Robert Lusby:
CLASS OF 1963
Warren Central High SchoolClass of 1963
Indianapolis, IN
Robert's Story
Graduated on Monday (think it was Monday) and left for the Air Force Tuesday morn age 17. Didn't now what I wanted to do but knew I did not want to work in a factory and college was not in the cards (at that time). Something in electronics/communications and that is what Uncle Sam did. Basic in San Antonio followed by technical school in Biloxi and then off to Okinawa for the first of my six overseas tours. Broke up with my high school sweetheart, Marty (Thurston class of 64) while in Okinawa. Got back together when I came back and we got married in March 1966 while I was stationed in Oklahoma.
Saigon, South Vietnam was my next overseas tour and Michael, our oldest son, was born while I was in Vietnam. Marty did not want to go overseas which was where the majority of my assignments would be so I separated and worked for the Indiana State Police in communications. Re-entered active duty in July 1969 just a couple of weeks after number two son, Gregory, joined our family. An assessment in Texas and then we all went to off to Japan . Got to visit Marcus Island twice and Iwo Jima once on ham radio trips. Back stateside and info Cheyenne Mountain's NORAD headquarters in the big cave. Two years later we went to Greece where I worked on a mountaintop which is long gone now (the facility not the mountain). That was followed by an assignment to Langley. Then we split up for a year while I had a year-long tour on another mountaintop this time in northwest Turkey. From there Marty and the boys joined me for a tour in England. While in England I had short duty thrips to Scotland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Iceland, and the Faroes. The boys grew up as GI Brats and took a long time getting used to civilians. After England I ended up my active duty Air Force career at SAC Headquarters in Nebraska.
Around age 35 I finally started taking some college courses to help with promotion. And I kind of went overboard. An Associate degree from the Community College of the Air Force in telecommunications followed shortly after by a BS in Electronics Management from Southern Illinois University (off-campus program at Offut) just before retiring from active duty in June 1986.
We headed to Sebring, Florida to be near Marty's parents and stayed in Sebring for seven years. While in Florida I used my GI Bill and earned a BA from Warner Southern College (now Warner Uni...Expand for more
versity) in Secondary Education English and Speech. Again I knew what I did not want to do with my career and that was no more communications and teaching is something you can do about anywhere. Had some GI Bill left and earned a MA from the University of South Florida in Special Education Behavior Disorders. That led me into special ed programs for behaviorally challenged middle and high school students.
We left Florida to get back the four seasons and I got a job teaching in Lafayette, Indiana in 1993. Stayed with that until 2008 when I retired again. Medical issues courtesy of Agent Orange were beginning to rear their ugly head and I had enough time in the system to earn a small pension from the state teacher system. Just a couple of weeks before I turned 60 and while I was still teaching I completed a PhD from Purdue.
No grandkids and no daughters-in-law as the boys never procreated. Michael had moved back to Florida where he had lived and worked off and on for most of his adult life and Marty, Greg, and I came down in 2021. Greg finally went out on his own while Marty and I moved into an assisted living facility in Lake Placid.
Marty was diagnosed with Parkinsons in her late 60's and it progressed very rapidly. She needed full-time care and was in the memory care unit while I lived in the 'open' side. With COVID restrictions severely limiting access I chose to reside in the facility. Right after we moved in one of the med-techs told me she had 'Sundowners'. Paranoia, delusions, memory, anger in addition to the more common Parkinson symptoms. But, we were able to be together every morning for a couple of hours right up to end. She passed away in August of 2022. We were married 56+ years.
Now I am on my own for the first time ever. My life-long hobby of amateur radio is still my main activity along with target shooting. Still like my oldies music along with southern gospel, bluegrass, R&B, Doo-Wopp gospel, big band, and old country. I moved out of the assisted living facility in November 2022 and am now in a park-model log cabin in a small park here in Lake Placid. My boys talked me into staying in Florida since there are just the three of us and we are all within an hour or so of each other.
I am re-purposing and re-inventing myself and just taking it sllllooooowwwwww and easy. Cheers. Bob Lusby
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