Bio, 2009: Elanys Burley Symon
A warm hello to all my classmates of '64 at SHS. It's been a long time since I've seen any of you. I'm well & doing fine & hope the same for all of you.
After I finished at SHS, I attended Tarkio College in Missouri and graduated in 1968 with a degree in elementary education. While there, I met and fell in love with Randy Symon, from Illinois. Randy was a Spanish major & transfered to the Univeresity of the Americas, in Mexico City, his senior year. So we were apart except for Christmas vacation & the following Spring break, when he came to see me and we became engaged.
We were married one day before the moon landing, at the Presbyterian church in Stillwater. (This week we will celebrate our 40th anniversary). By this time Randy had enlisted in the Army, after college graduation, and eventually went to Viet Nam to serve in a headquarters at Long Bihn.
I taught first grade and later, kindergarten in Chickasha, near Ft. Sill. After Randy returned from Viet Nam we lived in Norman for a year for his graduate school. In 1972 we moved to Ohio. Randy has been with the Federal Government since 1976 (Social Security Administration)and we have raised two sons and two daughters in Ohio.
After teaching awhile, I decided to stay home with our children. I returned to work later, but not to teaching. Randy continues his career with the Federal Government and we now have three grandchildren: a grandson, 3; a granddaughter, 16 months and a grandson, 6 days.
Randy & I love to travel & have been to various parts of the U.S., including Hawaii and four trips to Europe, including England, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We returned home from Europe about three weeks ago.
Life is good. I feel blessed to have grown up in a college town with the freedom to explore & dream. I learned my life values from my parents, growing up in Stillwater, and those values will always be with me. I no longer have family in Stillwater but once in awhile we come back to touch base again.
I have loved reading your stories & to know how you all are doing. Let us remember our classmates we have lost along the way.
Love and peace to you all.
Elanys (Burley) Symon
©2009 Stillwater High School Class of 1964