Oakesdale couple retires from school

Penny and Ken Niles are wrapping up careers that placed them in several positions around Oakesdale school.

Penny has served as the Oakesdale secretary since 1984. Ken has served as the maintenance director since 1995, and taught at the school for 10 years in the 1970s. He figures in his time on the maintenance crew there is no corner of the school he hasn’t touched.

They were honored at a retirement party June 14.

Penny and Ken both hail from Hoquiam, on the Pacific coast. Their career paths began much the same; they both graduated high school in 1966, and both attended Grays Harbor Community College for two years. They both went on to attend Central Washington University, where they both graduated in 1971 with a degree in teaching.

But it wasn’t until their five-year high school reunion that romantic sparks flew. The rest is history.

They have now been married for 37 years. They have two sons. Chris is 33 and lives in Ashland, Ore. Jeff is 31 and lives in Montesano, Wash.

As far as retirement plans are concerned, they both said, at the same time, they have 30 years of home improvement projects stacked up. They have both spent so much time at the school, Penny said, they haven’t ever had the time to tend to smaller projects around the house.

For example, they’d like to finish their basement and put some more sun-soaked hours into their yard.

Penny said they both have had a life-long interest in light houses and beaches, probably as a result of being raised on the coast.

With their new retirement time, they plan on making many trips to the coast to visit their mothers, both in their 90s.

In addition to enjoying the beautiful Pacific, Ken said he also enjoys salmon fishing and he expects retirement will provide plenty of time for that.