Karen Valentine Sanders

 

KAREN VALENTINE SANDERS
BRANT SANDERS
3704 Briar Oak Circle
Birmingham, AL 35223

205 967-0957

sandersrolltide@charter.net

Retired Technology Coordinator for Mountain Brook Schools

After graduation from CGHS, I went to the University of Alabama and graduated in 1966 with a BS degree. I majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry, and have never worked in either field. Married Brant on June 25, 1966 at Riviera Presbyterian Church in Miami. We moved to his hometown, Huntsville, Alabama a week after the wedding. At that time, Brant was an agent for Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance, and I worked with Boeing as a computer programmer. Since there were no computer science degrees in those days, Boeing did all of our training. It was cutting edge at the time, but now seems antiquated! Remember those cards that were keypunched and then fed into the computer! Boeing in Huntsville had a dedicated and talented group of young people, and our names are listed in the Smithsonian for working on the initial Space program. Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969, so we were right in the midst of the glory years.

Our first son, Brantley, was born in Huntsville in 1970. Soon after, we moved to Hartford Connecticut for 4 years of Home Office work with Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance. Our second son, Jason, was born there in 1973. In 1974, we moved to Little Rock, Arkansas where Brant opened a new agency with Connecticut Mutual. Our daughter Sara arrived in 1978. After completing another 4-year stay, we moved to Birmingham where Brant became the General Agent for the Connecticut Mutual office. We have been in Birmingham ever since, and love the area.

I was employed for 15 years with the Mountain Brook School system, as the Technology Coordinator for Mountain Brook Junior High, but retired almost 7 years ago. Brant is now with Wells Fargo after a switch from insurance to investing. He enjoys his second career, and our sons work with him as investment advisors. Brantley married his wife Amy in March of 1996, and they have 4 children. Jason married his wife Jennifer in May of 2000, and they have 2 children. Our daughter Sara married Joseph Schilleci in July of 2004 and they will have their second child in August. That makes 8 grandkids.... all in Birmingham! We enjoy Alabama football, our lake house in north Alabama, and all of the sports activities that the grandkids are involved in. My brother David still lives in Miami with his wife Helene, so we get down for visits with them. Life has been good, and we look forward to seeing all of you at the 50th reunion!