Debbie Ankersen:  

Life I lived in Massillon, Ohio from the age of 5 to 14. I attended Longfellow Jr. High from 7th grade to 9th grade. I started 10th grade at Washington High School, but moved to Melbourne,Florida in October of that year, and then went to Melbourne High School, where I graduated in 1972. I worked at a company called Harris Semiconductor for 3 years after high school. I met my husband when I was 19 years old. He was in the USAF. We married after a very short engagement, and had a daughter the next year. We moved to Italy for 3 years with the Air Force, and had our second daughter while living in Venice. We were stationed at PAFB in Florida after that, and my husband decided to end his military career. He took a job at Kennedy Space Center. We stayed in Melbourne and raised our kids. Our oldest daughter graduated from UF and married her high school sweetheart. They now live in South Carolina with my three grandchildren. The youngest daughter also married a young man that she went to high school with. He is in the military, and they lived in Hawaii for 3 years. She is back in Melbourne again now, while he serves in the National Guard over in Afghanistan. They have no children as of yet, but are hoping to start a family when he returns home. After the girls college and weddings were paid off, my husband and I bought some land beachside, on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River, and built our dream home where we have been for the last 2+1/2 years. We were enjoying being empty nesters until November of last year (2004) when we ended up taking in two children who desperately needed a home. They are sister and brother, age 14 an...Expand for more