Darlene Merrell:  

After graduation from DuVal in 1964, I entered the workforce as a clerk stenographer in the Personnel Office at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. Four years later, I gave up my position as secretary to the Director of Administration at FTC to relocate when I was getting married. I moved to Norfolk, VA with my husband Wayne where I worked as the secretary for the Captain in Charge of Surface Ships at the Naval Safety Center on the Norfolk Naval Air Station. After three years at NAVSAFCEN, I gave up working to raise my family and was a stay-at-home Mom for thirteen years while my husband supported us as an electrician. During this time we relocated to the small town where I was born in North Carolina. We are 25 minutes from the resort area of Kitty Hawk and Nags Head, NC. We live adjacent to a body of water called the Currituck Sound where Wayne and I have enjoyed water sports and hunting over the years. We have two daughters and one son. Terry is a surgical nurse, Susan is an accountant and Todd is a firefighter after changing careers. He was previously Assistant Superintendent at two resort golf courses after receiving his turfgrass management degree from NC State. He made the change to help people and finds firefighting to be rewarding work. When ...Expand for more