Bio For Patricia O'Day Hemmerling
Like many who graduated with us, my three years at Suitland served as an "escape" from my home life. My smile and general "cheery" attitude masked a great deal of pain from living with an alcoholic parent for most of my life.
Several months after our commencement exercises, I decided not to attend college, but worked instead as a sales clerk at the Hecht Co. department store in Landover Mall where I worked full-time for approximately 1 year. In the spring of 1973, I enrolled at PGCC in Pre-Nursing courses. I attended PGCC part-time and worked part-time on weekends at PG County Hospital in Cheverly, MD in the Medical Records and Radiology departments.
I met and dated a young man, a corpsman in the Navy, who moonlighted at PG Hospital in the Emergency Room on weekends. In the summer of 1974, we moved to the Chicago suburbs, as he had been accepted to the University of Illinois ~ Chicago Circle campus. I initially found work at the Aurora National Bank, Aurora, IL. On June 19, 1976, we married at the Fourth Street United Methodist Church. Shortly after our nuptials, I switched jobs and began working at a local hospital in the Medical Records department. Looking for a more "clinical" position, I took a training course at the hospital and worked as a Nurse's Aide on a Medical/Surgical floor. Rotating shifts and working weekends was not my "cup of tea", so I took a position as a Medical Receptionist for 2 physicians in their Neurosurgery practice. Thus began my life of working in medical offices and hospitals.
My husband attended college for six years at the University of Illinois, and transferred to the Nursing Program in his 4th year, graduating in 1980 with a BS degree in Nursing. Those were some extremely "lean and hungry" years! My husband accepted a Nursing position at the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago, so we moved a little closer to the city in Hinsdale, IL shortly after his graduation. Due to my long commute, I took another position closer to home working for a Pediatric Neurologist as a Medical Transcriptionist.
Longing for a warmer climate ~ we took a vacation to visit my step-brother and his wife in Tampa, FL. We fell in love with the area, and moved to Tampa in 1982. After almost 2 years of "infertility", I became pregnant with our first child, daughter Bridget, who was born on St. Patrick's Day in 1983. Feeling the need to provide for a stable life for his family, my husband re-entered the Navy as an Ensign in the Nurse Corps. We transferred to Portsmouth, VA in the summer of 1983.
In September 1984, our son, Bryan, was born at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital. In 1986, it was our turn to "rotate" commands, so we were shipped off to Rota, Spain, where we resided from 1986-1989. We absolutely LOVED Spain ~ the food, the culture, the people! Our youngest son, Brendan, was born in 1988 in Rota, Spain, and maintained a dual citizenship until he turned 18.
Within 6 weeks of our returned to the states in 1989, my mother had become ill with liver cancer, and she passed away in July 1989. We resided in Great Lakes, IL (north of Chicago), where my husband worked as an instructor at the Naval Corps School. The stress on many different levels took its toll on our marriage, and we divorced in 1992.
I was a single Mom for 7 years until I met my husband, Tim, in 1999 on the internet. We decided to meet in a large, well-known restaurant close to both of our homes. When I walked inside, I didn't see Tim immediately, so I got scared and walked out. Realizing it wouldn't be fair to him, I mustered up the courage and went back inside. There he was ~ walking towards me and smiling! We sat and talked for 4.5 hours! After a whirlwind courtship, we married in January 2000 and lived primarily the suburbs northwest of Chicago. Tim is the love of my life ~ he is my "rock". He is an excellent parent to "our" 3 adult children. After the blizzard in February 2011, we decided to relocate to the St. Petersburg (Pinellas Park) area of SW Florida in September 2011 and moved further "south" to Sarasota in 2013. After our first grandchild was born in January 2014, we lasted only two more years in Sarasota, and headed back north in May 2016 as we were missing precious time with family. Long story short, we moved briefly back to northern Illinois for 3 years, to only end up back in Kenosha, WI in January 2022. We bought a beautiful ranch home that was built in 1974, and have been busy in the past 10 months making small and large renovations, as well as updating the garden areas. We are FINALLY settled, and very happy to be close to family once again.
Picture pending
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At this point most of us in
this 1972 Suitland High School Facebook group have glanced at our senior
picture; probably for the first time in a very long time. Comments
posted here have brought back so many memories. As I look at my
picture; seeing the sparkle in my eyes I find myself wondering what
advice I would give to that young girl if I could turn back time. Of
course, there are things I would have done differently. Getting married
right out of school for one thing, but from that marriage came my
beautiful daughter and I wouldn’t change that for anything. Years after
my first marriage ended I married again. Thirty years ago we moved
into a log cabin in the mountains of Virginia and I absolutely love it
here. It was quite a change for us after living in PG County with houses
so close together. But it’s a beautiful mountain community and I can’t
imagine living any other way. I appreciate the simple things in life –
the love of my family, my good health, the natural beauty that
surrounds me, a good book, a nice glass of wine, walks with my dog,
visits to the sea shore, traveling to beautiful places, my flower
gardens, sitting by a campfire with my husband, and spending time with
good friends. Most of all I am grateful for God’s saving grace. I
have a wonderful life and am grateful for all the blessings God has
granted me.
