I know I haven’t been very good about letting you and my brothers know how Sue and I are faring after these many years as OWU alums. We’ve had a good life together and passed the 51 year mark of our marriage last January 3rd. We’ve had lots of good years and are looking forward to some more. 2010 was not nice to us however.
I had a heart valve replaced on March 22, and 12 days later, Sue lost 85% of her intestines to a disease called Mesenteric Ischemia. That results from a poor blood flow to the small intestine causing it to die. Of course a dead intestine means no nutrition is being absorbed. After most of it was removed, the surgeon said Sue only had four to six months to live. A little bit of a shock, right? Well, 16 months later she is doing quite well, considering, and, although tied to a bag of “TPN” by a tube 12 hours every day doesn’t allow us to do any travelling overnight.
We enjoy remembering all the travelling she and I, and our two kids have done in our old “pop-up tent trailer” over the years. (I even made use of my geology degree once every so often when one of the kids would ask, “What’s that, Dad?” referring to some land configuration. Thank God they didn’t ask what it was made of!)
The two kids I referred to are our adopted daughter and son, Meg and Paul. We adopted them here in Ft. Worth each when they were 13 days old. Meg in 1972 and Paul in 1974. You do the math. I was 40 when Paul was born. He and Sandra, his wife, have a two and a half year old son named Zane Thomas, and in November, expect another boy to be named Nolan Shane Stover. (Or Nolen. Being a typical grandfather, I didn’t ask how to spell it.) Nolan Shane Stover will arrive by cesarean on November 10, 2011. Paul and Sandra are both teachers at the Byron Nelson High School in Roanoke, TX. (Actually in Trophy Club, TX.) Sandra teaches advanced algebra, and Paul is the lead teacher in the Special Education department. (Paul has a B.A. in Criminal Justice from Texas Wesleyan University in Ft. Worth, so that comes in handy when a few of the Special Ed. kids let their wild streaks loose.) Paul and Sandra live in Roanoke, Texas, just North of Ft. Worth.
Meg married Jay Michael Magruder. Meg and Jay have no children, but they do have a wild and woolly Brittany Spaniel, and have just adopted another one this past week. Jay is a Desert Storm veteran. He was a Captain in an armored division. He got out and went to work in Dallas as a scheduler and something else with a construction company which builds “up-scale” condos and commercial buildings all over the U.S. He was in charge of the Eastern Seaboard and Southeast U.S. He was laid off and is now working for another construction company in Dallas. Meg does something for a mortgage company (I think) in Frisco, TX (where she and Jay live) and is doing quite well and loves her job. They are both products of Texas A&M University. (Well, I warned her about that!!)
Sue and I live in Euless, Texas (I tell everyone that if they land at DFW on the West runway, they are in Euless.) I was dean of students, dean of instruction, dean of instruction and student development, and interim president of the Northeast Campus of Tarrant County Junior College (Now Tarrant County College) in Hurst, TX until I retired in 1998. Sue worked as an admissions clerk for most of the 28 years we have been at “TCJC”. We both loved doing what we were doing all those years, and are just keeping our fingers crossed that the damned politicians don’t screw up our retirement plans. (Ditto concerning Medicare and Social Security on the federal level.) I have pretty severe back problems which also limit our travelling. Neither of us have liked old age, although we never tried to avoid it. (I really don’t think you can!) Bob Marten ‘55, who married my sister, Mary Lee, is also down somewhat and doesn’t get around much any more.
I have many fond memories of living at 54 W. Lincoln. Especially firing fusees (supplied by Jack Hahn ‘53) at the Chi Phi’s across the street. Once I started a water fight with them, then fled to the MUB with Sue to “Study”. We wondered what was going on when we heard all the sirens. Later we found out the police had been called to quell the water battle. Loved it there!!
Well, as with everyone else, I could write forever about my Beta experience at OWU, but by now you’re probably tired of reading about the life and trials of Smokey Stover (#951 of Theta Chapter) the only pledge who passed the alumni test!
–KAI– Tom Stover ’57
P.S. Tom, did you ever learn
to eat creamed corn?
Editor’s answer: NO!
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