Mauricia Ann Proper:
CLASS OF 1968
Upland High SchoolClass of 1968
Upland, CA
Mauricia Ann's Story
So some of you are saying, WHO IS MAURICIA ANN PROPER (O'SHIELDS)?????. Well, to all of you I knew in school, I was either 'Jamie' as a nickname, or legally TERESA K. But, I was adopted, and didn't like any of those names, so in the 1970's when I was given my adoption paperwork, I started using the name on my papers, which was Mauricia Ann. When I found my parents in 1993, with their permission, I legally changed my name back to Mauricia Ann. Proper is, of course, my married name.
I served in the Air Force and Air Force Reserve for six years (Staff Sgt) -- was the first female aircraft mechanic during Viet Nam and later recruited flight crews at Norton AFB in San Bernardino. I married Larry, an Army Longbow Apache Pilot. He served 20 years in the Army, retired, then 20 years with Boeing as an Experimental Test Pilot in Mesa, Az., then retired. Now we live in a tiny little town in Albert City, Iowa (750 people). He thought he could quit flying, but he couldn't, so every other week he flys out of Burlington, IA (a couple of hundred miles from here) for Air Methods as a Medivac Pilot -- 7 days on and 7 days off, and one day of travel on each side of that. I just keep the house and yard going and I hang out with my farmer friends ... I even herded turkeys, once! Wasn't very good at it as I ended up at the front of the herd, so now I just watch my friends do it the right way! (The turkeys did follow me into the truck, the problem was getting me back out of the front of the turkeys ... they can be mean little buggers!)
Albert City grows corn, turkeys, pigs and processes ethanol. It's a wonderful place to live! Don't think I could ever go back to big city life (except to shop occasionally, maybe, and I'd have to drive a couple of hours to do that or fly somewhere else). We have a wonderful tractor show here called "The Threshermen's Show" that is held the second full weekend in August every year, 8th, 9th, 10th of August this year (2008), just west of our town. There ...Expand for more
is every kind of tractor every made, all kind of demonstrations, food booths, parades, crafts and shows, etc., etc. We get people from all over the U.S. and Canada and we always have a fantastic party at my farmer friends, Colin & Mary Johnson's Farm, on Saturday night. You all should come for a really informative and fun time and to learn what a beautiful place Iowa is!
We currently have two dogs (Schnoodles) and two kitties which is all I can really handle since I am on my own most of the time and pretty busy with my donated time and my friends.
I am very patriotic, politically conservative and a major annoyance to liberals! This year (2008) I served as a Delegate to the State Republican Convention in Des Moines, which was pretty exciting for me. I was also appointded by President George W. Bush as the Buena Vista County Selective Service Board Member (it is a 20-year Appointment) in 2003. Yes, we practice twice a year with test cases just like there may be a draft again some day, and we may be reviewing the cases that are asking for draft deferments.
I served a mission with my Evangelical Free Church here in Albert City down in Omaha, Nebraska the middle of last Winter that was very interesting ... it was an outreach mission to street addicts and prostitutes and homeless families. We handed out clothing and groceries at several missions and fed people in food lines and even in driveways in the middle of blizzards. It was a really wonderful experience, but sad to leave them, knowing that they would be doing the same thing over the next day and the day after that. You weren't curing anything, just stopping the bleeding for a day or two. It is especially sad for the children .... the average age of the homeless person in Omaha is 9. Very sad. If you could just get their parents off of drugs long enough to make them see what they are doing to their children's lives.
For the last two years I have also been the Post Adjutant of our local American Legion Post #299.
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