Comments:
Obviously Tom’s bio and mine read pretty similarly, so I will fill in a few details that he did not include.
We began our ministry together in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin at Redeemer. We were the faculty (grades 1-4 for me and 5-8 for Tom) so our home was just an extension of school – correcting everywhere! When Tami came I said goodbye to teaching and became a fulltime mom. I embraced gardening, sewing and crafts of all sorts. Camping was our great delight. We were there for nine years, lived in a small, rickety, broken down teacherage, were dirt poor, made many wonderful friends and learned more than our students.
Caledonia, Wisconsin was our next port of call. We lived in the country in a big, beautiful, well-maintained teacherage on a seven-acre campus. What a great place to raise kids! I started a preschool at Trinity and another at a nearby congregation, subbed a lot, worked as a cashier at County Stadium in the summers, and continued being mom, while Tom was still a principal and teaching grades 7-8. We were there for twelve years, made many more friends and learned as much as the kids.
On to another city in Wisconsin: Oshkosh – a university town, in the same high school federation as Fond du Lac, no teacherage provided. We became homeowners as we were becoming empty nesters. I went back into teaching full time at Martin Luther and Tom became a fulltime principal with one departmentalized subject to teach at Grace. We ventured into new territory by selling our first home and having the home of our dreams built. When it was finished, the Lord said, “Time to move on.” We were there twelve years, I had two heart attacks, made many new friends in two congregations, and learned almost as much as the kids.
Still in Wisconsin (although none of our children are) – Madison: another university town, filled with cultural opportunities, bike paths, lakes, politics and excellent health care. As I was diagnosed with breast cancer as soon as we arrived here, I am especially thankful for the health care. We are both blessed to be serving at Our Redeemer: Tom is a minister of Discipleship and I teach fulltime. We still love to travel, especially to see our new grandchildren. And soon we will know it all. J God is good! For more, read about Tom Koepsell.
