Lawrence Waskosky
It was a number of years ago in Albert Lea, Minnesota that Larry, who was at the time working in radio sales, paid a call on a prospective customer.  It turns out that the customer was the one interested in making a sale and invited Larry to come to a Knights of Columbus meeting.  While he was not sure what to make of the Degree ceremonials, he enjoyed the camaraderie, recalling that he knew just about everyone in the Council and he also liked taking part in various activities such as softball.  Larry advanced through the Third Degree and came to the Green Bay area in 1976, taking a position as a sales manager at WNFL that had recently been purchased from the Press Gazette.  He remained in that position until it was sold again in 1987 and then moved on to WGEE in a similar capacity, handling sales and advertising, until 1990.  It was around that time that Council 10243 was formed and though not quite a Charter Member, he was one of the early members of the new Council, transferring in the first year. 

He decided in 1990 that he was getting burned out in radio and wanted to move on so he literally went to the mausoleum, taking a job at the Shrine of the Good Shepherd at Nicolet Memorial Gardens.  He was responsible for crypt sales and pre-arrangement, a task he found to be a bit tougher than he imagined because so few want to talk about their death, and when dealing with couples, one won't talk about it without the other.  He also found singles to be particularly challenging because so many really didn't seem to be interested in making advance arrangements.  Somewhere along the line he took another job at Menards, driving by the place when it was being built and thinking it would be nice to work there because it was convenient for him.  He worked for a while in the Millwork Department until the store opened a Commercial Control Department.  Because of his background in sales he felt well suited to that line of work.  Although officially retiring in January 2001, he still gets to Menards two days per week. 

Retirement has given his the opportunity to get more involved in one favorite hobby--motorcycle touring.  He and his wife, Marilyn, occasionally team up with two other couples and have visited or plan to visit such diverse places as Branson, Tennessee, Colorado and Montana.  Since this is a warm weather activity, some time in the winter is occasionally spent visiting with family a warm house in Minnesota.  Larry and Marilyn have been married nearly forty-two years now and have six children--five boys and a girl. Marilyn works as a bank teller.  Two of his sons live in New Jersey and run a construction company and three sons and his daughter live in the Green Bay area.  In the time he has been with Council 10243 he has not had the opportunity to take part in many meetings but does join in with activities such as the Knights' Grill, booyah and the Tootsie Roll drive.  He will turn 65 in about two years and as he settles into retirement is hoping to have the chance to get a little more involved in the life of Council 10243.  We look forward to getting to know him better. 

January 2002