Rich Deakins
Juneau, Alaska: 35 years! While it might not seem like we walked out of MWHS together just yesterday, it certainly doesn’t seem like 35 years have already passed. That’s half of a lifetime. Where did the time go?
From high school, I went on to SUNY Cortland, where after a lot of growing up that led to a less than stellar academic career, I managed to graduate in 1974 with a BS in Psychology. Returning to Monroe after graduation, I searched for several months before finally landing a job at Nepera Chemical, almost within sight of the old school. Realizing that I just couldn’t spend my life at Nepera and without an immediate alternative, I left New York in the fall of 1975 for points west. I hadn’t traveled before and didn’t have much of a plan, but by the summer of 1976, I found that my journey had brought me to Juneau, Alaska. Alaska in the mid-1970’s was a booming place with the Pipeline nearing completion and Juneau, as the capital, was full of opportunity. Within a short time, I was hired by the Alaska Dept of Labor. I fit in well. I liked the job and my co-workers very much, but I did more than a little wondering about what I had gotten myself into. Alaska of all places, that’s the end of the world!
A year later, I took my first vacation and returned to the Lower 48 for a few weeks. During the course of that trip and much to my surprise, I got homesick and realized how much I had come to enjoy living in Juneau and decided that it would be my home. I returned from that trip with a different attitude. I enrolled at the University of Alaska and took evening classes in accounting and information technology for the next few years and gradually moved up the ladder at work. However, by 1983, working for the State of Alaska had lost some of the appeal that it once offered, and when a local accounting firm became available, I bought it and went into private practice. Later that year, I married Linda and became step-father to her three kids, Laura, Doug and Jennifer. Linda and I had met while working at the Dept of Labor.
The next twenty years went by quickly. I worked hard at building my practice. It was essentially a tax practice when I bought it, and it grew to include accounting services and financial planning. Linda stayed with the Dept of Labor but in a series of different positions that kept her busy and her job interesting. We raised the children and did all those things that parents do; coaching sports teams, leading scout troops, driving them everywhere and attending all of their events. Between family and work, we were left with little time to ourselves.
When I decided to become self-employed, I never realized how much time I would be devoting to the business. Linda’s job put huge demands on her time as well. Our vacations were all too infrequent and, when we could get away, the time spent was all too brief. One by one, the children grew up, finished their schooling and began their own adult lives.
Over the years, I had been approached a few times about selling my practice and when the opportunity presented itself again in 2002, we decided the time was right. We talked things over and came to the conclusion that the thing most absent in our lives was time and the freedom to fill it in any way we chose. By this time, Linda had 30 years of service with the State of Alaska and was eligible for a full retirement. We had already decided that we would remain in Juneau after our working lives had ended. We already had our retirement home. After our youngest had left home, we sold our big house and moved to a smaller home in Tee Harbor, a quiet little neighborhood about 20 miles north of downtown Juneau. So, by the fall of 2002, with the decision made, all of the details addressed and the paperwork signed, Linda retired from the State and I sold the practice.
Since then, life has been a blur. We’ve been so busy that it hardly seems possible that we had time for our jobs. Years ago, when we made the decision to remain in Juneau, we talked about traveling to other places. I want to be in Alaska in the spring and summer months to enjoy the long days and nice weather. Linda wants to spend the holidays here since Juneau is home. So, we agreed that we would plan our travels for the fall and winter and since we planned on being here at Christmas, that would allow for at least two trips per year “Outside”. So our travels are just beginning. We’ve taken a few trips, first to see family that we hadn’t seen in too long, and then to visit some of the places we’ve always wanted to see. We have lots of other places we would like to go and I’m sure more ideas will come.
Besides travel, we have our hobbies to entertain us. To enjoy Alaska, you have to appreciate the outdoors and I love it. Both of us enjoy hiking and fishing. Fishing is like an official pastime, everyone does it. It’s not just catching fish. The scenery and the wildlife are magnificent and time spent on the ocean or on the streams is wonderful. The hiking here is world class and I never seem to tire of it. I also like Nordic skiing, although I’m not a very good skier, and I still get in an occasional climb. When the weather is bad, I’ll tie a few flies for the next fishing trip or just relax with a book. I’m still a big baseball fan and love to watch the games. We get together regularly with friends for card games and gossip. My brother, Bob (MW Class of ’74) and his family live here also and my 7 year old nephew, Chip, is fast becoming a good hiking and fishing partner.
I appreciate all the time and effort being put in by the reunion committee. I’ve looked forward to a class reunion for years and seeing many of you again. Hopefully, this get together will be a huge success and everyone will be anxiously awaiting the next one. It’s unfortunate that I won’t be able to attend. But with our oldest daughter, Laura getting married, I’m afraid that I’ll just have to wait until the 40 th to see everyone again.
Best wishes to all,
Rich