Connie Courtney Cherry

Standing: Bonnie, her husband Tony, Connie, and James
Seated: Claire and Joe

Where have I gone since graduation??? My life has taken a lot of unexpected twists and turns. A lot of ups and downs, and I have landed here with both feet on the ground, in the year 2000. Remember when 2000, seemed like a time so far in the future?

I met and married Joseph H. Cherry in July of 1973. For those, like me, to whom math was not FUN! That is 27 years. We met in Hattiesburg, where he was a student, I was working and attending classes. We have lived for the past 21 years on Cherry Acres between Florence, Richland, and Brandon. Joe went to work for Touche, Ross & Co., a CPA Firm, right after graduation from Southern. I was employed with WJDX-WZZQ radio stations in Jackson. About the most fun job in the world!!!! Great bunch of people!!!

The WONDER BUG, struck us in 1977 and we just knew the grass was greener any where in the world but Mississippi! WRONG!!!! We spent about 4 months in Houma, Louisiana, what a nightmare!! Those CRAZY people would take bets on how many FOOLS would wind up in the Bayou on Friday and Saturday nights. I think the most that took the plunge on one week-end was 6!!!! I was playing tennis with a friend one afternoon and these two cars came speeding around the tennis court, SHOOTING at each other!!! I told Joe that night, that was the last straw, we either moved or else, just go sign me up for a room in Whitfield, I sure didn’t want to be placed in a padded room in Houma, Louisiana!!!! From there, the Wonder Lust carried us to western Kansas! Joe being born in eastern Kansas, thought the clime would be about the same!!! WRONG, AGAIN!!!! We arrived in Pratt, Kansas, population about 1,000, that was counting dogs, cats and cattle, in May of 1978; weather, not bad, even had to have the furnace on once. Then June hit, the rain stopped and the wind blew over the prairie and it got hotter and hotter and we decided, that, hey, who said Mississippi was a bad place to live???? So we packed our belongings in a U-Haul, we had become quite good at it by now, and were on our way by night fall. We pointed that U-Haul south and didn’t stop until we were sitting in my parent’s driveway!!! The Wonder Bug attempts to rear it’s ugly head now and again, but we Cherry’s aren’t listening!!!

We have 3 WONDERFUL children. Bonnie is married, a teacher and has presented us with two EXTRA WONDERFUL grandchildren, Joseph is 5 and Amy Katherine (Named for my Mother), turns 3 tomorrow. I got to be in the delivery room when she was born. Talk about your natural highs!!!! Claire is 21, she and Joe are partners in Cherry Transportation. Joe worked for 16 years with KLLM, Transport, Inc, where he was CEO. His contribution to the trucking industry was not only on a national level, but was on an international level, as well. He decided about 5 years ago to start our own business. Claire has worked for Joe since she was 12, so it was a natural for her and Joe to form a partnership. She has her father’s business brain, she sure didn’t get it from me!!! James is 16 and, HEY, I think I am too OLD to have a 16 year old child!!! Our children are all adopted, Bonnie coming to us at 13, Claire as an infant of 3 days old, (what a thrill it was to pick her up at the hospital), and James at 4. Each has been a blessing in their own way. James came to us from a mentally abusive home and had been left to his own for the first 4 years of his life. He couldn’t walk without falling unless he was holding on to something and he couldn’t talk, plus lots and lots of other problems! Through extensive therapy for 5 years (8 hours a day for 5 days a week), we have made great strides with him. Because the public schools were not set up to educated children with problems like James, I founded and taught in James Cherry School, here we offered the children one-on-one teaching. We had 7 students the last year of the school's existence.

I raise Daylilies and many other flowers. We have 15 acres and my goal is to have every blade of grass covered by flowers, before I die!!! I have this really bad problem with lawn mowers, THEY JUST DON’T WANT TO WORK FOR ME! Thus my theory, flowers eliminate the need for mowers! Sounds logical to me!

I, also, am very into genealogy research. I just passed my 600th person on my Mom’s paternal side of the family!! This is very addictive and my family has had to pull the plug on my computer several times, just to get me to come out of my room!!!

I sure wish I could be with ya’ll for the reunion, but my husband is to have surgery right before it and we will probably still be in the hospital. He has prostate cancer, which thank the Lord was caught in the very early stages, and it is felt by his doctor that the surgery will get it all. This to all you guys out there. If you haven’t had your PSA checked, TODAY is the day to schedule and have it done. This cancer has NO symptoms until it is too late!! Wives prod those men on and be sure they have this done.

I would love to hear from any and all of you.