Where are they now?

Editor’s note: This feature is dedicated to profiling Van Horn High School Alumni and updating locals on what became of them after graduation.  The Advocate welcomes information for publication on VHHS Alumni and will try to highlight two Van Horn Eagles every week.

I moved to Van Horn with my family in 1948.  My parents were Edward and Josephine Mueller.  I have one brother, Richard Mueller.  We moved to Van Horn because my parents received a contract to build and operate a Greyhound Bus Station, where the Christian Shelter is now located.

We came from St. Louis, Missouri traveling by Greyhound.  I started school in the 8th grade.  It was difficult at first.  I didn’t speak Spanish.  I met Carl in about 1952 and graduated from High school in 1953.  Carl and I got married in 1955.  I continued to work for my family until after my Dad died in 1972 and the business was sold.  I started working at the Hospital approximately at that time.  I was a nurses’ aid and an EMT.  We adopted Larry in 1962.  He and his family live in Austin.  Two years later we adopted Mark.  He and his family live in California.  In 1970 we adopted our daughter, Ardra.

Carl left Van Horn in 1984 and went to Stephenville, Texas to work for the Natural Resource Conservation Service as a construction inspector on flood control Dams.

In 1985 we moved to Stephenville, where I went to work for Rock House, a facility that serves mentally challenged adult women, as a facility director.  I worked there for 12 years making sure that all individual training programs were implemented and that all of the clients’ needs were met.  Rockwall House was a beautiful, 5-bedroom house with 3 women per bedroom.  I felt blessed to have had this opportunity.

Carl and I are members of The First Baptist Church and have been so blessed that we are able to minister to those in need, especially visiting the ill in hospitals.

72118_309394209216304_6757430831183798183_nSince leaving Van Horn in 1999, I’ve been living in El Paso.  I was a realtor for three years.  In 2002, I went back to school to become a teacher.  Five years later, I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Intermediate Education from University of Texas at El Paso and received my certification for grades 4-8 generalists and then obtained my Masters in 2012.  I also have a Principal certification from the state of Texas.

I’ve been a teacher for nine years.  I taught 8th grade math for two years, four years of 7th grade math, and one year of 6th grade math.  I’ve been teaching 6th grade World Geography and 7th grade Texas History for two years.

My family once lived in public housing, and I was determined to get my degrees to provide for them.  Now my son, Freddy, and daughter Tracy live in New York City pursuing their careers.  Both graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, and my daughter, Alyssa, is currently attending Texas State and will graduate in 2018.

My proudest achievement is raising three honest, hard working, and independent children.  Being that all three have either graduated from or still going to college, they are an exception to the statistics that go along with children being raised by a single mother without the influence of dads in their life. I am proud of their ambition, intelligence, and determination to overcome hardship.

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