Veteran uses GI bill to find career
Being a native Midwesterner, Larry Sutten is used to the cold and winter. Two of his hardest winters, though, were while in was the United States Army stationed in South Korea during the Korean War.
“It was like camping outside. We were living in tents. A lot of the buildings had been blown apart, so there wasn’t much choice,” he explained.
Larry enlisted in the Army following his high school graduation. He spent 17 months stationed in Korea. When he returned to the United States, Larry had three months left of his enlistment, so he worked on the east coast with the National Guard.
Following his time in the service, Larry found a night job at Andersen Windows and Doors in River Falls, WI. During the day, he was using his GI Bill from his time in the military to attend college. He graduated majoring in psychology and business.
He stayed at the same company, moving up in positions and, when he retired 41 years later, he was a purchasing manager.
“I had purchased just about everything for the company from nuts and bolts to window glass and lumber. It was a good job,” Larry said.
While working at Andersen, Larry married his wife, Joyce. Together, they had five daughters. Today, Larry has found a home at Wellhaven Senior Living.
“The people here are really good, and I like to visit, that’s really important to me,” he explained.
Larry is only one of 80 veterans currently residing in a TLHA care community. In our 120th year of caring for souls, we are honoring both our veteran residents and team members. Our history begins with one family’s loss during the Civil War. A 15-year-old Ernst Boessling from Belle Plaine volunteered to serve with the Minnesota troops. He died in September of 1863 in service to his country at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
His mother, Sophie, had saved the government death benefits she received all the years after Ernst died. Wanting to provide a home for others like herself, she donated the money and her family’s farmland to build das Alten und Waisenheim—the Aged and Orphans’ Home. Now more than a century later, Sophie’s gift continues to benefit countless lives.
TLHA has active senior living, assisted living and memory care communities in Belle Plaine Minnesota, and River Falls, Fountain City, and Watertown, Wisconsin. Looking for a place to call home? Visit www.tlha.org/communities.