Then There Was Two
In 1988 there were three county assessors that retired, opening up the doors to those who had worked within their respective offices. Doreen Pherson was appointed the Nicollet County Assessor, Judy Friesen was appointed the Brown County Assessor, and I was appointed the Watonwan County Assessor.
Over the decades the three of us became good friends in and out of the work environment. When there were conferences, our fellows came with and they became friends, taking in what was the “spouse program.” It may have been tours in the various areas of the state or boat outings. They joined in for the evening events and banquets.
On this trek in 2004, we turned ourselves over to the students at a cosmetology center and they did us up to the nines. Judy on the left, Doreen in the middle and myself.
On long weekends, us gals would get together and help the other with our gardens by making the rounds to various greenhouses and such. It may not always have been plants or it may have been finding garden art. I have one very heavy concrete goose that graces my front flower garden that we scored at a site near Rochester. How Doreen and I got that into her van is still a wonder each spring when Dennis takes it out of the potting shed. On 9/11 the three of us were in Waseca at a nursery looking at Hostas. Kevin had called and was looking for us. Judy and I introduced Doreen to quilting, but that didn’t take. Her favorite pass time was putting her families favorite recipes together. Each year, we would meet for an evening meal at one of our homes. I remember well the night the two couples came to St. James. I had just had both my knees replaced and both couples pulled up on their motorcycles with supper in tow.
I retired in February of 2009. Judy retired in 2005. Doreen was the youngest of us three and she worked until the spring of 2017. That summer we didn’t get together, as retirees need time to acclimate to a new way of working through life at home and with family. In the fall of 2017 the three of us got together at Judy’s home for lunch. By that time Judy’s Macular Degeneration had taken most of her site, and she was navigating with a cane in her home. Doreen told us at that time that two months after she had retired she had been diagnosed with cancer and would be beginning treatment. We still celebrated being together and decided to go into Madelia and enjoy the Mexican restaurant. It was a good day of sharing and catching up with what our grandchildren were doing.
This last year, Doreen’s life was all about spending time with family. Tomorrow I will pick up Judy and her ever-near white cane, and we will travel to Doreen’s funeral in St. Peter. Now, I thank my God for the life that I have today. All three of us had our foot on the starting line at the same time. We enjoyed the journey and challenges as they came on the job. We created a bond that went beyond the W-2 form job. How fortunate for me to have all these wonderful memories. I do not take them for granted.