John and Wendy (Smith) Herko
It’s great reading all the emails
about the comings and goings of fellow classmates. Guess it’s about time to
pitch in and provide my (John R. “Bob” Herko) update.
In less than two weeks after high school graduation I traveled to Washington,
DC, to work for the (then) Post Office Department. The one responsible for this
was Rosemary Leasburg, who was my bookkeeping teacher. In fact, her influence
led me to follow a path to a B.S. in Accounting from WVU and, much later,
becoming a Certified Pubic Accountant. We remained in touch until she passed
away about two years ago.
After 15 months in WDC, I enlisted in the Army and served 32 months, with
assignments in Germany and Vietnam (16 months). Returning to WV to pursue a
degree in Accounting, I became reacquainted with Wendy Smith. We married in May
1972 and had a daughter, Alissa, in 1976. We recently celebrated our 35th
anniversary.
After graduating from WVU in 1975, I accepted an appointment as a Regular Army
officer in the Finance Corps. Military assignments took Wendy and I to Oklahoma,
Germany, Indiana, Kansas, and Hawaii. I also served an unaccompanied 12 months
in South Korea. I retired in 1995, the last four years of active duty in Hawaii.
Following retirement, I worked for First Hawaiian Bank for six years. Wendy and
I returned to the Mainland (Franklin [about 15 miles south of Nashville],
Tennessee). For the last six years I’ve been teaching various federal, state,
and local financial management courses to government employees and private
sector folks doing business with federal and/or state governments.
While assigned to Hawaii, Wendy and I attended the Honolulu First Assembly of
God church. Wendy began working part time at the church and shortly became the
Senior Pastor’s secretary. She held that position for over six years…until we
moved to Tennessee.
More detail and a photo of me is provided at my website:
www.herkoconsulting.com . I waited
until after high school to grow up—from a wrestling weight of 115, 5’9” in 1967
to a commanding 210 pounds, 6’3” today. I’m sure some would say I haven’t
changed a bit!
So sorry to have missed the reunion. I’ve been following all the updates.
Actually, Wendy and I were in Morgantown from March 26 to July 5, taking care of
her Mom and Dad through some very difficult times. Wendy’s Mom passed away
(cancer) at the age of 84 on June 25. Due to some circumstances, we had to
return to Tennessee on July 5. We (mostly Wendy) now take care of her Dad, who
turned 87 in May.
Congrats to all of the committee members. As best as I can tell, your efforts
met with much success. Unfortunately, good people get asked to do more. I’m
already seeing signs of new requirements being placed in you laps. Well done!
John R. “Bob” Herko