Kathy Rickard Bohl
Current Location: Lambertville, MI (last exit on 23 before hitting Ohio)
Current Status: Married 44 years
General Info: My parents had always encouraged us to “go away to college,” so somehow I picked Western Michigan University. It was a great fit for me, except for the fact that it had no nursing school – kind of a problem since nursing was my career goal. Soooo…… I became a high school English, journalism, and speech teacher which was absolutely the career that I was meant to have. I taught at Bedford High School in Temperance, MI for most of my career (taking a 14-year “break” when our kids were little). I also taught at Central Catholic in Toledo (the Fighting Irish) where our kids went (daughters’ idea - thought it would be cool – son already in college). The school was big, so I thankfully never had my girls in class. I loved my five years at CCHS for a ton of reasons. I eventually returned to BHS and finished my career there. I am lucky to have taught in two wonderful and very different schools. Being in the classroom was a joy. I miss it a lot, but the freedom to visit those little grandkids made the retirement decision easier. I still sub and volunteer in the schools.
When I was a senior in college and home for the weekend, I met some friends (Kathy Busch was one of them!) at the Suds Factory in Ypsilanti. Well, that night I met Doug! He was a senior in engineering at UM, and he and his friends were excessively celebrating Michigan’s basketball victory over MSU. He was from Toledo and planned to work in his family’s business when he graduated! All I knew about Toledo was that it had something called 3.2 beer and was south of Ann Arbor. He was funny, smart, and knew math (a possible deal-breaker if he didn’t). He could also happily teach me how to play tennis (which we still play!).
We have three kids - Steve, Katie, and Julie. They all went to Michigan and then totally ditched us. (We still love them though.) Watching them grow and being their mom has been the best adventure ever! Steve and his family live near Annapolis, MD, and both of our daughters and their families live near each other in the Chicago area. We spend a lot of time visiting them. Our grandkids range in age from 8 weeks to 10 years, and Doug and I can’t get enough of their hugs and being a part of their lives.
Memories from St. Thomas: Going to school with classmates for 12 years - meeting the St. Francis kids when they came freshman year – going into the auditorium after lunch – looking out of the windows at the beautiful trees lining Elizabeth Street – walking up State Street after school – the Betsy Ross ( “OK! OK! Everybody out!” - Coke + fries = 42 cents!) – Sr. Florentia stopping Latin class to pray when we heard a siren – goofy times with nice friends! I feel lucky to have gone there, and it’s been pretty special to reconnect with so many after 50 years.