Esther (Weiss) Groves

Having a serious plan for my life was never a priority for me. I was always stumped by the question, “What do you see yourself doing in 5 years?” So I look back on the last 40 years as a bit of a crazy quilt, much like the heirloom I inherited from my great grandmother, held together by the multicolored threads of experiences and relationships.
Shortly after graduation, my family and I boarded the SS France for a year in Europe. While they took a sabbatical in Germany, I headed to Grenoble, France (site of the ’68 Olympics) for some serious skiing and some no-so-serious education. Although the year in France netted me enough credits for a French minor, what I remember most was the fantastic powder snow, such a departure from the icy slopes of New England.
Since I didn’t have a good plan from there, except to finish college, I spent one uninspired year at Elmira College in NY while dating my first husband Bob (from Weston) long distance. We eloped in the middle of that year. Thank you Mrs. Osborne (WHS Guidance) for trying to get through to me about being too young to marry but I thought I knew what I was doing. You were so right!!
Bob and I did have a common interest, however, we both wanted to experience Alaska. So we packed a few things and made our first trip up the Alcan Highway to the Last Frontier. There he secured a job as a district attorney in Fairbanks and I enrolled in the University of Alaska. Over the next 14 years I graduated from U of Alaska, became a social worker in a home for Native Alaskan teenagers, and participated extensively in the arts on and off stage as a piano accompanist, performer and board member.
Alaska was the adventure I was looking for – rugged, spectacular and cold outside with a close, warm sense of community inside. Unfortunately, the marriage flopped. I did so much better the second time around when I married my soul mate, Mark, and we’ve been married almost 24 years. When I married him, Mark was making his living as an air taxi pilot, flying in and out of the villages while finishing his MBA.
We left Alaska in 1984 to live in the Northwest and escape the cold and dark and found ourselves in Seattle. By then, I envisioned a career in Human Resources (the closest thing to a plan I ever had) and took a job with Seafirst Bank. My career took me from Seattle to Spokane to Phoenix and from Human Resources to Operations Management to Learning Management with Bank of America. After 21 years, I happily (but temporarily) retired in 2006.
Today, Mark is an A300 captain, flying DHL Airways planes in the U.S. and I am working part time for a small consulting firm, using the skills I accumulated over my career, specializing in employee performance improvement, leadership and training.
Mark and I love the Southwest and play outdoors whenever we can -- which is 364 days a year -- mostly road cycling and hiking in the preserve close to our house.
Despite some health scares, my parents are alive and active and I was thrilled when they sold the Wayland house and moved to Scottsdale several years ago. My brother followed a couple of years later. My folks will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary next year.
Many thanks to those of you who have planned this event for us. I am so looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion.