Wow! 45 years already -- definitely worth a reunion! I will be in Giverny, France, on that date but will drink a toast to LSE from there. "May her armor never rust."

My update: I resigned my position as an ISU horticulturist in June 2006, to care for my mother in our home -- something I will always regard as a wonderful privilege. She died in November 2007, at age 93, and I then spent the winter at our home in Mexico. I returned to help my husband Tom harvest/market our asparagus crop (that would be four acres of asparagus) in the spring of 2008. And in June 2008, I was rehired by ISU as a program manager for a biomedical researcher who investigates Parkinson's disease. In this position I edit/submit scientific manuscripts, I prepare/submit grant proposals and respond to queries, and I maintain our lab animal protocols for the mouse colonies used in our research. My boss is able to support 14 graduate students and two post docs -- all foreign students. This is best part of my job. Tom and I regularly have these kids to our farm for fun, but also help them where ever we can by keeping cars going, teaching about ATMs and debit cards, etc. etc.

Since 2006, we have had Edgar Ramirez, a boy from our Mexico town, living with us. Having a teenager dropped into our life when we have no other children has been at times a huge challenge. But Edgar and the friends he has collected are a joy to us and last week we took real parents' pride when they all graduated from high school. He is enrolled at our community college in law enforcement.

I continue to enjoy yoga and am working on my 200 hour certification. Recent research demonstrates the therapeutic value of yoga and my hope is to be able to instruct in hospitals and nursing homes.

We will do the annual bicycle ride across Iowa this summer and as much motorcycle touring as our farm and weather permits. Yes, at age 62, I ride my own Yamaha motorcycle. We no longer have our planes having sold them to finance the house in Mexico. But I have been working on my glider pilot rating to fill the void. I regularly volunteer my gardening skills to community projects, and am just finishing up a water garden/wildlife area at the entrance to our new animal rescue facility.

I credit being raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the great midwestern values that this precipitated, for the good fortune and success I've enjoyed in life. Tom is retiring this month. I plan to retire in October. Together we hope to spend our last years in service to others and leave the world a better place than we found it.

Good luck to all of you. I hope your reunion is a real success.

My husband (of 28 years)Tom Schlife and I live on a farm north of Des Moines, Iowa. Here we raise row crops, hay, and four acres of organic asparagus which we plan to market commercially for the first time this summer.

In April 2006, I will begin my eighth year as a horticulturist for Iowa State University.  In addition to providing gardening advice to clients in the Des Moines area, I also coordinate over 350 Master Gardener volunteers.  For the last three years, I have provided Master Gardener training to the inmates at the Iowa Women's Correctional Facility and assisted the women with their gardens. 

Tom and I are currently building a small home on the Pacific coast of Mexico where we plan to spend winters when we retire in two years.  In our spare time, we enjoy flying, riding motorcycles and bicycles, and most recently learning how to drive a cart with our draft horse, Heather.  My life since graduating from Southeast High School has been a wonderful journey that is going way too fast.