Denise Wray:
CLASS OF 1970
Parkview High SchoolClass of 1970
Springfield, MO
Denise's Story
Life
September 15, 2007
As I re-read the entry I made nearly a year ago, I couldn't help but remember how much I wanted to reach out to the midwest and find the roots I loved. Even with a wonderful job in Florida, a house on the ocean, magnificent sunsets, lack of snow, mid-winter 2007 we moved to Tulsa, OK. Can't help but smile. We honeymooned at The Camelot in Tulsa, and it is soon to be razed due to its deteriorated state. Hmmm... 36 years has been fairly kind to us. So, we are back in the midwest, have found college friends in Tulsa, and hope to also find some of you from PHS. We have a listed phone number so any of you reading this message, please call!
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September 2006
Writing a life's bio in 4,000 words is a challenging task. Not that my life has been so full of adventure that it can't be explained in short terms, but where do I start?
Jim and I have been married slightly over 35 years. The photo posted was taken on our 35th wedding anniversary in August 2006. I don't really remember life before marriage, certainly not before having Jim Wray as my best friend. By choice, we have no children... Didn't want to grow up enough to raise them, I guess.
My life's path has proven to be substantially different than originally planned. But then, what does an 18 year old know about life? Following the suggestion of high school counselors and my mom, I set out to teach elementary education, but quickly discovered that I don't particularly like children. Hmmmm... To make a long story short, I followed a calling that started at age 16 (selling ice cream from a Willy's Jeep) and have been in sales my enti...Expand for more
re professional career. Fortunately, I followed the path of technology serving as VP of Sales & Marketing for 3 software development companies, and am now a Regional Sales Director for yet another software company. We have moved between Missouri and Texas a few times over the past 35 years, each time answering either Jim's latest professional calling or mine.
In March of 2005, we followed the sun and moved to the west coast of Florida. While we absolutely love the weather, our proximity to the ocean (1 block), and the gorgeous sunsets, we desperately miss the kindness and good nature of the mid-west. Most people plan to move to Florida when they retire; it appears that we are planning to move out of Florida when we retire.
Our hobbies are many. Both Jim and I have been on national champion sailing teams, but never sailing together. We now sail for pleasure, but old age ;-) has not been kind enough to allow continued competition. Horsemanship is in my blood, and for many years we owned and showed Arabian/Half-Arabian horses. I hope to return to that hobby in the not-so-distant future, but current job travel prohibits. Extra time goes to travel. We have both had the good fortune of traveling the world with our jobs; Thailand is my favorite and Austria is Jim's.
My sister Debbie lives a couple of miles from us here in Seminole, FL. Jim's sister, Michelle and family live in Kansas City, and brother Kevin and family live in Crane. His parents live in The Montclair in Springfield so we do occasionally get back to the area for a visit.
Many things in life yet to do, and can't believe how fast time passes. Hope to see you at our 40th reunion!
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