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Serving Our Seniors is someone to call when you need help.
419-624-1856 800-564-1856
Meet Dawn. She is 97 years old and a resident of
Vermilion. Her father lived to be 92 and her mother lived
to be 96 years old.
She grew up in Shaker Heights. After she graduated
from high school she worked for a couple of years as
a telephone operator in Cleveland. Then she attended
Wittenberg College where she studied to be a buyer for
the retail industry. She graduated from Wittenberg College
in 1942.
While in college she applied to receive flying lessons.
After receiving her pilot’s license she worked at the airport
in Springfield, Ohio. Not as a pilot, but to help the person in
charge of running the airport.
After graduating college, she learned that if a person had a
pilot’s license or a college degree, they would be eligible to
apply to be an Air Traffic Controller. Dawn had both so she
applied to work at the Cleveland Hopkins Airport. She was
hired. She worked there for 5 ½ years in this capacity with
three other women.
Dawn met her husband while working at Cleveland
Hopkins Airport. His name was Ray and he was an aircraft
engine mechanic. Her supervisor told her, “If you buy a war
bond I’ll get you a date with Ray.” So she did.
Ray had a star boat and it was named “The Crack of
Dawn.” Their first date was sailing on the Vermilion river.
They later married and she moved to Vermilion to start
her new life with her husband. Together, they raised two
foster children.
Ray was from Vermilion and worked for Kishman Fish
She Loves Life
and the City of Vermilion
Company until they bought it from the owner,
Lester Kishman.
Dawn left her job as an air traffic controller and she worked
for a few different businesses, in different roles, until a
friend asked her to work at Wakefield Brass Company.
She worked there for 21 years in the billing department,
sales & service, credit manager and as the office manager.
Dawn has always been a leader. She was the President of
the Vermilion YMCA Board and coordinated two “Bridge-O-
Rama” fund- raisers a year to benefit the Vermilion YMCA.
She served on the Vermilion City Council, and she was on
the board of directors for the local hospital’s foundation.
Dawn remains an avid bridge player, today. She still works
at the food pantry one day per month, with her friend,
Connie, who is age 99. She enjoys reading – and does
not wear glasses. She also volunteers as the recording
secretary of Vermilion Book Club.
She loves Vermilion and says it’s a neat town to live in.
“It’s small, it has interesting stores, it’s pretty and has a
nice river running through it. The people are kind and
helpful. It’s a nice place to live. I really enjoy it here.”
Her philosophy on aging…. “Just keep putting one foot
in front of the other every day!” She practices what
she preaches, too. She keeps a busy calendar with
somewhere to go and something to do almost every day.
She said on the days she has no commitments…. “I just
enjoy the peace and quiet,” she says with a smile.