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Bio for Terry Ricketts Redell
:After graduation in June of 1972 , I married Louie Redell, the man of my dreams (Aug. 1972). I went to work at Navy Federal Credit Union and became the Supervisor of the Inquiry Section, Member Accounts Branch. 1973- we brought our 1st home in Brandywine, MD. 1974 – gave birth to my beautiful baby girl and it broke my heart to leave her and return to work so… I gave up my job and became a stay home Mom. 1976 – gave birth to my handsome son. 1982 – sold our house and brought our home in Cheltenham MD. I’ve lived in P.G. County my whole life. This from the girl who was going to travel the world! When my children were in school all day I became a substitute teacher. In 1984 I went to work as a bookkeeper at a Law Firm in Beltsville MD. I was always active in my church and taught Sunday school, served on the Altar Guild, was Chairman of the Christian Education Committee and served on the Vestry. Then on an ordinary day my life changed forever. On November 15, 1991 a file cabinet fell on me and injured my back, which required surgery. Due to medical error, I came out of the surgery worse than before I went in. I have severe nerve damage and have no feeling in my left leg from below my knee and all these years later I am still in pain every day. I am able to walk a little with the use of two canes. I must admit I don’t think of myself as being disabled, I just had to learn to do things differently than before. I believe I was put on this earth to be the best wife and mother I could be. I am proud of that. I raised two amazing people who make this world of ours a better place. They have blessed me with two wonderful granddaughters, who make my heart sing! I learned that by the ripple effect I make a difference in our world just by sharing a smile or a kind word. Kindness counts! I believe what you send out into the world will come back to you tenfold. After 40 years I am still happily married to the love of my life. I can honestly say, everyday is a new adventure and I plan to continue making the most of each day God gives me. Life is good! Most recently I started a cooking blog and have enjoyed sharing my love of food with other people. Louie & I have a vegetable garden and we can or freeze most of the fruits & vegetables that we eat. I am looking forward to our 40th Reunion and hope to see all of you there. I look back and feel proud of how far we the Suitland Class of 1972 have all come.
UPDATE 2022
The last 10 years have flown by, as if I’m in a time warp. I’m
still happily married to my Darling Louie. We celebrated our 50th
Anniversary with a surprise 50th Anniversary Celebration
hosted by our children & grandchildren. It was indeed quite the
delightful surprise too! Hard to believe they were able to keep a
secret! We sold our home of over 30+ years & moved to King George
VA. We had a house built & decided to down size. Sounds good
right? That is until you have 30 years of treasures to decide which
to keep. Our children & grandchildren have grown & have their
own happy lives. Our parents have moved on to their heavenly rewards,
many of our friends have as well. We are now the older generation.
I’m thankful for each day the good Lord blesses me with. My hair is
now gray, my skin is wrinkled, neither bother me as I’ve earned
each by living a rich full life! I’ve slowed down quite a bit but
still enjoy canning, just not on such a large scale & now with
fruits & veggies from the local farmers market as we no longer
have a vegetable garden. We do enjoy working in our flower gardens. I
still find playing in the dirt is good for the soul! We had &
survived Covid back before vaccines were available. We enjoy meeting
friends for lunch & dinners. I’m thankful for all the fun trips
& adventures I’ve been blessed with. As for the trips I’d
hoped to take they are now done vicariously through friend’s posts
on FB. I find every day is still a New Adventure! Hope your’s is a
good one!
It’s time for the Suitland Class of 1972 to reunite & celebrate! I’m beyond disappointed to say I won’t be able to join you for our 50th Reunion but I’ll be there in spirit! Sending Love & Warm Hugs!
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Once
upon a time there was a too tall, glasses wearing, and acne ridden
teenager trying to get through 3 hard years of high school. This was a
large suburban high school, this awkward girl was doing her best to lie
low, read her books, watch old movies and dream of a time when she would be happy. She knew it wasn’t now.
Her parents, when she tried to complain, would say to her, “Cherish these years, for they are the best years of your life.” And when she heard that, she knew she was in big trouble. For she was neither an excellent student, nor a gifted athlete. She was not a talented artist or even someone who liked to join clubs and try new things. She wondered why these were not happy years for her because everyone else appeared to be loving high school and her parents were very wise.
Fortunately for our heroine, her parents were wrong. Very wrong. But I understand now, 40 years later, what they were trying to tell me. That when you are in high school, you are practicing how to deal with different kinds of people and learning the coping skills that will help you live your life as a successful adult. That you should try to have fun because life can be very hard.
And as painful as high school was for me, I find I have never really gone very far from its orbit. I spent my first few years with fellow classmate Eric Olson. I worked as a waitress. Then I lived with my divorced Mom and brother and commuted to the U of Maryland while working at headquarters for Giant Foods.
I was a film major and unlike most of my fellow graduates, within a week had gotten a job at National Geographic in their film division. I met my filmmaker husband there, married, had 2 sons, became a full time mom and lived on a small tobacco farm in Croom, Md. Life was good.
