Valerie

Valerie Jo

From the book
"Their Faith Has Touched Us"

(Valerie was the daughter of Rosemary and Harry Joe Koelsch - Grandaugher of Maude Crews Koelsch - Great grandaughter of Hardy and Martha Thomas Crews.)

The following "autobiography " was written by Valerie When she was twelve years old and a sixth grade student at Hilldale Elementery in Oklahoma City. For the project, Valerie answered questions such as, "Who am I?" "What can I do?" "What do I believe?" and "How will I spend my future years?"  Already, Valerie's answers reflect the high priority she continued to give to her family and to being the best person that she could be. Her answers are honest, funny and conscientious. Yes, Valerie earned and "A" on this assignment from her teacher...
   
"MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY" 
 
BY" Valerie Koelsch

My name is Valerie Jo Koelsch. I have blonde hair, blue eyes. I weigh 93 pounds and I'm five feet tall. I have short hair and I usually wear pants. I can play the piano pretty good. I've been playing for about one year. I enjoy playing the piano, but I just don't like to practice.  
I was born on Monday evening, March 5th, 1962, at Saint Anthony's Hospital in Oklahoma City. My mom was glad that I was a girl because she had already had two boys. I'm the next to the youngest of four children. I had a funny incident at age one. While learning to walk by myself, I would always hold my mom's finger when I would walk. Whenever she didn't hold my finger, I would cry.  
I play softball for the Raiders. In our pre-season tournament we got second place. We lost the game for First place 7- 8. I play relief pitcher and left field. 
At school, the subjects I consider most important would be math, English and reading. The most difficult subjects would be science and social studies. The subject I consider most enjoyable is reading.  My purpose in life is to make something of myself, not just be and old bum. My purpose at home is to be helpful and so what's my part of the work. My purpose at school is to lear and not just be there to warn my chair. My purpose in the community is to keep my neighborhood clean and not just go around causing trouble. I hope to carry out these purposes by trying to do everything the best way I can.  
What are my wishes? I wish that I could be a better person. To fulfill this wish I try not to lose my temper so fast and not to yell so much. I wish that I could be a real good pitcher. And to fulfill this wish I'm practicing really good and hard. I believe that my friends shoulf be truthful and honest. I believe that school should teach me things that I don't know about but want to learn about. I believe that in work every one should do his or her share. I believe that everyone should go to church. I believe that with the way the government is going now, somebody should get in there and change it.  
My favorite adults are my aunts and uncles, Grandpa and Grandma. Mon and Dad, and a whole bunch of other people. When you come in my house you can smell cooking and scented candles. My favorite room would probably be the living room. It has gold carpet and a big picture window. My favorite pieve of furniture would have to be the divan, My dad use it the most. I like it because it's soft and you can stretch out on it.  
I think it's fun being one of several children, because you can divide the work instead of having to do it all by yourself. Also, you have someone to play with and you learn to shate. I think that the happiness and love in the family is made by everyone. I think our family friends are good to have because you have different people to play games with and talk to.  
Some of the games that our family plays are: scrabble, softball, basketball, tennis, badminton. We enjoy barbecues, going to the lake, and going on vacation. Everybody in the family likes to read. Mostly, everybody differs in what they read. What my family wants out of life is peace, joy, love and happiness. I think my family fears most a tornado, a fire, a theft, or a death in the family. 
What does my family believe about life?  Life is what you make of it. We try to stress the good or positive side in a life situation. We believe you receive in measure what you put into something. My family expects me to act good.  I really don't know when I first discovered my emotions. They were happy emotions, though. When my emotions are harmful I try not to show them. They're helpful when they cheer someone up. 
When I experienced my greatest emotion of fear was during a tornado a couple of years ago. My mom helped me overcome my fear. During this ball game , I came home and the ump called me out, but I was safe by a mile. I just held my anger inside. When Mom and Dad came back from their trip my emotion was love.  I'm going to spend the future years caring for my family. I plan to spend my future years in Oklahoma City. I'd like to live in a house. I expect that some of the reponsibilities I would have would be taking care of children and other things a wife and mother does. The kind of person I'd like to spend the future with is a person who is funny, happy, loving, active and a person who is not a grouch. I don't think I owe the government anything but I need to be a good citizen.  A life cannot be built without dreams. On the job I'm going to work hard. In society, I'm going to be a good citizen. To reach the goals of my dream I'm going to be a good person and do the best that I can...

Quote from National Catholic Reporter

[It is important for the United States community to remember those who died in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, but it is essential to remember how they lived. Although they never met each other, Mark Bolte, Valerie Koelsch and Julie Welch shared several parallels in their lives. All three were single young adults who integrated their faith into every sphere of their lives: family, church, school, work and friendships. They were federal employees, although serving in different agencies, who believed that their work -- and how they performed it -- made a difference in our world.]

Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum Official Website

Lest WE Forget...

April 18th, 1995

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In Memory of Valerie Jo Koelsch5 Mar 1962 - 18 Apr 1995

From the book "Their Faith Has Touched Us"

In Memory of Valerie Jo Koelsch

5 Mar 1962 - 18 Apr 1995

From the book
"Their Faith Has Touched Us"