Kendra was born and lived most of her life in the Scotland and Chrisman area. Her parents were Charles Jr. and Julia Simpson. She has two brothers Kerry and Kirk who has since passed away.
Her first job was working for a restaurant called the Hardy Hall where she worked on the weekends in the kitchen as a salad girl. She stated that it was in an older home and the fried chicken made by Tillie was the best around.
In her early years Kendra wanted to be a teacher. She said her role models for that decision were Carol Lawson, her youth group leader and Linda Silar, a teacher just starting out. She said that she enjoyed having both teachers and really enjoyed watching Linda Silar get her teaching career started.
Kendra decided that teaching was not for her because she was a little shy, so she decided to become a nurse. She started by attending Danville Community College and earned her LPN license. In 1983 she went back to school and attended Lincoln Trail College and earned her RN license. She worked for many hospitals and nursing homes including the Methodist Hospital, Christian Homes in Zionville where she was the ADON for four years, Pleasant Meadows Senior Living for thirteen and half years, then at the VA Hospital for 2 years. She states that the most challenging part of her career was learning new procedures especially in the hospital setting, demonstrating CPR for her test and being afraid that she may not pass and also learning how to use the AED. She states that the most rewarding part of her job was the comradery with her co-workers and working with other strong nurses so that the stress did not get to her as much.
When Kendra was asked the difference between the way the kids are growing up now verses when you were a child Kendra stated that she was taught to have respect for her elders, only speak when spoken to, discipline and growing up in a Christian home. Kendra was also asked what advice she would give the younger generation today, she stated that we have lived through on of the most trying times with the Covid pandemic and that it was a huge learning experience for us all. She stated that getting vaccines are important and wearing your mask is as well.
Kendra now enjoys spending her days visiting with friends, family and her dog, working on jigsaw puzzles which she has quite the collection, watching tv, reading and working on word search books.
Winter Carnival 2023