James Vladeff
Family Information: I married Carolyn Carroll on August 6, 1977 in Gowrie, IA . Our daughter,
Amanda Rae was born April 12, 1981 in Miami.
Occupation: I work for Martin Marietta Aggregates in Fort Dodge, IA . Right now I
have been working in southern Iowa core drilling.
Address: P O Box 271 Gowrie, IA 50543.
Phone: (515)352-3392.
What I have been doing since 1975:
Sometime after graduation I enlisted in the US Army.
In 1976 I was in
Germany. In 1977 I came back to get married. I married Carolyn Carroll on
August 6, 1977 and we went back overseas. In July 1978 we came back and I
served my last 8 months in Fort Hood, Texas. After my discharge, we went
to Iowa, gathered our belongings, and moved to Arizona. Our daughter Amanda Rae
was born in Miami in 1981. In July 1982 we moved to Iowa where Carolyn and I
are originally from. In 1984 we moved to Missouri where my
brothers and sister were. Amanda started school in 1986. In Missouri I worked as an electrician, carpenter, plumber, helped my
brother Bruce in building condos on the lake, drove semi for a brief period, moved my father from Arizona to Missouri to be with us, and tried to stay
sane. In '92 we moved up here hoping things would be better for the family.
In '93 we moved my dad up here to Gowrie. That was one of the best things I've ever done.
In October of '95 we found out my mother had cancer. She lived in Springfield, MO. Dad passed away Aug 2, 1996 and Mom passed away Sept 3
'96. Then July 10, '97, my brother Mike passed away in Lake Ozark, Mo. Some of you knew him.
When we first moved up here I worked for Midstates Cooperative here in Gowrie.
I worked on farm tires and got to know the farmers here and in the surrounding communities.
I was good at what I did and when the Coop shut
down, they wanted me to open my own shop but there was no way possible. In
Nov. '94 Carolyn went into congestive heart failure and then in Dec. '94 she
had open heart surgery. That was a long 5 months recuperating and then
getting back to her usual self over the next year or so. Amanda graduated from Prairie Valley High School here in Gowrie just
recently in 1999. Two weeks later she went to Fort Jackson, South Carolina
for Army basic training. A month later she came home. She had joined the
Iowa Army National Guard in Jan '99 and did her monthly drills until time to go active.
We were proud just because she had the nerve to try it. For those of us who have been there and done that, we know it's not for everybody.
If any one has questions or would like to contact us, just send an e-mail or
call. We'll gladly reply!!!!
Memories of MHS:
I remember a lot of good times and some not -so-good times with Jerry, Dave,
Eddie, and Albert. It's been a long time between now and then and hopefully
we'll make it out in 5 years since we missed the 25 yr reunion.
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