The College Years

It’s 1994, Mom is 66 and working at the UH cafeteria as a cashier. This is the perfect job for Eloise! She’s interacting with literally hundreds of students every day. There are names to remember, ID numbers to punch in, and change to be counted. This is the job that will keep her mind sharp.

In the beginning the students are leery of Mom when she greets them, but once they realize her friendliness is genuine, friendships are formed…they love Mom.

In her personal life, Mom marries husband #3, and this one was the worst! It didn’t last long, and soon she divorced.

She kept physically active with Zumba classes…the regular class, not the one for seniors. Because she loved to dance and perform, she also got involved with a dance group. Although no longer the world traveler, there was still the annual Vegas trips with cousin Rose.

In 2020, when Mom was 91, COVID was everywhere and people were dying, especially the elderly.

Even though classes were cancelled at the University, the dorm students still had to eat. So the cafeteria stayed open, and Mom had to work every day.

I was worried that she would catch COVID and die.  So, I told her to quit her job rather than risk getting infected. But, Mom was stubborn and refused to quit or stay home. And, amazingly, she never caught COVID.

Her Zumba and dance classes were shutdown during that time, and she never went back to those activities.

She complained about aches and pains more now, especially in her back and legs. I told her it was time to retire but she would have none of that. She wanted to work to keep her mind sharp, and of course she loved her students.

Although, I couldn’t persuade her to retire, something eventually convinced her to do so. Mom found something she wanted to do that was even better than working at the University. So, after 29 years of interacting with literally thousands of students, Mom retired.

Her popularity, friendliness, and her love for the students did not go unnoticed. All three local news stations as well as the local PBS ran a segment on her about her retirement. At 95, Mom was a celebrity!!!

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