These autobiographical pieces and corresponding photos are part of a special edition of 60PLUS featuring local residents who prove that fashion has no age limits.
Evelyn Zaloudek, 86
rMy family moved to Omaha in 1945 from a farm in Woodbine, Iowa, where I was in the 4-H Club. My project was raising two Hereford steers, one of which won the grand champion of his class at the Harrison County Fair. I showed him at Aksarben, and he won a blue ribbon. It was a sad day when he was sold with a group of other blue-ribbon calves to a hotel in New York City. Of course, in those days, they sent the calves right over to the packing house and then shipped them back East. That was the end of my farming days.
I graduated from South High where I met my handsome, hardworking, successful husband, Eugene Zaloudek. We have been married 66 years and counting. We have a son, Steven, two daughters, Wendy and Kris, and six adult granddaughters. I am blessed with nine great-grandchildren, four boys and five girls.
Because of the Korean War draft, Gene enlisted in the Navy in 1951 and was stationed at the Olathe Kansas Naval Air Station. We lived in Bonner Springs, Kansas. Gene received orders to go to Guam, where I joined him with our 11-month-old son. Guam was quite an experience. There were Japanese guns still on the beaches and Japanese soldiers hiding in the hills. Our daughter, Wendy, was born in the new military hospital just three days after it opened.
We left the island by ship in January 1955. After 18 days at sea, we docked at Oakland, California, where Gene received his discharge. We returned to Omaha by train.
We bought a home in Papillion, where our daughter Kristen was born. All three of the children graduated from Papillion high schools. We built a home in Bellevue in 1974 and still reside there. I love the area, with all the wildlife, trees, and good neighbors.
I worked at Mutual of Omaha for 10 years, the Sarpy County Court judge’s office for 10 years, and in the Sarpy County office of Dakota Title & Escrow Co. for 26 years. I sat on the board of directors of Midlands Community Hospital for five years in the 1980s and saw the hospital come out of receivership. I have volunteered in the gift shop for over 35 years.
I have wonderful happy memories of skiing in Colorado, sailing on Gavin’s Point Lake on weekends, wintering in Florida after retirement, and the great trips we have made. Many of these memories include family and good friends who are no longer with us.
We adopted a nine-year-old rescue westie, Stella, who is now 13 years old. I cannot help laughing when I call her to come into the house; it reminds me of Marlon Brando in the movie On the Waterfront. I hope I outlive her.
My advice for others? If you have a talent, share it, even if it is a green thumb. I have given away many varieties of hostas that I have collected over the years.
This article was printed in the January/February 2018 edition of Omaha Magazine.
