Cathy Craig
Dorf
Dallas, TX
Last updated:
07/20/2008
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After LHS
I have lived in the Dallas area
for over 30 years. I married twice before finding “Mr.
Right” in 1987. We had an amazing marriage until he suddenly
passed away in 2002 from a cancer (mesothelioma) caused by
his exposure to asbestos during his job 30 years
earlier. Before he became ill, his last position was as a
vice president of technology.
Employment
In Dallas I worked as an executive secretary/office manager
for the Sheriff as well as for the District Attorney's White
Collar Crime Division. Later I worked for a real estate
developer (primarily of skyscrapers) where I became an
assistant property manager. After that I worked 12 years for
AMR (American Airlines and American Eagle) in management
related to real estate contracts and purchasing. In 2003, I
took early retirement after securing lifetime flight
benefits. During my career, I earned various awards that
recognized my research abilities, tenacity, efficiency and
problem solving, and I was halfway into my third year of a
bachelor's degree in marketing when a few family crises
demanded my full attention.
Hearth & Home
I have two terrific children who live nearby. My son is
self-taught and, in my estimation, is a computer genius. He
works for Microsoft and occasionally enjoys work-related
travel to India. My daughter is a talented singer and
dancer. She performed in New York, Europe and the Caribbean
with her highly regarded college troupe, and I really
enjoyed watching their local performances. She completed her
bachelor's degree and now works with young kids as a
gymnastics coach, preschool teacher and camp counselor. They
each have one very young child so far (girl and boy) and I
am their “Mimi!” Oh yes, I also treasure my doggie dogs
very much. Although my dad passed in 1972, I frequently
visit the rest of my family in Overland Park. Last year, I
met and fell in love with a brilliant civil business
attorney. We met through
PerfectMatch.com
and are currently planning our future together. I just
couldn’t be happier!
The Other Stuff
I relish the freedom I have now to help or spend more time
with family and friends. I also love, love, love to
sightsee in some of the most beautiful places in the
world. The Greek Islands, Turkey, Italy and Croatia are my
favorite places to date. I also have a great affection for
Sedona, Ariz., where nature just startles me with its beauty
every time I'm there. When I am stirred to action, I
volunteer. I helped an asbestos disease awareness
organization for a few years and became an independent
volunteer for a lovely New Orleans family displaced here by
Hurricane Katrina. I am also becoming more and more
politically active due to the difficulties that we currently
face. Primarily, I just want to continue to grow and enjoy
life responsibly (did I really just say that?) and fully.
My Memories of LHS
Favorite memories include “cruising” the drive-in on 23rd
Street and then parking backwards to watch the parade of
kids idling through in their 10-year-old, souped-up cars; "draggin’
the square" to see and be seen; Leaders Club and our Sports
Shows (Go Red!); dancing away to live bands at Oak Lodge
near Olathe, and before that, at the Fun Fests at Plymouth
Congregational Church; performing with the school choir and
seeing the audience jump to its feet after a strong
performance of...(was it "God Bless America?"); being one of
the screaming fans who popped up out of the bleachers and
ran at the “stage” at our Beatles-themed pep rally, and
certainly, all my close or extended girlfriends and
boyfriends...“The Big Three,” Bob Musick and Jerry
“Den.” Also flirting to no avail (thankfully) with the
college boy at Kief's ("Kieffers”) Music Store. And, not
that I ever drank it, :-} but what was the name of that
powerful purple punch with grape juice, vodka, and grain
alcohol? I loved gymnastics and still wish the girls would
have had equivalent training as compared to the
boys. Unhappy memories include a misunderstanding with my
two best friends in our senior year that permanently divided
us, and the tragic loss of a few upper classmates who were
returning from Oak Lodge. Also, a friend of my older
brother’s was badly hurt in a car accident he had in order
to avoid returning to Viet Nam. |
