Penny Baker Maus

After graduation from Central, I attended the University of Arkansas where I met Mike Maus from Atkins, AR on a blind date.  We were married in August 1970 after we both graduated from UA—I had a degree in Education, and Mike’s was in Business.

Mike went to work for Sun Oil Company until Uncle Sam sent him a “love letter.”  Mike quickly joined the Air Force and became a helicopter pilot.  Thankfully, he never had to go to Vietnam—his assignments took us to Ellsworth AFB outside of Rapid City, SD; Yokota AFB, Japan; Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, TX; Scott AFB near O’Fallon, IL (which is just east of St. Louis); Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, AL; and finally to Eglin AFB near Niceville, FL in 1989.  When Mike retired in 1997, I told him that I would continue to follow him wherever he wanted to go but that I was not moving north of Interstate-10!!! 

I did a variety of things as we moved around:  substitute teacher, classified advertising, private English tutor, date entry clerk at GMAC, and defense contractor secretary.  In 1992, I went to work for a local orthopedic surgeon and filed medical insurance.  When our office manager and her husband decided to move to Wichita, KS to be near their grandchildren, the doctor sent Fran, our receptionist, me, and his wife to Hong Kong for ten days!!!  I took over as Office Manager in 2004 and am now closing out the business as the doctor has decided to retire from private practice. 

Mike and I were never blessed with children—just cats.  However, we have lots and lots of nieces and nephews as well as many children of our military friends who call us “Uncle” Mike and “Aunt” Penny. 

For most of our married life, Mike and I have spent our vacations visiting his family in Arkansas and my parents in Muskogee.  We moved my Mom and Dad into Dogwood Creek, an assisted living facility, in May 2004.  Daddy passed away in August 2008 just a few days before his 91^st birthday.  Mother remained at Dogwood until April 2010 when we were able to move her into an assisted living facility only minutes from our house.  She just recently passed away on February 10^th.

I will soon join the ranks of the unemployed and will then have plenty of time to pursue my hobbies—quilting, gardening, and riding on the back of Mike’s motorcycle.