Just talked today with a friend in England who nearly gave my husband and I heart attacks when he said he read on the Internet that Kate was married! After q&a back and forth, I figured he must have found your "Catching up with...." story, so went back and read it more slowly (remember I said I was a good proofreader? Apparently only when I'm being paid!! or when I slow down to read carefully!) Either I wrote it wrong or you rewrote my info wrong, b/c Kate IS in nursing at UA, but BETHANY is married to Andy. Twins Kate and Michael just turned 21 this past weekend, so I am happy to report they are both still single!! Can you go in and fix that piece of information? Or I can just post a comment if that's easier. I'm sorry I didn't catch it sooner, but just gave it a quick read when it came out. Thanks for coverage either way.
By John Olesky (BJ 1969-96)
It seemed like a simple question.
“How’s retirement going for you?”
Pam retired May 31, 2008 from North Canton Hoover High School after 33 years of teaching English and journalism. As I said, it seemed like a simple question, maybe even perfunctory.
Pam’s emailed reply:
Retirement? What's that????
I tutored kids who had failed the Ohio Graduation Test last fall, last spring and this past fall. Four weeks of tutoring, then a week of test proctoring.
Then, Business #1: Proofreader. I'm really good at it. Pays well. But spotty work, because I don't really seek it out. If people seek me out, I proofread and charge them.
Business #2: Senior pix photographer. It's fun and creative and I enjoy it. But my "business plan" was to offer my services to those students who couldn't afford the expensive studios. It was my intention to "give back." But it backfired because people who COULD afford studios saw the pix I did and started calling me. So I worked quite a bit, but developed trigger thumb and carpal tunnel (should have bought a mono-pod), so am currently not doing that!
Business #3: Became an independent consultant (and now district manager) for Arbonne International, a skin care and health products company. It's a direct marketing (direct sales, multilevel marketing, NOT pyramid) company and I'm enjoying the flexible hours, working with people, training people to do the same thing I do. Just had an open house today, with some holiday specials. Owning my own business is . . . interesting. But, so far, so good.
So, that's my retirement!
Ken (Pakenham, Pam’s husband) hopefully will retire this summer, so we can plan some REAL retirementy things. We did go to Hawaii the first summer and to Scotland to see his family last March. Plus I went to Houston to see a friend and then to Kingman, Arizona to see a sick friend in July, then back in August for her funeral. So, been busy!!
Meanwhile, the twins still have another year of school and health insurance to pay for, so I plan to stay busy for a little longer! I do miss watching the birds in the morning, though -- that's what I did the first couple of months I wasn't teaching!!
= = = = = = =
Wow!
On the 2008 BJ Alums post by Harry Liggett about Pam’s “retirement” from Hoover High, she said: “It's been a nice ride. Now I get to re-invent myself.”
Boy, did she ever!
Pakenham Is an assistant professor of English at the University of Akron, teaching linguistics and English as a second language. “My sister was his secretary,” Pam says, “I met him when I was in graduate school. I'd come up from Coshocton, where I was living at the time, teaching at Ridgewood High School, and I would pop in to say ‘Hi!’ to her. And there he was!!”
Ken, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Pam were married in January 1988 and had twins Michael and Kate in January 1989. The twins are juniors at the University of Akron. Michael is majoring in history and Kate in nursing and is married to Andy.
Bethany Marvin Stevens, daughter of Pam McCarthy and former BJ photographer Tom Marvin, is a Los Angeles attorney specializing in commercial litigation. She joined the WilmerHale law firm, which has 1,000 lawyers in 12 cities, in 2008. Previously, Bethany – “Beth” to the family – was fixed income operations analyst for Lehman Brothers. She got her 2000 Ohio State degree in business administration and finance and her law degree from UCLA in 2006.
Tom Marvin is enjoying life in Kimbolton, Ohio on his Guernsey County farm with wife Kay.
Click on the headline to see photos of Pam, her family and her 1974 State Desk co-workers.
No comments:
Post a Comment