COMMENTS: Continued (9/1/04)
Joanne Verkist- Moore
Class of 64'
COMMENTS: Since high school I have lived in Seattle, San Jose, CA, Kirkland, WA, Fort Collins, CO, and back to WA. We now live in Vancouver, WA. Because Ed has worked for different companies during our 38 years of marriage, we have had the opportunity to travel some with the company. We spend a few months in Wilimgton, NC, a few monthS in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and sometimes in the New England states and New York.
We also took a trip to Belgium to see my father's birth place and get to know relatives there. My father lived in Belgium for 12 years than moved with his family to Saskatchewan, Canada.
Our two children live and work in Seattle. No we are not Grandparents yet. Neither of our children have married.
We now look at the possibility of being retired early. Big companies just have to make more money and that means getting rid of some of their employees. So when you are as old as we are and have worked for them for about 20 years, you are of course the right person to let go. We expect we will be here in Vancouver for at least one more year. Then we don't know. But if when we retire we plan to move to the Snohomish/Skagit county area. That will be close to my sisters and our children plus other relatives still in that area.
Ed and I have spent a lot of time being teachers of the Scriptures. Over the years we have taught children's classes, Adult classes and resently a class for the "Young Married couples". I was involved as much as I could be in our children's schools while they were in elementary school especially.
We have spent many years with several children (teens) in our home other than our own. What a privilege to share in their lives. After our children left home and we moved back to Vancouver, WA I spent four years voluteering at Cascade College in Portland, OR. I went to college one year on that campus. The name then was Columbia Christian College. During my years of voluteering for the college we had college students in our home at least one evening a week so they could do their laundry, have a home cooked meal and stay for Bible study with us. One student, Tim Onsomu from Kisii, Kenya spent a lot of his fours years of college here with us and then lived with us for about one year after he graduated. With Tim's Dad, we have started an adult Bible school in Kisii, Kenya. We send the only support money they get from here and hundreds of books to build them a library. The school teaches adults not only Bible but domestic trades to help them with their lives there.
We have had a full life ourselves and feel God has blessed us. We are thankful. No matter what we have done one of the most important things to us is the people we have met and made friends with. Keeping in contact with friends from high school is important to us and we try to go to every reunion or gathering of Ed's high school as well as mine. Ed graduated from Tolt High School in Carnation, WA. We hope to see you at the next reunion for Mt. Baker.
