School Story:
I moved to Chicago, Illinois because my dad was transferred with General Electric - I graduated from Illinois State University with a Social Work degree in 1979. I moved back to Maryland to marry Jimmy Blimmel and did so in 1981 - good man, good friend, not good marriage partners - we divorced in 1984 after moving to Houston with Sharon Farfaras, Jeb Benson, Jim Blimmel, Micheal Blimmel. Everyone moved back to Maryland except Jeb and I. He and Sharon divorced too. He stayed in the Ft Worth area and I in Houston. We just recently saw each other again in Ft Worth in 2013 after Sharon passed away.
I ended up meeting my present husband while I was a Houston Rocket cheerleader. His sister-in-law, and now mine, danced together on the same team. We married in 1988 and have been since - That same year I became a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor. While raising our three children I wa blessed enough to stay home with them and to supplement our income we opened and operated the Waller School of Tumbling for ten years. In 2009 I went back to being a counselor and then in 2012 went back to graduate school and received my Master's in Human Science in 2014. I am now a Licensed Practical Counselor in Texas and work for a couple of non-profit agencies. I help treat sex trafficking clients, victims of sexual assault and domestic violence as well as clients who grew up in and are presently living with addicts.
I have developed a training curriculum that helps those hurting from trauma and addition. I am presently working with a videographer to produce the 8-week course.
I miss Sharon and Bambi and Jimmy and Micheal - so hard to believe they are not withus anymore - doesn't seem possible - I remain good friends with Eileen Smith deBoer and Pat Kavanaugh Mays. In addition to seeing Jeb from time to time, I just reconnected with Phil Ritter who has been in Dallas as long as I have been in Houston. He is a very gifted attorney who has a passion for the mental health field as I do. He just recently won a well resected position on the Dallas Community College System Board of Directors. Pretty Amazing man.
