage introduced me to Marine Corps officer base living during which time I worked for Navy Relief at Camp Lejeune and attended college off base. Upon divorce, I returned to Bethesda and worked for Booz ∙ Allen Applied Research and then completed classes at The Washington School for Secretaries in DC. I was offered a position within Ron Ziegler’s Press Office, which I accepted. For 2 years, I worked in the Press Office, traveled with the White House Press Corps, worked in Key Biscayne, Florida, and San Clemente/ Laguna Beach, California, and campaigned with President Nixon for his second term run. I resigned my position upon engagement for marriage to a Los Angeles industrial designer. The marriage did not take place and I headed to Gainesville, FL to attend the U of Florida’s School of Journalism and Communications. As a student, I worked for the radio station WRUF as an announcer and for the TV station WUFT in marketing and sales while becoming the University’s first female student to direct and host a bi-weekly community affairs TV show. Upon graduation from UF, I married a fellow Gator Engineering graduate and became an instant mom to his 2 young children. He and I, along with one of a former business colleague, incorporated the engineering firm of Davis and Allen Engineering with offices in Gainesville, FL, Houston, TX, and Peachtree City, GA. During this time, I returned to the U of Florida to get a second degree in Architecture and Interior Design. Before completing my degree, my husband and I welcomed the birth of our son. Afterward, we moved to Boca Raton, FL, where I worked in commercial real estate lending, acquisition, and development, involved in the development and building of such residential communities as Boca Pointe and Saint Andrews, along with shopping centers, office buildings, condos, and apartment buildings throughout south Florida. From Boca, we moved to Winston Salem, NC, and then to Ridgewood, NJ. When my husband passed in 1996, I entered a career in educational publishing in English as a Second Language. With this career, I’ve had the opportunity to work for the major global educational publishers. I also completed my MBA. Currently, I work for National Geographic Learning. My study and love of architecture and interior design enabled me to help design and build the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Midland Park, NJ. I am most grateful for family and friends and to have been able to attend our 50th high school class reunion.