Ann and Jim Murphy have chosen to lead an exciting second half of their lives after retiring by joining
different clubs to meet a lot of people.
They love to dance, disco, jitterbug (any fast dancing). They go to the gym together.
Jim and Ann Murphy
Every week their son-in-law Steve cooks and
they are invited over to eat. They get
to visit with their two grandsons, and Ann gets to visit with her
daughter. They also talk everyday over
the phone. She loves to hear her voice,
and she has been told that their voices sound alike, but Ann would disagree;
she believes her daughter’s voice is better.
Maybe could it be that Ann loves her very much?
The couple of
33 years have also travelled a lot…Canada, all over the USA, Central and South
America, cruises, as far as, Caracas, Venezuela, Aruba, Puerto Rico, and to 12
different countries in Europe.
They bought a
new 2013 Mustang, bright green with black stripes, and joined the local Mustang
Club (with all young people).
Jim and Ann are
having fun and enjoying life together.
They thank God for their good health and believe in living one day at a
time, trying to get all the gusto out of life that they can! They both love each other very much and tell
each other this every morning sealed with a kiss.
In 1992 they
moved to Mandeville. Ann worked for
Ochsner Hospital on Jefferson Hwy, in the accounting department, and after two
years of crossing the bridge, she thought all of that time was being
wasted. She began thinking that she
could do something worthwhile. Then she
started to think about how much she loved to be around children since she
always had children in their home. What
was needed on the North Shore was another good teacher.
At this time
the Special Education program was looking into ways to better meet the
individual challenges of the special needs children within the St. Tammany
Public School System, and Ann knew that was where she wanted to be. She had three successful children, and she
would use them as her resume. She went
to school for special education classes and took the test and received her
certificate as a Certified Para Educator.
Then she thought of how she could make a difference and where she was
needed. She chose to work with children
with behavior problems. Ann did make a
difference working with her students at Mandeville, Covington, and
Pontchartrain Elementary. She later took
sign language classes. Since she used
her hands to express herself, she wanted to see if she could help the hearing
impaired students; and she did.
Ann
really enjoyed teaching and noted that she should have been a teacher from the
start. She saw herself as a problem
solver, a listener for the children, patient and encouraging. She liked to set a good example and gave
advice, especially from past experiences.
She always loved being around children; she needed them, and they needed
her. Those years were very happy times
for Ann.
Jim joined
STRSEA as an associate member. He was a
mechanical engineer and worked as a Supervisor for a cement plant. Later on he began working at his second son’s
company as an interpreter (he speaks fluent Spanish).
