More about Gwen's accomplishments.

Once we decided that we were meant for each other and ought to get married, Gwen and I settled into new jobs that we would hold for a year; mine as a commercial teacher at Stephenson High School and hers as chief bookkeeper at a construction company in Iron River.   It has always bothered me that what she did that year never received the recognition it deserved.  When she began the job in July she was still only 19 years old.  She would have a hand in all of the the financial matters of a construction company with more than  300 employees.  Her responsibilities included issuing paychecks, preparing profit and loss statements, checking job estimates, making  payments, understanding union guidelines and meeting with auditors, just to name a few.  Initially she was terribly confused by it all.  She sought perfection in what she did, and worried incessantly about doing things right.  I would tease her that I never had to worry about anything because she did enough for both of us. By the end of the year she was in complete control, and, when she left to marry me, her job was divided among several other employees, one of the few times I heard her say she was really proud of of her accomplishments.   The way she said it was, "They're going to spread my job among several employees. Pretty good, hey, John."

Although she maintained that she was only working to help pay for our wedding I could tell that by the time she left the job she had come to somewhat enjoy  it.  However, she never did acquire a liking for the company owner, who was in an office next to her.  I remember when deer season came around how disappointed she was that he shot a buck on opening day,  because it meant that he would be sitting in his office the next day.  "The big man is sitting in his office today," is how she would say it, always somewhat derisively.

One of the things I most admired about the love of my life was her proactive nature. If something wasn't the way she thought it ought to be she did whatever it took to make it right.   At Christmas time she was disappointed that no one in the office did any decorating.  On a weekend before the holiday I enjoyed helping her cut a tree that we put up in her office and decorated    The big man apparently thought that was OK.

In any of the jobs that she held, Gwen always received superb  ratings. That had been the case the summer before we met when she was employed as a clerk in procurement for the U. S. Air Force at what was then K. I. Sawyer Airfield in Gwinn, near Marquette.  When I attended U. M. the year after we were married, she obtained a clerical position in the Dietetic Department at the Veteran's Hospital in Ann Arbor, and again obtained outstanding job reviews.  Later she  worked as a nurse with U. M. Hospitals for many years, a position at which she also excelled.  She never blew her own horn, choosing to simply go to work and do the best job she knew how to do;  a trait she carried over to the love she showed me, our children, family members and all who knew her.  Tonight I had dinner with a group of friends who had participated in cancer support groups with Gwen and me.  I mentioned that I would be writing this blog later, and one of them said to be sure to say that wherever Gwen went she lit up the room.  I think my sweetheart may have, in her self-deprecating way,  disagreed with that statement.  Nonetheless, it's true, and just one of the many things we miss about her.