Presently Kuranda, Queensland, Australia is the place we call home. It is a tropical paradise and we live on a 5 acre block above the Barron River. However, we have recently purchased a cattle property (Platypus Springs) near a place called Chilverton on the Atherton Tablelands and we are spending a fair bit of time there and may even move there in the future. It is much more remote and has many natural springs, ponds and patches of rainforest intermingled with lush pastures. FAMILY: I met my husband in Cairns in the early 1970's when we discovered we were next door neighbours attending many of the same functions. Ray is a wonderful Australian who has similar interests to myself. He has had his own Electrical, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning business and has also managed the refrigeration and airconditioning of Queensland Health Hospitals from Innisfail to the tip of Cape York. We have one daughter, Kate Wenona, who was born in 1985. (I know we started late!) She is currently attending the University of Queensland in Brisbane with a double major in Geology and Archaeology. She had started in Entomology/Archaeology but after 2.5 years with no live lecturers she changed her science component to Geology and loves it. We also have a delightful 7 month old Border Collie cross. My father passed away in 1968 from colon cancer but mother had a wonderful full life until 1999. She visited us on numerous occasions in Australia and continually lived in hope that one day we would return to Tucson for good. The last few years of her life she lived with my sister, Kathy, at Mom's home on Lake Tahoe. Mother suffered from senile dementia but she could still recognise all family members until the end and occasionally was able to say something very profound, appropriate and meaningful. We miss her wit, love, laughter and companionship very much and were so blessed that she did not have Alzheimer's. Kathy (also a CHS 1961) graduate is married to Dennis Wilcox, a verterinary surgeon, in Port Angeles, Washington. She has two stepsons - Barry and Craig. She and Dennis are both working full time and we are trying to encourage them to enjoy retirement....so far no luck. EDUCATION AND CAREER: I received a BS in Zoology from the UA in 1963, and MS in 1965 and a PhD from Tulane University in 1971 with a major in Microbiology and Minors in Biochemistry and Epidemiology. Between my MS and PhD I had a Fulbright Hays Fellowship to the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Brisbane, Queensland Australia where I studied arboviruses in reptiles and amphibians on the Cape York Peninsula. This was a fabulous experience as I collected animals in many remote and isolated regions of Australia. The only 'iffy' part were the venemous snakes and they certainly managed to keep my adrenalin pumped at times. When I returned to Australia I stated a career in medical laboratory science. This spanned a period of 24 years. During the majority of that time I was head of department and/or manager of the laboratory. I served as Chairman of the Infection Control Committee for Calvary hospital for over 12 years and I am still a NATA assessor. Additionally I have served on the Australian Standards committee. In 1996 I decided to try my hand at Environmental Microbiology and worked as the City Microbiologist until 2005. This was a delightful change and a challenge. The best part of the job were the hours 8 - 4 M - F. It was like a permanent holiday after the various schedules that we maintained in the Clinical Laboratory (24hrs per day 7 days a week). In 2005 Ray and I took a 12 week holiday and we both managed to completely relax and enjoy life. Ray had decided to retire in December 2004 and was trying to convince me that I could live without full time work. When we returned to Cairns I stopped by the laboratory to see how things were going and was amazed to see the amount of stress in the workplace and feel it so intensely. I opened the filing cabinet, took out the resignation form and filled it in on the spot. The entire staff were up in arms as accreditation was due in two weeks. I agreed to take the laboratory through the assessment process and for the first time in history managed a perfect Biological Assessment. It was indeed the very best possible time to retire. Now retirement is an unusual state of mind. Last year after a wonderful holiday in Arizona and Mexico we returned to Australia and the aftermath of Cyclone Larry (Category 5). Our property had vegetation damage so we spent a few weeks cleaning it up and then headed down to southern Queensland and New South Wales to visit Ray's cousins, aunts, uncles and old friends. Ray's older brother had a fatal heart attack in Sept 2005 and Ray felt it was time to visit. We had an absolutely tremendous trip - managed to attend the State Single Action Championshpis and win our categories - I even managed to win the fastest woman shooter. On the return trip we started looking at various rural properties as we had decided that we would rather enjoy being graziers. On return we found a property about 130 kilometers from our home that suited all of our criteria. It had sustained considerable damage from Cyclone Larry and the owner had recently been killed in a riding accident. Settlement was not completed until mid November. Retirment stopped the next day. We are now fixing fences, branding and drenching cattle, improving pastures and generally working at least 3 - 4 days of the week. The beauty of Platypus Springs is that it is about 3500 feet and much cooler than Kuranda and our nearest neighbour is about 1 kilometer away. OPINIONS: I do worry about what the war in Iraq has done to the world. The rationale for going in was completely wrong and the situation is only getting worse. The media reports in the US are often quite different than what one reads overseas - but this is not new - the same thing was true during the Vietnam war. I hope and pray that we are able to restore Iraq to some semblance of normalacy but I am not sure that will be possible. Although we have travelled many times to the states in the past we are thinking that we may concentrate our travels in Australia and New Zealand in the future. AVOCATIONS:: Bushwalking, shooting and general outdoor activities. Ray and I both compete in Single Action Shooting....ie we assume our aliases, dress up like the old west characters, pick up our shooting irons and have a laugh. I have managed to win the Senior Ladies National Championship here in Australia and have won the state Championship for the past three years. We truly enjoy the challenge. Ray is a top marksman with the rifle often winning or placing in the long range rifle events as well as his category. Ray and Kate are the top shooters in the family for speed and accuracy. I am just lucky that there are not many ladies my age that shoot - hence I win! |
CLASS OF |
Catalina High School, Tucson, Arizona, USA |
PENNY GRAF |
