Both couples also find a bond with being able
to share their work experiences at the end of
the day, Mindy said.
“Whatever we can talk about, we can share
and we can discuss, and we can both be
involved in that conversation, rather than
him talking to me about his work and me not
knowing what he’s talking about,” she said.
“This way, we can share and bounce ideas off
each other at home. That’s been a big plus all
these years.”
The couples join three other staff members at
the school on the road to retirement: librarian
Thelma Roloff, science teacher Karen Urick and
music teacher Jon Wederquist.
The Unruhs have been married for 32 years,
and have helped each other get through
the yearly advancements of the educational
world, especially with technology. Erie Middle
School utilizes one-to-one laptop computer
technology in most classes.
“He can’t spell to save his soul,” Jan joked about
Tom, “and I’m not good at technology. He has
me proofread everything he writes, and I come
to him with the technological part of things.
“We kind of help each other out a little bit. Plus,
we get to vent about things, and talk about
things from school because we know what’s
going on.”
Tom tends to joke around with his students,
and Jan will sometimes let him know what
students to take it easy with. He’ll ask Jan
especially about students whom she teaches.
“I get to see her smiling face during the day,”
Tom said.