By the time our 20th reunion came around, I was a widow. But I was not to remain alone in life since at that reunion was another classmate, John Williams. We married, had a son then a daughter and looked for the perfect place to raise our family. We found it in Charlottesville, VA, where we have been ever since.
My life is coming full circle for as I participate in this 40th reunion activity I am at the same time watching my own children navigate their final years in high school. I never tell them that these are the best years of their life, for that would not be true. I tell them to enjoy each and every step on the path, for we all end up in the same place eventually. I think they are listening.
Her parents, when she tried to complain, would say to her, “Cherish these years, for they are the best years of your life.” And when she heard that, she knew she was in big trouble. For she was neither an excellent student, nor a gifted athlete. She was not a talented artist or even someone who liked to join clubs and try new things. She wondered why these were not happy years for her because everyone else appeared to be loving high school and her parents were very wise.
Fortunately for our heroine, her parents were wrong. Very wrong. But I understand now, 40 years later, what they were trying to tell me. That when you are in high school, you are practicing how to deal with different kinds of people and learning the coping skills that will help you live your life as a successful adult. That you should try to have fun because life can be very hard.
And as painful as high school was for me, I find I have never really gone very far from its orbit. I spent my first few years with fellow classmate Eric Olson. I worked as a waitress. Then I lived with my divorced Mom and brother and commuted to the U of Maryland while working at headquarters for Giant Foods.
I was a film major and unlike most of my fellow graduates, within a week had gotten a job at National Geographic in their film division. I met my filmmaker husband there, married, had 2 sons, became a full time mom and lived on a small tobacco farm in Croom, Md. Life was good.
By the time our 20th reunion came around, I was a widow. But I was not to remain alone in life since at that reunion was another classmate, John Williams. We married, had a son then a daughter and looked for the perfect place to raise our family. We found it in Charlottesville, VA, where we have been ever since.
My life is coming full circle for as I participate in this 40th reunion activity I am at the same time watching my own children navigate their final years in high school. I never tell them that these are the best years of their life, for that would not be true. I tell them to enjoy each and every step on the path, for we all end up in the same place eventually. I think they are listening.
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I worked for the Federal
Government in DC Jul-Dec 1972. I went to PG Comm College 1973 &
worked part-time. In 1974, I started working for NOAA in Suitland,
Maryland. I am still with NOAA today after 38 years! Jimmy has been
working for PEPCO 35 years.
Jimmy & I began dating in our Junior Year. We were both saved in 1972 and went to Largo Community Church. We were married in 1975 & lived in Ritchie MD. Stacey was born in 1976. We moved to Forestville, MD in 1979. Kristie was born in 1980. We moved to Huntingtown MD in 1985. We started going to Grace Brethern Church of Calvert in 1986 and we still worship there today. Stacey graduated from Salisbury University 1998 and began teaching 2nd grade in Dorchester County 1998. Stacey & Hunter married July 2001. Hunter also graduated from Salisbury University. Hunter started his own IT business and it has grown successfully. They have three children: Cooper (8); Chloe (5) and Chase (2). Stacey became a stay-at-home mom after Chloe was born in 2006. Kristie graduated from Salisbury University 2002 and began teaching 2nd grade in Charles County 2002. Kristie and Shawn married Aug 2007. Shawn graduated from Virginia Tech University and works in Marketing. They live in Sterling, Virginia. Kristie taught 3rd grade in Fairfax County the past five years and will be teaching 3rd grade in Loudoun County Fall 2012. They have one child: Madison (21 months). Jimmy & I have been together for 41 years (married 37 years)! I have been blessed with a wonderful husband, two beautiful daughters, two great son-in-laws, and four fantastic grandchildren.
Jimmy & I began dating in our Junior Year. We were both saved in 1972 and went to Largo Community Church. We were married in 1975 & lived in Ritchie MD. Stacey was born in 1976. We moved to Forestville, MD in 1979. Kristie was born in 1980. We moved to Huntingtown MD in 1985. We started going to Grace Brethern Church of Calvert in 1986 and we still worship there today. Stacey graduated from Salisbury University 1998 and began teaching 2nd grade in Dorchester County 1998. Stacey & Hunter married July 2001. Hunter also graduated from Salisbury University. Hunter started his own IT business and it has grown successfully. They have three children: Cooper (8); Chloe (5) and Chase (2). Stacey became a stay-at-home mom after Chloe was born in 2006. Kristie graduated from Salisbury University 2002 and began teaching 2nd grade in Charles County 2002. Kristie and Shawn married Aug 2007. Shawn graduated from Virginia Tech University and works in Marketing. They live in Sterling, Virginia. Kristie taught 3rd grade in Fairfax County the past five years and will be teaching 3rd grade in Loudoun County Fall 2012. They have one child: Madison (21 months). Jimmy & I have been together for 41 years (married 37 years)! I have been blessed with a wonderful husband, two beautiful daughters, two great son-in-laws, and four fantastic grandchildren.
