Ellen Hook:  

Hello to all my fellow Dysart Classmates. I hope you're all doing well as possible now that we're so much older. Boy, now that we're grown and are white-haired grandparents, don't those years back in school seem like they were fun? I remember back then that I couldn't wait to get out of school and have a life of my own. In fact, I quit school and got married so I could do just that-- we were married 43 years when Dan passed away. But I later finished high school in night classes and then went to college and earned a Bachelors Degree in Information Systems. I went to work at Wal-Mart home office in their Information Systems Department and then worked in various divisions throughout my 20 year career. I loved it and would probably still be there if I hadn't begun having health issues and needed to retire. I married Dan Dickinson in August 1969 and we went off to a life in the Navy--first as a fleet sailor, and then as a Navy Seabee (which he enjoyed much more). We have two children, 9 grandchildren, 2 step-grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren. After his injury in the Seabees and subsequent medical retirement from the Navy, we moved to Gravette, Arkansas where my sister Kathy and her husband Bill were living. We raised our children and loved being part of our grandchildren's lives as they were frequent visitors in our home and stayed overnight many weekends and even a week at a time during the summers. Most weekends we had them all ove...Expand for more