After High School I became a Registered Nurse and worked at Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick on the Maternity Unit for a few years. In 1973 I married Richard Benson; an Electrical Engineer from Natick and in 1975 took a job at Children’s Hospital as an RN/Respiratory Therapist where I was part of the code team. We bought a house in Stowe, MA and I also joined the Stowe Fire Department as a volunteer RN/EMT. In 1978 my husband got transferred to the San Jose, CA (Silicon Valley) area. We bought a house in Saratoga, Ca and have been here for the last 30 years. Since coming to CA, I taught a Nursing Assistant program for a while before ending up back in the hospital working in a Neonatal ICU. I did that until my oldest son nearly drown at the age of 18 months. I gave up nursing, to stay at home and care for him and our second son who we were expecting at the time. My husband was also starting up his first of two electronics companies. We never do things the easy way. Doug is now 27, uses a wheelchair for mobility, and is a part time student. Our second son, Greg, is 25, and a paramedic for the local ambulance service and the Sheriff’s Department SWAT team.
After giving up nursing, I became a professional volunteer and advocate for the handicapped. I sat on the PTA boards and chaired multiple committees. I also got involved in Boy Scouts. I was a den mother and Committee Chair and convinced the local Scoutmaster to mainstream handicapped scouts into a regular troop. I’m proud to say both my sons went on to become Eagle Scouts.
Since the boys graduated from High School, I‘ve retired for the most part. I‘ve started to travel again and resumed some old hobbies. Having destroyed both my knees, I finally had bilateral knee replacements. This past year has been spent recovering from surgery and overseeing the remodeling of half of our house. Again, I like to complicate things.
My parents are both gone, but my sister still lives in town as well as other relatives in the Boston area, so I do get back to Wayland about every 3 years for a visit. Driving through town always brings back a lot of found memories. I’ve enjoyed reading the biographies and am looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion.
After giving up nursing, I became a professional volunteer and advocate for the handicapped. I sat on the PTA boards and chaired multiple committees. I also got involved in Boy Scouts. I was a den mother and Committee Chair and convinced the local Scoutmaster to mainstream handicapped scouts into a regular troop. I’m proud to say both my sons went on to become Eagle Scouts.
Since the boys graduated from High School, I‘ve retired for the most part. I‘ve started to travel again and resumed some old hobbies. Having destroyed both my knees, I finally had bilateral knee replacements. This past year has been spent recovering from surgery and overseeing the remodeling of half of our house. Again, I like to complicate things.
My parents are both gone, but my sister still lives in town as well as other relatives in the Boston area, so I do get back to Wayland about every 3 years for a visit. Driving through town always brings back a lot of found memories. I’ve enjoyed reading the biographies and am looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion.
