Statsraad Lehmkuhl Oceanics 1972-73

After Oceanics I went to college and graduated with a degree in Occupational Therapy. I worked primarily with children ages birth to five in special education. I met my husband Jim through work, as he was a special education teacher. We married in 1983 and lived in the Como Park neighborhood of St. Paul for 38 years in the same house. Our two children were raised there and Lynn (35) now lives in Chicago and Nate (29) lives in Seattle. A year ago we moved to a new home, 2 miles north to a very quiet neighborhood in a beautiful wooded area somewhat hidden away but very near to the city of St. Paul.

Jim and I both love to travel and have visited Steve/Rufus in New York several times. In 2019, we joined him, his son Grant, Katie and her daughter, Gerry Del Hagen and his wife and daughter, Jim Johnson and Lily in Norway to sail on the Statsraad Lehmkuhl for a week. I never thought I would see the ship again, sail on her, and climb the rigging. It was amazing! We did the watch assignments and some ship work but slept in hammocks. The hammocks were actually fairly comfortable. 

I have also traveled to Alaska, Hawaii, New Zealand, South Africa, Costa Rica, Brazil, and most recently Portugal and Spain. In February we plan on another trip to Costa Rica; we located a travel guide who will set up another trip for us. Her company is Costa Rica Authentic and she sets up trips to suit your interests, makes sure you taste authentic food and stay in smaller local hotels and arranges transportation for you so you don’t have to rent a car or take any public transportation. We have more places to travel to before our health stops us.

Some of my other accomplishments include: riding my bike 500 miles from Minneapolis to Chicago 2001, cross country skiing 35 miles in Wisconsin at the international ski race, the Birkebeiner in 2015, getting my masters degree in 2009, staying married to Jim for nearly 40 years, volunteering with a variety of community programs, and managing my aging, so far. 

I hope we are able to reunite in 2023, in some manner, to celebrate after 50 years of being a part of Oceanics.

Susan Nelson, October 25, 2022
St. Paul, Minnesota