M.E. Barwacz:  

Married in June after high school graduation, had 2 daughters within 4 yrs, who have blest us with 9 grandchildren. Worked for 7 years as a respiratory therapist, training in GR, then moving to Detroit where Doug completed his education. He finished school back in the recession of '71, if I remember correctly, and ended up working in the hospitality industry, instead of as an engineer. Our plan had been to have the kids, work till we were about 35, then take the kids and sail around parts of the world for a year or 2, and give them a hands on education, so they would be able to succeed in the real world. We would finally come back to our hometown and open a restaurant together, and eventually sail off into the sunset. Reality, was a bit different. We stayed married for 10 years but lived much of the time in different cities. I retired from the hospital after just 7 years, and slowly became more active in community affairs.We divorced, eventually I remarried. I served a short time on the GR Board of Ed. A move out of GR into the Northview district ,which my daughter was bussed to for many years, ended my term. Then in "85, I broke my neck, sustaining an incomplete spinal cord injury. I have had the pleasure of watching my strength slowly im...Expand for more