Today's Featured Biography

 
Marsha Fulkerson Nelson

I transferred from Durrett Junior High School to Southern High School in the middle of the eighth grade. I thought my world had ended. Thirteen years old is a horrible age to transfer to a new school and especially during the middle of the year. I was an only child, and where I had lived, there were no other kids in my neighborhood.

We moved to Cheri Village, off Old Shepherdsville Road, and before long I thought I had died and gone to heaven, not because our house was better than where I had lived before, but because there were actually three girls my age who all lived within a block of me (Jenny Snyder, Darlene Schuler and Carol Strickler). Even though Lana Turner didn’t live in our neighborhood, she practically lived at our houses. We all became best friends and “hung out” together all the time.

After 50 years, we don’t get to see each other much now; however, we always meet the day after Christmas for dinner and several times throughout the year for lunch. Each time we pick up just like we’ve been together all these years (Old friends are the best friends and, at this point in our lives, old has two meanings).

I was a member of Southern’s first drill corps, and during the summer between my sophomore and junior year, the team was practicing on Southern’s parking lot. Little known to me, Bobby Nelson had just gotten out of the Navy and was sitting in his car scouting out the girls. When practice was over, he asked one of the girls on the team for my name and phone number. We had our first date on the day before my 16th birthday. All I wanted to do after graduation was to marry Bobby (this was even what I wrote in the year book as my ambition).

We were going to get married as soon as I graduated. But, due to the strong encouragement of his dad, we chose to save every penny we could and buy a house before we got married. I attended Draughon’s Business College and went to work for Commonwealth Life Insurance making $1.14 dollars an hour. Both of us saved every penny we could and after two years, we had a house built in Whispering Hills, a three bedroom with basement and big back yard for a whopping $14,300. I just knew that when we paid it off, we would be filthy rich without that $114 a month house payment.

Our house was finished in July, and we got married August 2, 1963. His parents gave us money for a bedroom suite, and a refrigerator and wringer washer, both older than I was. The house had a built-in stove; however, I had no idea how to cook anything except popcorn and chili. Bobby’s brother worked on TVs, and he gave us an old console TV, with a built-in record player that he put together out of leftover parts from old TVs. The rest of the house was empty. We had no money for drapes or blinds. I’m sure we were great entertainment for our neighbors.

We had three children: Brad in 1965, Bryan in 1969, and Brittaney in 1971. While our children were small, I worked many part-time jobs. I loved having the time to be the room mother, Brownie leader, team mother, den mother, PTA secretary, etc.

When the kids got a little older, I started college, first becoming a physical therapy assistant and then a registered nurse. My whole career as a nurse has been in the operating room. In 1996, after going back to school again to become a Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA), I started my own company, Elite Surgical Assistants, Inc. I have privileges at 11 hospitals in and around the Louisville area; however, you can usually find me at Baptist East. After almost 15 years assisting in surgery, I still love it but will probably retire at the end of this year. As much as I love surgery, I hate the insurance companies (who are supposed to pay me) more.

We prayed for 11 years to have grandkids and finally got three within nine months. The oldest is eight, and the twins will be eight in October. It’s like having triplets for grandkids.

I love to walk, read, cook, sew, bead, travel, garden and attend the many grandkid activities.

My husband retired from American Air Filter after working in the drafting department for 46 years. Bobby and I are avid walkers, walking three or more miles almost every day. I volunteer for “Surgery on Sunday” once a month. (It provides outpatient surgery for those who have no insurance.) I also am active in “Supplies Overseas” (collecting used medical equipment and supplies to distribute overseas), “Beading for Autism” and I sew “Little Dresses for Africa.”

We love Southeast Christian Church and volunteer for many of their activities. I have only attended our very first (5th year) reunion, at George Rogers Clark Park. I really, really do not like crowds and really wasn’t coming to our 50th reunion; however, when Marcella said there were many of our classmates who have died, and several who wanted to come but couldn’t because of poor health, I thought to myself, “How lucky I am to be in fairly good health and so lucky to have graduated with so many awesome people.” I can’t wait to see you all!

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