Carolyn and her husband John were both big sports fans. In fact, for their first time going to a game together, they attended a University of Michigan football game.

“I warned him beforehand I might wear green and white,” said Carolyn, who attended Michigan State University.

As it turns out, there are still many colors that run through their family, be it the green and white of the Spartans, the maize and blue of the Wolverines and even the scarlet and gray of Ohio State. But the important thing is the education.

“We’re kind of a mixture, that’s for sure,” she said.

Meeting her husband at General Motors

Carolyn was studying education when she was at MSU, but wound up in a different kind of classroom — she worked for General Motors in the education training department. She met her husband at GM, as he worked across the hall from her office.

Although Carolyn did not end up teaching in a school, she was inspired to get into education by her mother.

“She was a teacher way back when, and taught in schools in this area,” Carolyn said. “She taught before she was married. And in the war years, they were short of teachers, so they talked her into going back and did that for two or three years.”

Carolyn attended school in Pontiac, which often had a different schedule of vacation days than the schools where her mother worked. As a result, there were times when Carolyn joined her mom.

“Sometimes, I would go with her to wherever she was teaching. Education was always there for me,” she said.

A busy family life

Carolyn and her husband John had two kids, a boy and a girl, and both were active in sports.

“My husband said he got Wednesday off for good behavior,” she joked. “He used to come from work to watch their games, but neither one of them had games on Wednesday.”

Later, Carolyn and John both became intrigued in the genealogy of their families. “You can do a lot of it online now, which is nice,” she said. “But when we started 30 years ago, if you found out somebody was from New York, we would first call the county to see if the records were available, then plan on making a little weekend trip.”

With her mother being orphaned at a young age, Carolyn decided it would be a good idea to learn more about her family.

“We found a lot of things,” she said. “I put a lot of it on computers, and with the programs you have now, you can put the pictures in with the write-ups. So I’ve been going back and doing that lately. It takes a lot of time, but I really enjoy it. I like the computer, I do a lot of things on it.”

John died a few years ago, shortly before their 50th anniversary. Still, Carolyn keeps track of her family online, checking the happenings of family in California on Facebook.

A resident of Oakmont Rochester since April, she enjoys her new home.

“It’s very nice here, the people here are excellent,” Carolyn said. “And we’re growing.”

Experiencing a stroke a few years ago, Carolie’s active lifestyle may have been altered considerably, but it did not keep her from remaining active.

“So that kind of hampered my style,” she said. “In Florida, I played tennis three to five days a week. I was active in the church, things like that, and then I moved up here.”

Her stroke occurred while flying back after a three-week vacation to Europe. “They turned the plane around and we wound up in Dublin, Ireland,” Carolie said. After some time there, she went through rehabilitation near Flint, where two of her daughters reside.

Eventually, she came across Oakmont Rochester Independent — and instantly knew it would be the ideal location for her, especially since it was close to two more of her daughters, who live in nearby Troy.

An instant love of her new home

“It was a good move, I’m glad I moved here,” she said. She explained the community offers so much, ranging from the activities to the brightness of the building. Occupying an apartment on the east end of the building, she enjoys the morning sunlight; her cat also enjoys bird-watching from up on the third floor.

“The thing is, I always want to do things. I hate the idea of sitting around and doing nothing. Otherwise, I read and fall asleep, and that’s ridiculous,” she said.

“She’s such an amazing person,” said Charlotte Collins, activities director for Oakmont Rochester. “Nothing stops her and she puts me in a good mood, too.”

This wasn’t the first place she lived after rehab. But right away, she knew she needed something that offered much more than simply four walls. That explains the desire to jump at Oakmont Rochester once she toured it.

“Where I was living before here, I just got depressed,” Carolie said. “And as soon as I got here, there’s so much going on and I love it all. We have the greatest group now. It’s a small group, but when we get more, we will just assimilate them into the group.”

She enjoys playing card games and Rummikub, among many other things. And, she’s always on the move. “Char takes us on little jaunts around,” Carolie said. “We just go, go, go. Every time we have something to do, I just go do it.”

Growing up as a ‘farm girl’

Carolie grew up on the outskirts of Flint, on a farm in the town of Corunna.

“Learned to drive on the farm,” she said. “I drove the tractor; if they were picking up hay bales, I just drove it slow so they could pick them up.”

After graduating from Michigan State University (as a medical technologist), she and her husband (also an MSU grad) moved to Flushing. He worked as a superintendent for General Motors. Together, they were married 52 years. They retired to Florida, where he died in 2013.

“We had a good life, and the best of it was when we were in Florida,” she said. “He wasn’t working and wasn’t under pressure, and we enjoyed our time.”

While in Florida, Carolie and a friend then went on 12 cruises in three years, which included South Pacific trips to Bora Bora and Tahiti. Although travel became more difficult after her stroke, Carolie is still finding plenty to keep herself busy.

“You just gotta move on. There’s nothing I can do about this,” she said. “You just have to keep working and keep trying.”

In World War II, a manpower shortage – caused by the United States being at war in both Europe and the Pacific Theatre – created the need to tap into a new resource for the Marines, as well as the Army and Navy.

That resource? Womanpower.

Jean, a 96-year-old resident at Oakmont Rochester, recalled what happened when she decided she wanted to serve her country.

“I joined the Marines to see the world and they sent me to Cleveland. It was recruiting duty, I was a secretary,” she said. “They had just opened up recruitment for women, so we decided to go for it.

“I expected to have some adventure, but Cleveland was fine.”

A woman’s work with the Marine Corps

Her work with the Marines was generally administrative, where new recruits were interviewed and inspected before they were accepted.

“I was one of four women who were sent to the recruiting office originally, to replace four able-bodied guys who want to go off and fight, which they did,” Jean said. “Then two weeks later, we heard two of them were killed. It was very sad.”

Although the Marines didn’t provide a chance to be anywhere near the action abroad, she did meet her first husband there. Their marriage produced a son; later, she divorced and moved back to Detroit.

Soon, her family would grow.

Meeting an old high school friend

“I met a fellow I knew in high school, he took me to the prom,” Jean said. “We got married and had three children.”

Her marriage lasted 51 years. Although she lost her husband and two of her sons, she still has 11 grandchildren – 10 of whom live in Michigan. That keeps her plenty busy.

Jean moved into Oakmont Rochester Independent on March 15, the first day it opened. She maintains her independence as she drives and is able to frequently visit her familiar stops in the Bloomfield Hills area, including Mass regularly at St. Hugo of the Hills.

Proud to be Polish

Jean is also still quite fluent in Polish, able to speak, read and write the language that was prevalent in her Detroit east-side neighborhood near Joseph Campau and Chene.

“We took Polish grammar in school (St. Hyacinth),” she said. “All my cousins are in Poland and I keep in contact. My mom and dad came from families of eight. Most of them were left behind. I’ve been there twice to visit. It was such a wonderful reunion.”

Her love of Poland was passed on to her family, including a granddaughter, who attended the University of Warsaw for a study abroad program. She later returned to work at an orphanage.

“There are such good people in Poland. It’s a very happy place,” Jean said.

She also has a piece of advice for young people.

“Just look forward,” she said. “It takes a while to get over the adversities we face, but keep plugging away. And enjoy your family as much as you can.”