The Oregon Caregiver FALL/WINTER 2023 www.ohca.com 24 Donna Sherr, Oregon Veterans’ Home RESIDENT Donna Sherr is a resident of the Oregon Veterans’ Home in The Dalles. She has enjoyed an extraordinary life that has taken her across the globe. Donna’s experiences have taken her from running a freight boat in Alaska, to dealing twenty-one in Las Vegas, and many interesting life experiences in between. In this interview, she shares her favorite memories and advice for young women today. What is it like to live in a senior care community led by women? I have nothing but positive things to say. Everyone here goes above and beyond making things nice for us and taking care of us and meeting all our needs. What are your favorite hobbies and activities? I look forward to our poker days and our bingo days. I’m very competitive. You’ve had a lot of interesting jobs, from being a waitress to a law clerk. Which of your jobs was the most rewarding? I would have to say every single one of them. I learned something different and new at each job that I had, so to pick out a favorite I don’t think I can. You’re quite the globe trotter. How did you get the travel bug? My father was in the Air Force. I was born in Alaska and left when I was about three months old, and we moved to Hawaii. Both Alaska and Hawaii were territories at that time—I’m giving away my age. I’ve always been curious. I remember my father and mother trying to explain to me why it would rain on one side of the street, and it wasn’t raining on the other side of the street. So as a little one, I would run back and forth and could never understand why it would rain on one side and bright and pretty the other side. I left when I was five. What made you want to join the Navy? I decided that I wanted to further my education and I couldn’t afford to go back to college. I was at a dinner party one night and I heard a gal talking about her joining the reserves because she would have a free education. I thought, wow. My father was in the Air Force, so I went to the Air Force, and they wouldn’t take me, so I thought, what’s next? I went to the Marines; they wouldn’t take me. Then, I went to the Army, and they wouldn’t take me. They all didn’t take me because of my age. I was about to turn thirty-five, but the Navy took me. This was the early seventies, so it was a different time. I had a very interesting phone call with my father who was in the Air Force his whole life. I told him I joined the Navy. It was dead silence. After a while he digested that, and he was very proud. What would you say was the biggest challenge serving in the military, especially as a woman? I think at that time that I joined, women couldn’t keep up with a man. Once you prove yourself—and I’m very tenacious and I got along well with everyone—you’ll be accepted. One of the very best things is making lifelong friends. I served for almost 10 years. What do you think you learned in your time in the service? I got free education. I’m about a year away from getting my master’s degree in human resources and I have no debt whatsoever. Things happened where I couldn’t finish it earlier. I got married. If you look at my employment history, you will figure out that I’m a jack of all trades and a master of none. It’s not too late to finish, though. What is your advice for young women? I would really encourage them either to join the reserves or to join one facet of our military. It is a great learning experience, and you get free education. You learn so many things that you wouldn’t learn in civilian life, like things that make you grow and appreciate what you have. It matures you and it gives you different perspectives on life. If they like to travel and not have to pay for it, you can go all over the world. I certainly did. I’ve been to Japan, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and India. I backpacked through Thailand for a month and went into Burma. I got to ride elephants and I stayed in a couple of little villages that treated me like I was a queen. Thailand is PROFILE
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