What's Up:
My favorite activity is being grandma to our four grandchildren. What an inspiration they are to keep the “youth” in me active. My mind is challenged with the responsibility of being on the Board of Directors for the Jeffco (Schools) Credit Union and being a member of the Library Council for the Jefferson County Library Foundation. (Don’t you just love to walk out of a library with an armful of books to read?)Retirement has enriched our love to travel. Visited Europe for the first time last year and fell in love with Paris and the Tuscan/Sienna area; next trip is to China this Fall. We’ve taken many trips to Kihei, Maui where John’s dad lives. We take our grandchildren whenever we can. My Occupation:
I retired from Jefferson County Schools. The last two years I was an assistant director of The Jefferson Foundation, a non-profit group that raises monies to support public education in Jefferson County, including Wheat Ridge High School. My Family:
Husband, John Larson, class of 1965. Joan Simeral introduced us during a summer class at the University of Colorado in 1968. John pursued the relationship when he ditched class one day and called me to get the class notes. We went to the old Scotchman on Wadsworth for a “hot cookie” later that evening and that was all it took! We’ve been together for 36 years. Check out his bio, too! Two daughters, Kristanna, and Kara, also graduates of Wheat Ridge High School and UNC and CSU, respectively. Kristanna has two kids, Mikaila, 11, and Andrew, 10. Kara has two kids, Jackson, 4, and Sawyer, 2, and a wonderful husband, Chad. Everyone lives in Colorado Springs. Many classmates knew my mother, Marilyn Michels, as their Brownie/Girl Scout Leader. After a series of mild strokes, she now lives in an independent retirement facility in Arvada where she still has her own flower and vegetable garden on her balcony. She certainly provided a lot of opportunities for us in scouting to learn about camping, cooking, etiquette (wish this class was available for kids today!), picnics, crafts, etc. And Teva, the cat. A feral Maine coon cat who showed up at our house on July 4th eight years ago and decided to stay. With no kids at home, he gets pampered a lot!
Favorite Memories:
I was totally engrossed in the journey to the 1963 State Basketball Championship and loved to watch the cheerleaders doing back flips and handsprings across the wooden floor before each home game. But most of all, I enjoyed fulfilling the role of “Letter Girl” with the other nine: our first half time show, practicing in Betty Ricks’ backyard to the tune of Saint Louis Blues, and trying to do a routine as Mr. Wallace had the band play at different speeds. I also remember my father refusing to let me go to see the Beatles at Red Rocks with Karen Larson. Tickets were only $7.00, but the reputation of the Beatles was too far-out for this suburban lass. "Those were the days, my friends….."
Forever etched in my mind: hearing the announcement during gym class that President Kennedy had been assassinated.
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Linda on fresh lava (Hawaii)
We have a very sophisticated Family. |
