Marilyn J. Fink Trusheim McNamara Schmidt

 

I live in Marshalltown, Iowa where I have been the past 30 years.  I live on an acreage outside town.  I have 2 children-a son, Steve Trusheim.  He is a hog farrowing manager not far from here.  My daughter, Cherri Trusheim, is a veterinarian in Seattle with a 24 hour acute care animal facility.  I have 6 stepkids.  I have 13 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.  They are located throughout the U.S.  We have many great places to visit – Virginia, Santa Fe, California, Seattle, and Iowa.  I worked as a Registered Nurse all my career, and my last position was as a staff nurse at the Iowa Veteran’s Home here in Marshalltown.  I worked with people who had Alzheimer’s Disease.  Retirement is the greatest!

 

I was a camp nurse for 5 weeks near Anchorage in 2003.  That was great fun.

 

My husband, Jerry McNamara, died in 2005.  We had been married almost 26 years.  I had been thinking about going to Africa ( I had wanted to do this always).  I went with my sister-in-law, Bob’s wife, to a mission in Tanzania.  What an awesome adventure.  As well as meeting the beautiful African people and learning of their life, we went to Jane Goodall’s Gombe Stream National Park and hiked into the mountain to see the chimpanzees that she had worked with.  I returned the next year with another friend and we had a very rewarding time.  Each year we went on safari, and it was breathtaking.

 

In 2008, after searching the “dating sites” on the internet, and having BAD EXPERIENCES, I was giving up my memberships when a gentleman from Cedar Falls, Iowa started pursuing me.  I figured I’d meet him once and get it over with and then get on with my single life.  It was meant to be!  And we both know it was the Hand of God.  We married in August of last year and have had a wonderful year together.  He is now going through chemo treatments for lung/bone cancer, so that is keeping us challenged.  The treatments are going well and we are praying for remission.

While I was “looking for Mr. Right” I decided I should write a book about a 67 y/o female returning to the dating scene.  I was going to entitle the book “YES MY TEETH ARE REAL” as I was asked that more than once along the way.  There were many other questions that were way out of line but quite funny when you look back at them.  So keep looking for my book on the #1 Best Seller list.  HA!

My motto is live each day to the fullest.  You can always find others whose troubles are bigger than yours.  You will find happiness if you help others and love with an open heart.

 

My parents continued to live in Naperville.  My mom passed away in 1979.  My Dad moved to Zion, IL to be closer to Bob, my brother, a few years before he died in 2005.  So I was back to Naperville frequently over the years.  It sure has grown and become a beautiful place. I pray God’s Richest Blessing on all of you who will read this, no matter what part you have played in the NCHS class of 1959.  (HOW DID WE GET SO OLD???)