Robin Rel Stetson:
CLASS OF 1982
Crawford High SchoolClass of 1982
Crawford, NE
Antelope Valley CollegeClass of 2004
Lancaster, CA
Doane CollegeClass of 1986
Crete, NE
St. Genevieve High SchoolClass of 1982
Panorama city, CA
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary SchoolClass of 1978
Sun valley, CA
Robin's Story
Life
When I was 14 I met Rhonda Sherman Bello in Mrs. Dorio's class at St. Gen's in CA. Almost 30 years later, & we still get together to celebrate our birthdays (we're both born 8-23-64). We remained close, especially after my dad went through his "Grizzly Adams" phase & moved the whole family to Crawford, Nebraska in '80. That's where I graduated from high school & met my husband, Tony Stetson. We eventually got married - 25 years AFTER we met!
After high school, I attended Doane College in Crete, NE. Doane was an incredible experience, & I made lifelong friends like Ginger, Peggy, Lynette, Colleen, Mark and Troy, just to name a few.
After 3 years at Doane I returned to CA I met BMX Plus! editor Scott Towne when I worked as a copy editor for Hi-Torque Publications. We dated for about a year before getting engaged. We both made the move to Challenge Publications (BMX Action) & married in 1988.
A month after our wedding, Scott decided he wanted to pursue his hand at running his dad's bike/skateboard shop (Vern's) in Plainwell, Michigan. We quit our jobs & moved to Michigan in the fall of 1988. I was able to get a job in nearby Kalamazoo at Western Michigan University. An added perk was the discount tuition, so I was able to return to my studies, as well. I had a great job, was making headway toward my degree & made a few more lifelong friends (Lisa, Christina and the rest of the BBC), but our marriage didn't last. We divorced in 1991 & I moved back in with my folks in California. Fortunately, for them, I reunited with one of my roommates from Doane (Ginger Hornik Armstrong). We moved closer to the beach, I got a job in Santa Monica as a healthcare recruiter with a national healthcare firm. Ginger and I really lived it up and laughed the entire time we were roommates. Life was good.
In 1995 our lives changed forever. Ginger met Brian Armstrong and my department was sold. She and Brian married, and I moved even closer to the beach. Manhattan Beach, to be exact. I became a partner with a traveling therapy company and worked at Skechers part-time. Life was still pretty sweet. I got involved with a guy from Skechers, and for the next 6 years I lived a pretty crazy (fun crazy) life, traveling and partying like a rock star. Fortunately, for my health's sake, everything fizzled out by the end of 2001. Single again, I returned to my parent's house.
While deciding what I wanted to be when I grow up, my sister (Marianne) and I began making personalized gifts - boxes, ornaments, soap, jewelry, etc. And so Artsy Chicks was born! I also decided to go back to school. I was bound and determined to finish college and get that elusive degree by age 40.
Then, BAM! In December '02 I received an e-mail from Tony Stetson, via Classmates.com. He was planning to do some work in CA, & would I like to get together for lunch or something? Dinner in January turned into serious dating. The next couple of years were a whirlwind. I did manage to get my degree a few days shy of my 40th. Tony & I tied the knot in December of 2005.
On April 4, 2006, we lost Ginger Hornik Armstrong, but her beautiful spirit lives on. As soon as I get my act together (along with my Artsy Chicks Web site), I plan to design/sell items to benefit her kids' educational fund.
Although I don't have any children of my own, Tony has two wonderful kids. Trenton is 20 & Devon is 17. I love them to pieces! I am trul...Expand for more
y blessed to have such beautiful "bonus" kids in my life. I also have three nieces & four nephews, so I strive to be the best aunt, ever!
Tony is a superintendent for a company that builds retail stores nationwide (during the first few years of our marriage he built American Eagle Outfitters, but lately it's been JoAnn Fabrics). Although I travel with him, I'm a "stay at home" wife - we just happen to have several homes during the year! The length of each assignment varies (3 to 20 wks). We've been fortunate to work in Puerto Rico, HI, AK, FL, CA, KY, MD, TX, OK, MS, ND, CO, NC, NY & AR. It's always a bonus when our "home" is where we have family/friends.
In January 2009, the kids moved to Alabama where their stepdad accepted a new job. Tony & I bought his granddad's house in Crawford, Nebraska. It's a major fixer-upper, so when the house nextdoor to it went up for sale, we bought it. Now, when we're not traveling or visiting the kids, we go home to Crawford and live in one house while remodeling the other one.
School
It sounds kinda crazy to me, but my mom and dad decided that I should go to school at the ripe age of 3. From age 3 through 5 I attended Poverello Preschool in Sylmar, California. All I really remember is wearing a uniform, having fingernail/uniform inspections every morning, learning the alphabet and getting the crap smacked out of me by some very mean nuns. I was happy to graduate!
Keeping the Catholic school thing alive, I went to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary School in Sun Valley, California. I LOVED school! I made good friends and had some great times from first grade in 1970 until I graduated 8th grade in 1978. I loved having to wear a uniform - I didn't have to decide what to wear every day, which resulted in more sleep. Bonus! I still think about Brenda, Susan, Gina, Cox and V, and all my teachers. I lost touch with about half of my classmates after graduation.
After graduating from Holy Rosary, I attended St. Genevieve's High School in Panorama City, California, for two years (1978-1980). I wasn't quite through with my sophomore year when my dad went through his "Grizzly Adams" phase and moved our whole family to Crawford, Nebraska (population 1,210) where I graduated from Crawford High School in 1982. Nebraska was quite a change, but in the end it was all for the best. I met Tony Stetson at the end of my sophomore year. He was my first love, my first boyfriend...20 years later we reunited via Classmates.com. We were married December 9, 2005! Thanks, Dad!
College
Doane College (1982-1985) - Roommates were Theresa Novak for freshman and sophomore year. Then we pledged Phi Sigma Tau (THE BEST) and I moved to the Quads. During my junior year my roommate was Connie Tullberg, one of the most talented artists, ever! I didn't complete my senior year, but I did attend for the first semester and that's when I lived with Ginger. I met some of the best people of my life here! I still keep in touch with most of them, and we try to get together as often as we can. I can't help but be transported back to Doane whenever I hear BTO's "Takin' Care of Business".
Western Michigan University (1989-1991) - I was married during the time, so I didn't live on campus. This is where I met what I consider my "other" sorority - the BBC (don't ask!).
California State University Bakersfield (2002-2004) - My parents were my roommates - the tamest, ever (thank God!).
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