Things got worse before they got way better

The nightmare of April's death in August 1982 was followed by Joan's miscarriage in September and my job layoff in October. One moment we had the world by the ass and three months later it was the other way around. So after four short years of marriage we had hit a very, very low point. It's been all uphill, mostly in a good way, ever since. Resulting in a wonderful family of five. And That's the story for today and will conclude this blog.

Lisa, Lori, CJ, Joan, Carl - February 2010

Lucky for us Joan was about as fertile as a rabbit. Sure enough a week or so after April's funeral Joan went to the doctor and her pregancy test was positive. However, our joy was short-lived as she miscarried before the end of September 1982. Who knows if stress had anything to do with that... but it sure is possible.

We had a number of good friends in Milwaukee. Jan and Al Rutkowski were two of them. Jan offered Joan a job taking phone orders at The Country Store, catalog business, which helped get her mind off things. Joan remembers crying in her cube a lot.

I was working as an engineer in the Tractor Division of Allis-Chalmers at the time I was layed off in October 1982. One of my first acts was to buy an Apple computer and learn word processing and spreadsheets during the layoff. This actually paid off since I was called back to work in April 1983, but this time as a systems engineer rather than a mfg engineer. I don't ever recall being depressed about our home or work situations and I've certainly never been bored in my life.

Fertile mertle delivered baby Lisa at West Allis Memorial Hospital on Sept 29, 1983 and life was beginning to pick up for us. However, my Mfg engineering department at A-C had shrunk from 55 people to 18 over the past four years and it wasn't much fun anymore. It was time to find new work. By March of 1984 I had a job offer in Waukesha and was ready to take it when my brother Jim (26) was killed in a car accident. I turned down the Amron Corp. offer and applied at Kohler Co to be back in Sheboygan, closer to the family. After 10 years in Milwaukee I returned to my home town and began working at Kohler, Generator Div.

We had a house built in 1984-85 and moved in six days before Lori was born on March 1, 1985. CJ came along 20 months later, Oct 1986.

Our Family Today
Joan and I have been happily married for over 32 years. She still worries enough for the both of us. Lisa, lori and CJ are wonderful blessings that we never take for granted. We really know how precious they are.

Our Extended Family and Friends
Relationships are the only truely important things in this world. Many of you have helped us celebrate good times and have helped us through the rough ones. We are greatful for you all. Thank you for your interest in our family story.

Conclusion
For me this blog about April does two things.
... It shares the story of our daughter with people who didn't know her.
... It shows that tragedy is an event that can happen at any moment but that is not what life is about. Life is a series of a whole lot of events - most of which are wonderful.

The end... until grand kids.