Comments:
After graduation I couldn't wait to get out of town; I spent an enjoyable 3 1/2 years at Trinity University in San Antonio. I majored in English and psychology, but didn't want to go on to graduate school or become a teacher, so I came home and tried a variety of jobs. Finally in 1973 I settled in as a secretary to a CPA here in Abilene, and one thing led to another. I took night classes and correspondence courses and passed the CPA exam in 1980. Since 1998 I've been the owner of Borden Duffel PC, after having worked here since 1974!
I have two CPA's who work for me (both women) and we stay busy all the time! I really enjoy the profession. It even allows me to use my communication skills and my psychology education. You wouldn't think of accounting as a people-oriented occupation, but it really is.
After deciding that it just wasn't in the cards for me to ever marry, I met John Gross in the summer of 1987. We hit it off immediately but didn't get married until June of 1989. We didn't have children together, but he had a daughter, Jessica, from his first marriage. We enjoyed traveling, playing handbells in our church choir, going to plays and concerts -- you name it. He was from Tennessee, so we made trips fairly often so I could see "real trees."
John died in May of 2007 after being diagnosed with lung cancer and pneumonia. He was only sick for about six months and died about two and a half weeks after he was diagnosed. I miss him very much. His daughter Jessica and I are very close, and she gave us two wonderful grandchildren who were the apples of their granddaddy's eyes. They live in Tennessee, so I only get to see them a couple of times a year, but I don't know what I would do without them!
I continue to stay busy with work. I'm also active in my church (Church of the Heavenly Rest, Episcopal) and have a wonderful group of "choir buddies" to do stuff with.
My brother Jim (class of 1971) works for Southwest Airlines in Dallas, and my sister Mignon, who was called Flossie when she lived here (class of 1979), is a web programmer for Toshiba in Houston.
