GLORIA RAETZ
ROBERDEAU
Brandon, SD
Name: Gloria Roberdeau
Spouse: Larry Roberdeau
Brandon, SD
Children: 1 girl (Terri) 2 boys (Kelly and Randy)
Grandchildren: 5
Great Grandchildren: 2
Larry and I were married in June of 1958 and celebrated our 50th
wedding anniversary this year.
Our daughter: Terri lives in Vancouver WA and has 5
children (hers his and theirs).
Our oldest son: Kelly, lives in Spearfish SD and has
3 children (hers).
Our youngest son: Randall lives in Anchorage AK and
has 2 children.
I got married a month after graduation. We lived in Sturgis
until 1961, moving to Deadwood where Larry ran his own service
station and I worked for a loan company, as a collector.
Five years later we moved to Spearfish, where Larry worked for
an automotive/service company and I worked at the Safeway store
as a meat wrapper (fun & games) but the money was better than
working for a collection agency. Besides I really didn’t
relish calling and asking for money from people I knew and knew
didn’t have the money!
One of Larry’s biggest dreams was that one day he/we could go to
Alaska - not to live per se, but to do some hunting and fishing
for “BIG” fish. Well, that day finally came. Larry
came home from work and told me he and another guy, Bob he
worked with, had a chance to go to Alaska. So a couple of weeks
later he climbed in our old Oldsmobile and away he and Bob went,
smiles from ear to ear (you’d have thought they were getting
paid for a dental commercial) and without a dollar in their
pockets! How’s that for a “dare to dream” wish? While there,
they decided they should maybe, just maybe, get a job and live
there awhile. The money was more impressive for the type of jobs
they did, than back in Spearfish. So in July I followed him (he
couldn’t get away from this old gal that easy). I managed to get
a job right away working for Nordstrom’s Dept. Store, as an A/c’s
payable clerk.
Now I bet you are wondering if we’d decided to leave the kids in
South Dakota ~ we couldn’t, because our parents were looking to
get rid of them after two and half months and badly needed a
break from these three beautiful, well behaved kids ~ age’s five
to eight! Also school was about to start and in September they
decided to bring them “North to Alaska.” I think their real
reason was to find out what kind of a mistake we’d made by
picking up and moving to Alaska, of all places, without checking
it out first. Must have proven to be a good move, as we lived in
Anchorage for 29 years. During that time Larry became the
manager and part owner of a waterworks supply company and I
worked for an Alaskan owned, 17 store grocery chain, starting
out as a bookkeeper, then moved on to accounting; became office
manager of A/c‘s payable and billing; moved up to Administrative
Asst., then on to Executive Assistant to the President and
owner, and for Vice-President of Operations. All this was my
college education and it only took me twenty-seven years to
complete. Every time I think of my bookkeeping experience I
remember Col. Brown ~ as he told me “Gloria you can do anything
you want, just don‘t do anything that has to do with math!” I
have to laugh and wish I could see the shock on his face when he
heard this. I’ll bet he would have flipped out!
That was quite some visit huh? But the Lord definitely blessed
us and we never regretted a nanosecond of going to Alaska and
living there for all those 29 years.
While in Alaska, I learned to snowmobile and rode over a couple
of cliffs, well VERY LARGE moguls, and threw myself over the
handlebars, just for the fun of it - ha! And I called that
learning to snowmobile!? We also did a lot of bowling and I
managed to take home a few trophies ~ for last place! Last but
not least, Larry taught me how to shoot the shotgun and we both
entered many registered shoots. I found it great fun when I‘d
beat the guys~ they didn’t! We both love the game and even
managed to get a couple or more trophies out of it. Larry still
shoots, but since I was diagnosed w/MS in 2000, I don’t do too
much of it anymore.
When I gave my notice to retire, everyone I worked with asked me
“Why in the world would anyone want to retire in South Dakota
and what in the world will you do after you retire?” I told them
good old South Dakota was mild, easy-going, beautiful, very
little crime, lighter traffic and if I liked to shop, there were
enough places to keep me happy. And as far as that goes, we
actually prefer that people are not aware of our little secret,
and we like to keep it that way! In reply to their “what will
you do after retirement?” I told them I’d keep myself busy, not
to worry. And boy, oh boy, was that ever an understatement!
While in Anchorage, I found
the Lord again and He graciously took this sinner back into His
arms, and I’m busy doing His work wherever He needs me.
When we retired we moved back to Spearfish SD, where we built a
beautiful home on the mountain. After six years we decided this
was not where we wanted to permanently plant ourselves. So ~ we
made the move to eastern SD (Sioux Falls) in 2003 to satisfy
Larry’s urge to reclaim his childhood. We now live on 5 acres,
with a church and a couple of sloughs as our neighbors, about 6
miles north of Brandon and 7 miles north-east of Sioux Falls.
After moving here, I started an MS Support Group, became a
Discussion Leader for Bible Study Fellowship, work in the
hospitality room at church and usher when I’m called to do so.
My favorite memories of good old SHS, are my friends, band and
our little dance band, remember that Ann? Fun, crazy and
interesting! I often think of the silly things that we used to
do, and wonder how we ever made it through without getting
ourselves into more trouble than we usually found ourselves in.
But, I never want to forget them and love to reminisce every now
and again. Thank you all for making my high school memories so
special!
