Dana Hansen-Sheppard:  

Hi there Classmates, Since our graduation 1965, my life has been wonderful. No, not just after graduation, but soon afterward. I went to college in Tennessee and was so disappointed I came home to Savannah to go to school at Armstrong State University. It was there that I met a 1960 graduate, Carl Sheppard, who had come home after serving six years with the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. It was love at first sight. I knew Carl was the one God had planned for me to be with and sincerely he said the same thing. We fell in love and after a three month (exactly) courtship, we eloped and were married at Ridgeland, South Carolina January, 1967. After we married, he went to work with Liberty National Bank and I went to work for Selective Service Systems (Draft Board) at the Federal Building in Savannah. Carl continued his education at the Unviersity of Georgia and he earned his Banking and Finance Degree. No, we didn't have children until 3 1/2 years later. Our first son was born at Candler Telfair Hospital in September 1969. He was the most beautiful child -- and we named him Gilbert Carl Sheppard, III after his dad. Right after his birth, Carl was offered a job as the Vice President of a small bank in St. Marys, Ga. I had stopped working to become a mom, of course. When we moved to St. Marys, we had quite an adjustment as it was a small time and Savannah was huge compared to it. We were used to bolling allies, parties, friends, friends and friends. St. Marys was quaint, private, and the most exciting thing the people did on the weekends was to "rake their lawns." You might think that's crazy, but it's true. Carl and I were happy, although we lost three little baby boys after we moved there. We did have two more children - Jay and April. We owned 7 homes in that area with the best one being the river home on the St. Marys River. The children grew up swimming in the river with the snakes and gators, as they said. They were happy children and we were so blessed to be in that area. Carl continued with his military service while being a banker of one of the only two banks in the area. However, he grew very displeased with the banking business as the Federal regulations became harder to deal with and as Carl put it: "the banking business became one which the individual person was no longer a person; he/she was a number instead." After 20 years as a banker, he found another position with the paper mill in St. Marys where he became an employee as Lubrication Mechanic (we like to say he went from banking $$ into 'OIL'" He remained there until the paper mill was purchased by a Hispanic company (Durango owned by Caulderon, if you will note "as in President Caulderon!") which soon bankrupted it and piece by piece moved it to Mexico. This bankruptsy left 1500+ employees without jobs and after 23 years, Carl retired early. In between all those years, I had become a school teacher (second/fourth and fifth grades) of a private school for a short time, a CEO and Woman Contracttor of a construction company; bought a fitness business, and a began a janitorial/maid service. Some of the times were good and some bad, some high times and some low times. Because I had always felt something was still missing from my life, I enrolled back in Armstrong Atlantic State University and attained my B.A. in English, a B.A. in Education and then went to Georgia Southern University until I achieved my MEd. in Instrudtional Technology and a double doctorate in Information and Medical Technology I went to work for the university system of Georgia. I worked for the North Florida University and then Brunswick College and the Camden Center. I loved teaching the students at all the colleges. Then I was promoted to become Department head and Learning Center Director. Since they had no learning ce...Expand for more