Cherie Berry Kropp
After graduation, I lived at home and worked for Gulf Oil in downtown Jackson. I was sick and tired of school and my fondest dream was to be on my own. No more school for me! I would live to regret that decision, of course. In March, 1967, I moved to Dallas, TX with my cousin and best friend, Judy. Wahoo! We were finally living our long time dream—roommates in a big city far away from home and parents! Dallas did not disappoint us!
I married David Kropp in 1967 who had recently returned from Vietnam. While he obtained his degree at University of North Texas, we bought homes in Dallas and renovated and sold them. Meanwhile, I worked 7 years for M-K-T Railroad in their corporate Real Estate Dept. Dave obtained his degree the same month our son Kelly was born in 1977, ten years after we married. We had every intention of living in Dallas for the rest of our lives. Even bought our cemetery plots there at Restland – “where one call does all.” Ha!
Surprise! After graduating, Dave was offered and accepted a job in Longview, Texas (1979-1988). Nine years later, the co. Dave worked for was in a hostile takeover and we didn’t care to mvoe to Omaha, NE (sounded like the north pole to us!) and so he took a job in Oklahoma City with Anheiser Busch that turned out to be far better than the one he had previously. It about killed us both to replace our Texas license plates to one that read “Oklahoma is OK.” It was NOT OK! Texas is still my favorite place to live of all the states I’ve lived in: CA, MS, TX and OK. After 30 years, in 1998, Dave and I divorced.
I spent most of my working life in various areas of real estate; e.g. railroad, RE attorneys, RE management, RE titles, RE appraisals, etc. I retired in 2010 at 62 after working for 15 years as an Abstractor from First American Title & Abstract in Tulsa, OK. Also for five years, I owned and managed my own business as a picture frame and counted cross-stitch shop in Longview, TX. Of all I learned at CHS, it was my business skills and English that have been the most useful to me.
In 1998, I married Chester Ehrig who is the Design Director for an architect firm in Tulsa. I have two married children, my son Kelly born in 1977 and my daughter Julie Krista born in 1979; 4 grandchildren, ages 5 to 19 who all live within 100 miles of us; and a stepson. My mother is 92 and Galen, my only sibling, both live in OKC. My father passed away when he was 93…my maternal grandparents lived to their 90s. Appears I may live a long time!
We are currently building a new home in Sand Springs, OK (pop 19,000) in a country subdivision on an acre lot, 8 miles east of Tulsa. This will be our first time to live outside of a big city since I left home, and the first time for us to build a home together.
Interests: I am never without a book close at hand and am usually working sporadically on a jigsaw puzzle. I enjoy trying new recipes and am often on a recipe quest—experimenting to create a recipe for a dish I’ve eaten somewhere. I also like flower/landscape gardening and writing. Ironically, while history was the subject I disliked the most in school, and if anyone had told me I would write a history book one day, I would NEVER have believed it!
Yet I’ve recently completed writing a biography that is chalk full of history and involved two research trips to Ireland and UK. I intend to publish it after I do some more editing and condensingI am thoroughly enjoying my retirement years, and will be glad when my husband joins me in retirement. ENUF said!