Francis T. Nicholls High School
New Orleans, Louisiana
|
Norman Donald Hellmers
Norman attended Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Illinois, (now Concordia University - Chicago) for four years (1961-1966). Between his junior and senior years, he taught for a year at an elementary school in Michigan, at which time he met his wife, Patricia O'Brien. They have been married since May 29, 1966. Norm (as he was now known) then studied film and television production at the University of Iowa and later worked as a director for WTOM-TV in northern Michigan. He then did post-graduate studies at LSU in the natural sciences. Their daughter, Jennifer, was born in Baton Rouge in 1968. From 1969-1971, Norm worked as an information/education specialist and writer-photographer for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in Lincoln, where their son Jeffrey was born in 1971. In 1972, Norm began a 31-year career with the National Park Service as a Park Ranger and Park Superintendent. His first position was at Gettysburg National Military Park (Pennsylvania). After ranger training at Grand Canyon, he was assigned to George Washington Memorial Parkway (Washington, DC). He later worked as a Park Ranger at Shenandoah National Park (Virginia) and Grand Portage National Monument (Minnesota). In 1981, Norm was selected to be Superintendent of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (Indiana), where he served until 1989. He was then selected to be Superintendent of Lincoln Home National Historic Site (Illinois), where he served until his retirement in 2003. Through the years, Pat has worked as a registered nurse, librarian, secretary, medical school residency coordinator, and, when their children were young, as a stay-at-home mother. In 2004, Norm and Pat moved to Valparaiso, Indiana, to be close to their married daughter (a college professor) and her family (including one grandson) and their son (an elementary school teacher). Since retiring, they have worked on family history and have traveled extensively. A picture of Norm and Pat in Paris is below. Fun fact: Norm attended Concordia Teachers College with Nicholls' classmates Ron Wismar and Mike Riemer. After their junior year, they went home to New Orleans on a raft, traveling 1,400 miles on the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers for 30 days. The story of their trip can be found here: http://rootslinks.com/hellmers-norman-1964-mississippi-river-raft-trip/ Norm can be
contacted at: norm.hellmers (at)
gmail.com
|
Norm and Pat in Paris |