Shirley Davis Stern
1506 Huckleberry Court
Peabody, MA 01960
At eighteen I didn't have a vision of what my life would look like
forty-five years later--I guess a vision or a goal would have been
good--unfortunately, not something I thought about back then. So,
here's an abbreviated version of my life and how things turned out.
Soon after high school, I began working at Smith's Photo in Claremont,
but as time passed it became clear to me that Claremont was not where I
wanted to spend the rest of my life. So, on a cold day in
February 1962 with the clothes on my back and a couple of things thrown
in a suitcase I left for Boston.
Initially, I lived with a family. Within a week I had a job
working as secretary to the toy buyer of J.M. Fields, and later got an
apartment in Brookline, Massachusetts, with a woman that I met on a
bus--although she lives in Nevada, we remain great friends to this day.
Those first days in Boston were challenging--the MTA, living in the
"big city" in general--the days of the Boston strangler--a very fearful
time in that city. There were job changes. I worked for a
few years on State Street--at that time I would sit on a quiet pier
on Boston Harbor and have lunch--just me and the seagulls.
I guess the new Boston is evidence that a few years have passed!
Eventually, I got a job in the Coolidge Corner section of Brookline,
working for lawyers. In August of 1966 I was invited to a party
and met Mel Stern. We were married in August of 1968. Mel
has two sons from a previous marriage--Jack, a lawyer living in New
York. He and his wife, Elyse, have a daughter, Sara. My
other stepson, Steven, living in Columbus, Ohio, is in sales. He
and his wife, Brenda, have two sons, Brad and Jay
.In June of 1971 our daughter, Lori, was born. She and her
husband, Dan, were married in l998, and they have two children.
Fortunately, they live close by and we have wonderful times with our
grandchildren, Grace 5, and Joey 22 months.
Throughout the years I've taken various courses around my interests,
which include psychology, health and nutrition. In 1988 I became
a massage therapist and reflexologist. I later became interested in
energy bodywork and became a Reiki Master in 1995 and an ARCH Master in
2003.
So, life has been interesting so far. Last week my granddaughter
asked me what I was going to do when I grow up. I told her that I
didn't know.
Although I visit my family in Claremont, I haven't been back for a
reunion since our 30th, so I'm really looking forward to seeing
everyone!