David and Linda (Thornwall) Grulke
West Allis, WI
Update for 55th reunion – The last five years have had definite highs and lows. The highs were multiple trips, a great fiftieth anniversary party at our favorite German restaurant with family and friends, and drinking a craft beer at Friday night fish fries with family.
Dave still works as a contractor remodeling kitchens and bathrooms, but he is much pickier about the jobs he takes. He also serves on Angi.com’s Pro Council, as an advisor to Angi.com’s (Angie’s List) senior management. I spend my time volunteering at our grandson’s school, at the West Allis Public Health Department, at church and at Matt’s Exceptional Chorus. For fun I walk Abby our dog and schedule lunches out with my Wine Wednesdays and Lutheran Ladies Lunch groups. (I wanted Divine Divas Dining, but I was outvoted.)
Since our last reunion, we have traveled to
-North Carolina from the outer banks to Asheville
-Hawaii
-New Mexico via Amtrak with the whole family
-New Orleans
-North Carolina to see the Biltmore mansion at Christmas.
-Kentucky and Indiana to see Mammoth Cave, the original Kentucky Fried Chicken, Churchill Downs, Cord, Auburn, Duesenberg and Studebaker Museums and lots of other quirky places.
We try to fit in family weeks at Wisconsin cabins or Victorian houses. An unexpected bonus has been that we found that Dave is a wizard at planning quirky trips.
The lows were losing all four parents within a year. It is rough being the oldest family generation. Trips back to Iowa are less hectic and more lonely.
All three kids live within an hour and a half of Milwaukee. Our grandkids are 18, 16 and 7. We have gotten to see plays, musicals, concerts as well as playing at the playground and watching Bluey. Plus we get to watch our kids flex their parent muscles. Matt still works, goes to his Exceptional Chorus and cooking classes, Special O and dates his girlfriend of ten years, Amber. He is a happy guy.
From 50+1 reunion – Dave Grulke and Linda (Thornwall) Grulke have been married since 1973 and have lived in suburban Milwaukee for over 40 years. We have three kids who are older than we like to admit. Beth and her husband have 2 kids (ages 14 and 12) and live in Waunakee, WI (suburban Madison). Laurel and her son (age 3) live in West Allis, WI (suburban Milwaukee). Matt has Down Syndrome and splits his residence between his younger sister and with us. He works, has a girlfriend, plays sports in the Special Olympics and sings in a choir. He has a more active social life than any of the rest of us.
Linda retired from nursing after 46 years of work, mostly in the emergency room and case management at a major healthcare system in Milwaukee. I like to travel with Dave to National Parks or with my girlfriends to mystery book conventions or wine tasting trips. We went on a Disney cruise to Alaska with the whole gang in the summer
of 2019 before COVID and are all planning a Disney trip next January.
Dave is still working in his remodeling business. He started his career in advertising sales after leaving journalism school and spent about 20 years in various sales and management positions. He then took about a 5 year detour into commercial property and casualty insurance sales and in 2001 established Big Dave’s Services. His company specializes in mid range and upscale kitchen and bath remodeling, BigDaves.com. He simultaneously was appointed as executive director of the Cabinet Makers Association, spending about 5 years managing that professional trade association of independent custom cabinet businesses across the US. He enjoys traveling with Linda to National Parks and other regions not previously visited in the USA, spending time with his family, the Green Bay Packers, outdoor cooking, volunteering for audio and video production at church and an occasional salmon fishing trip on Lake Michigan or other inland lakes.
Dave & Linda
