Life After Tappan Zee

Madalan Helmke Schupner
   
1958 Graduation Picture
Recent Picture

Is there life after high school? I am happy to say, "Yes indeed!"

I met Cal when I was 16. We dated through my last years at TZ and got married two weeks after graduation. Nine (9) months later our first child, Glenn, was born. He was a whopping 9 lbs 3 ounces. And don't you think mama wasn't counting the months. Our daughter, Carrie, was born eighteen months after that. She was much smaller since she was a planned C Section. She weighed in at 7 lbs 9 ounces.

Cal went back to school nine years after we were married and got his BBA, his MBA, and then his CPA. I went back to school after the children were in grammar school. I graduated from RCC with an AAS in nursing. I've been working as a nurse for 33 years. There are many fields in Nursing, and I feel at times I've done it all, from Public Health Nursing in the Catskills, to O.R. Nursing in South Florida. At the present time (yes I am still working) I do telephonic case management for an insurance company. My job is to get workers compensation claimants back to work as soon as possible.

Along the way I became a professional clown, volunteering my time in the Christian Clown Ministry. We produced shows and presented them at various churches throughout South Florida.

At the age of 50 I joined the Army Reserve Nurse Core as a 1st Lieutenant during Desert Storm. I missed being deployed by the skin of my teeth. By the time I finished Officer's Training School the quota for our division was filled. Cal was praying that I would not have to go; I was praying I would. I guess I wanted the blood and guts of Army hospital field nursing. It turned out that our unit went from a paper hospital to a MASH unit and the few that were deployed from our division went to the front lines.

Cal & I have become very involved in our local church (about 3,500) and we lead a small church group on Wednesday evenings, studying various Bible related topics.

Looking back over the years I can say that God has granted me everything that I desired. I wanted to get married and have children when I was young. I did. I wanted to have a boy first, then a girl. I did. I wanted to become a nurse. I did. I wanted to become a clown. I did. When I was in high school, I had a desire to join the military. I did that, too.

And the best part: Cal and I have been married for 47 wonderful years.

We have been blessed with two wonderful children. Glenn is head electronic technician with the St Pete (FL) Times and Carrie is an Administrator with the Parks and Recreations Department in Virginia Beach. Cal and I have three grandchildren ranging in age from 13 to 22 years.

So, is there life after high school? You bet there is!

Contact Information

EMAIL: mthgoose@bellsouth.net

Snail-Mail: 2111 Hamstead Court, Suwanee, GA 30024

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