Presently Kuranda, Queensland, Australia is the place we call home. It is a tropical paradise and we live on a 5 acre block above the Barron River. However, we have recently purchased a cattle property (Platypus Springs) near a place called Chilverton on the Atherton Tablelands and we are spending a fair bit of time there and may even move there in the future. It is much more remote and has many natural springs, ponds and patches of rainforest intermingled with lush pastures. FAMILY: I met my husband in Cairns in the early 1970's when we discovered we were next door neighbours attending many of the same functions. Ray is a wonderful Australian who has similar interests to myself. He has had his own Electrical, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning business and has also managed the refrigeration and airconditioning of Queensland Health Hospitals from Innisfail to the tip of Cape York. We have one daughter, Kate Wenona, who was born in 1985. (I know we started late!) She is currently attending the University of Queensland in Brisbane with a double major in Geology and Archaeology. She had started in Entomology/Archaeology but after 2.5 years with no live lecturers she changed her science component to Geology and loves it. We also have a delightful 7 month old Border Collie cross. My father passed away in 1968 from colon cancer but mother had a wonderful full life until 1999. She visited us on numerous occasions in Australia and continually lived in hope that one day we would return to Tucson for good. The last few years of her life she lived with my sister, Kathy, at Mom's home on Lake Tahoe. Mother suffered from senile dementia but she could still recognise all family members until the end and occasionally was able to say something very profound, appropriate and meaningful. We miss her wit, love, laughter and companionship very much and were so blessed that she did not have Alzheimer's. Kathy (also a CHS 1961) graduate is married to Dennis Wilcox, a verterinary surgeon, in Port Angeles, Washington. She has two stepsons - Barry and Craig. She and Dennis are both working full time and we are trying to encourage them to enjoy retirement....so far no luck. EDUCATION AND CAREER: I received a BS in Zoology from the UA in 1963, and MS in 1965 and a PhD from Tulane University in 1971 with a major in Microbiology and Minors in Biochemistry and Epidemiology. Between my MS and PhD I had a Fulbright Hays Fellowship to the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Brisbane, Queensland Australia where I studied arboviruses in reptiles and amphibians on the Cape York Peninsula. This was a fabulous experience as I collected animals in many remote and isolated regions of Australia. The only 'iffy' part were the venemous snakes and they certainly managed to keep my adrenalin pumped at times. When I returned to Australia I stated a career in medical laboratory science. This spanned a period of 24 years. During the majority of that time I was head of department and/or manager of the laboratory. I served as Chairman of the Infection Control Committee for Calvary hospital for over 12 years and I am still a NATA assessor. Additionally I have served on the Australian Standards committee. In 1996 I decided to try my hand at Environmental Microbiology and worked as the City Microbiologist until 2005. This was a delightful change and a challenge. The best part of the job were the hours 8 - 4 M - F. It was like a permanent holiday after the various schedules that we maintained in the Clinical Laboratory (24hrs per day 7 days a week). In 2005 Ray and I took a 12 week holiday and we both managed to completely relax and enjoy life. Ray had decided to retire in December 2004 and was trying to convince me that I could live without full time work. When we returned to Cairns I stopped by the laboratory to see how things were going and was amazed to see the amount of stress in the workplace and feel it so intensely. I opened the filing cabinet, took out the resignation form and filled it in on the spot. The entire staff were up in arms as accreditation was due in two weeks. I agreed to take the laboratory through the assessment process and for the first time in history managed a perfect Biological Assessment. It was indeed the very best possible time to retire. Now retirement is an unusual state of mind. Last year after a wonderful holiday in Arizona and Mexico we returned to Australia and the aftermath of Cyclone Larry (Category 5). Our property had vegetation damage so we spent a few weeks cleaning it up and then headed down to southern Queensland and New South Wales to visit Ray's cousins, aunts, uncles and old friends. Ray's older brother had a fatal heart attack in Sept 2005 and Ray felt it was time to visit. We had an absolutely tremendous trip - managed to attend the State Single Action Championshpis and win our categories - I even managed to win the fastest woman shooter. On the return trip we started looking at various rural properties as we had decided that we would rather enjoy being graziers. On return we found a property about 130 kilometers from our home that suited all of our criteria. It had sustained considerable damage from Cyclone Larry and the owner had recently been killed in a riding accident. Settlement was not completed until mid November. Retirment stopped the next day. We are now fixing fences, branding and drenching cattle, improving pastures and generally working at least 3 - 4 days of the week. The beauty of Platypus Springs is that it is about 3500 feet and much cooler than Kuranda and our nearest neighbour is about 1 kilometer away. OPINIONS: I do worry about what the war in Iraq has done to the world. The rationale for going in was completely wrong and the situation is only getting worse. The media reports in the US are often quite different than what one reads overseas - but this is not new - the same thing was true during the Vietnam war. I hope and pray that we are able to restore Iraq to some semblance of normalacy but I am not sure that will be possible. Although we have travelled many times to the states in the past we are thinking that we may concentrate our travels in Australia and New Zealand in the future. AVOCATIONS:: Bushwalking, shooting and general outdoor activities. Ray and I both compete in Single Action Shooting....ie we assume our aliases, dress up like the old west characters, pick up our shooting irons and have a laugh. I have managed to win the Senior Ladies National Championship here in Australia and have won the state Championship for the past three years. We truly enjoy the challenge. Ray is a top marksman with the rifle often winning or placing in the long range rifle events as well as his category. Ray and Kate are the top shooters in the family for speed and accuracy. I am just lucky that there are not many ladies my age that shoot - hence I win! |
I am the photograper - but here are Kate and Ray on Christmas Day in Kuranda. |
I took this on a flight recently - shows the house and shed and rainforest. |
Kate, Ray and Spot at Platypus Springs in January 2007. Everything behind the mist is part of the Springs. |
