Tissy Elisabeth Valinga Ansbacher
The Past 50 Years, 1955 – 2005

After high school I attended CSM for 2 years and then another three years at Stanford University School of Nursing in San Francisco, graduating in 1960. I then entered the real world and worked a year at Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto. An originally planned two week trip to Europe somehow evolved into a bike riding adventure through Germany until my girl friend and I gave up our bikes and hitchhiked through Europe for another five months, staying in Youth Hostels along the way (occasionally the latter were even in castles or on a ship). The travel bug had certainly taken hold, but before we headed off to the Taj Mahal and places unknown, we needed to earn some money, and I really had wanted to spend more time in Holland with my relatives. Thus I spent the next six months with my Dutch family and worked as a RN for 3 months at the University Medical Center in Leiden. When spring arrived, we hitchhiked to Italy and caught a ship destined for India and Sri Lanka; Later we continued onto Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Orient. What began as a brief visit to Europe evolved into an 18 month adventure traveling around the world.

When I returned to California in 1962, I worked at Peninsula Hospital and then moved to San Francisco to work as a Public Health Nurse in Chinatown. It was at this time that I met and later married my husband, Rudi, who was finishing his OB-GYN residency at the Presidio. His 20 year military career as an Army doctor took our family from San Francisco to Okinawa, Maryland, Michigan, Texas and back to the Presido in 1977 for his final 3 years in the military. He retired as a Colonel. Rudi’s 2nd 20+ year career at the University of Michigan Medical Center brought us to Ann Arbor where we have lived since 1980.

During our 40 years of married life we have been fortunate to continue with our worldly travels and have visited over 50 countries and territories, as well as traveled from coast to coast in our own country. We have raised two sons, one who lives in Michigan and one in Southern California. My gainful employment was terminated in 1966 a couple of months prior to the birth of our first child and our move overseas. I became a stay at home Mother; however, as an Army wife I was always involved with community activities, volunteered with the Red Cross, and coordinated a volunteer school health program at our children's elementary school for the duration of the time we were in San Antonio. This status as a "professional volunteer" has extended to the present with an active involvement in community organizations, the Ronald McDonald House, and since 1991 as a volunteer and project co-coordinator at our local hospice.

As a student of and for life, I have continued with various educational and community activities and along with numerous travels, family and friends, have truly enjoyed broadening my horizons in the ensuing years.