Fred Summerfelt:  

Life Before retiring I worked as a special education teacher for 37 years. I have now been retired for almost 7 years. I have gone to the following colleges: Grand Valley State University, Lake Michigan College, Western Michigan University, and Michigan State University. Dad passed away several months before I graduated from Western in '72. I was finally "orphaned" when Mom died in 1990. Both had cancer. As a result, I became involved in the Berrien County Relay for Life, a major fund raiser for the American Cancer Society. In 1973, I married my first wife, Nancy Hocker, who was a local girl and attended the Catholic schools. We were divorced in January of '89 from which I received full custody of my two children, Lisa (now 38) and Andy (now 36). Lisa has lived in Benton Harbor and tutored students in math and science at Lake Michigan College. She has suffered from schizoaffective disorder for the last 19 years. Most of the time she fought to overcome her illness. Recently her symptoms have worsen. As a result, she has been in the hospital most of a year. Currently, she is in long term care. Andy lives in Kalamazoo, MI where he lives with his girlfriend. He is divorced with two children, Chase Michael, who is now 10, and Parker Sellies, who is 7. He has returned to college to get his degree. My second marriage, in 1991, was to Lori Beck Pozowilko, a St. Joe grad (1973). She has an RN degree and was a manager for Lakeland Homecare nurses, and she is now retired. We became grandparents for the first time with Jayden, who is now 11. She has a brother, Jordan, who is 7. In the future, I would like to take more time to travel and check of items on my bucket list, In addition, I enjoy going to concerts. Twin brother, Ted, lives in Sacramento, California. We have kept in touch, however, we have become extremely opposites in our belief systems and politics. Religious Beliefs In my early 20s, I became a Unitarian. I've always questioned my Christian upbringing from early childhood. I felt comfortable in making the change after the death of my father. I claim myself as a monotheist, and have broken away from organized religion. Eventually, I may go back to church, but for now I feel fulfilled in making spirituality a part of my everyday life vs. finding it in a church. On Sunday morning, I instead relax with coffee and the Sunday paper. School Most of what I got involved in was motivated by being a social person. However, I didn't get wild and crazy until I got into college. I was part of student council and Concert Choir in high school. I was self conscious as a teenager and an anxiety wreck. Most of my classmates were unaware of this. College I originally was going to start at LMC, but during their strike in '67, I, instead,...Expand for more