Jo Anne Johns

I graduated in June and our family left in July for Long Island, New York. My father worked for Pan American Airlines and was promoted and transferred to Kennedy Airport, New York. Well, needless to say my mom, who was born in San Francisco and never crossed the California state line, my two sisters and I were sad to move to the East Coast. My Dad tried to make the six week tour of the United States extra special and we still cried every step of the way. We did apologize to him many years later and he did feel like a heel for uprooting us.

Once we were settled in our new home, I took a position in a nice boutique shop for a year. Deciding to broaden my horizons, I enrolled in Mrs. Skinners Secretarial School for night courses in typing/shorthand and attended a community college for accounting. After finishing both courses the Greene Construction Company hired me as a payroll clerk and where I was promoted to head bookkeeper.

My first husband and I met at the Greene Construction Company and married in 1964. We had a son, Michael, who lives about three miles from me and a daughter, Kristine, who lives in Boston, Mass. Neither is married or have any children. In 1974, after years of traveling to Okemo Ski Mountain for weekends and becoming avid skiers we decided to move the family to Healdville, Vermont. Healdville is a hamlet on the north side of Okemo Mountain. Here we started a construction/excavating business. We built many homes including one HUD development. The excavation work consisted of residential infrastructure and the telephone company bid work for setting utility poles. We worked very hard; running the business, raising the kids and managing our mini farm. Our son and daughter showed the Hereford cows and won quite a few ribbons.

We reached our 26^th wedding anniversary my son had built his own home my daughter was at the University of Vermont when I decided it was time for me to move on. We divorced and I swore I would never wash another mans dirty underwear!

I began working full time for the Chittenden Bank as a teller and part-time as a bookkeeper for a nice restaurant and an auctioneer in town. The bank promoted me from a teller position to a float position. The float position works at all different branches as a teller up through assistant manager. This position was a travel position and gave me the opportunity to work throughout the State of Vermont. It was a pleasure to meet and work with many different people and do a variety of jobs. Everyday was different and I loved it. I am now retired and enjoying a whole new life.

After ten years on my own, I met a fantastic widower named CJ. We dated for three years and every time he mentioned the “M” word I would break out in hives. He being a little old fashioned hated having a “girl friend” at 60 years old. And so we married and it has been a wonderful time. He has three sons and one daughter. We all get along very well and they are happy that he has someone to enjoy life with.

We have traveled many places in the last twelve years. Europe two times – I would go back to Italy any day, Hawaii, Alaska, Vegas and the whole East Coast. We decided three years ago that we should buy a place for a winter home. We purchased a home in an adult community in Daytona, Florida. We now leave Vermont mid January and return the end of March. While there we always look forward to family and close friends coming down to enjoy time in the warm sun with us.

So, as life is a wonderful journey with many ups and downs; sad times and happy times I can only say that I have been blessed with a great one.