Life started out rough. Dad was hospitalized for several years with tuberculosis and mom and I moved often. I can remember at least 15 different places I lived before age 16, including in a single car garage that leaked like crazy when it rained.
Schooling was very important in my family so I only changed schools once. After BHS I was able to go to college at Cal State Los Angeles and graduated in 1970 with a BS degree in psychology. During that time, I was also baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, largely because of the example of my still very best friend, Margie Lee Smith (also BHS ’67). That has made all the difference in my life.
After Cal State, I immediately went to Brigham Young University and two years later graduated with a master’s degree in school psychology. I then worked for a year as a school psychologist covering 5 rural school districts near Blackfoot, Idaho. Coming from Burbank, that was culture shock.
On a Friday the 13th I married a good guy from Idaho, Blaine Nelson, in an LDS temple. We are headed to our 49th anniversary this year. We have raised 5 children and 2 of our 7 grandchildren. The older kids have spread out from Portland, Oregon to Albuquerque to Las Vegas, but we still have 2 grandkids living at home with us. We have been raising kids for 46 years straight now. Idaho was our home for a few years, but mostly it has been northern Utah. I have worked as a school psychologist for 38 years, generally part time so I could also focus on my own kids. Tried retirement a few years back, but that only stuck for a few months. I missed helping the kids who struggle to learn, so am back working in a field I love.
For fun, we enjoy being outdoors and in nature. “Nature is cheaper than therapy” is one of my mottos. I enjoy bird watching, yard work, pets, reading, kayaking, hiking, jet skiing and camping. We spend time every summer camping next to lakes in Utah. Several times, while Blaine was working, I’ve taken along a couple daughters or one grandchild and camped in Zion’s or near Arches or Yellowstone National Parks or in the Redwoods and along the Oregon coast, and in the occasional parking lot when no site could be found.
It has been a good life, definitely also some huge challenges at multiple points along the way, but that is just how life is. If we can learn and grow from the hard times, it can help us become better, kinder, and more compassionate and empathetic people. That is just my two cents of wisdom to share with classmates.
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