In ‘semi-retirement,’ careers come full circle for Plymouth couple BY SUE WEBBER • CONTRIBUTING WRITER Tom and Ann Walerius both grew up on farms in Minnesota and then enjoyed fulfilling 30-plus year careers in the Twin Cities area. Now in what is their version of “semiretirement,” Tom has come full circle and gone back to farming, while Ann has been a part-time Realtor for the past eight years. In between, they’ve found time to build several homes, completely remodel their own home in Plymouth, and spend five months each winter in Phoenix. They’ll spend two weeks in Spain this month. Tom’s full-time 35-year career was in education in the Robbinsdale School District. He was a math teacher and then administrator, and even served as acting superintendent for three months prior to retiring in 2005. He then served short stints as business manager in the Faribault and Elk River school districts. “There are times when I still think about tutoring, especially when we’re in Phoenix,” Tom said. “I still miss teaching math.” Ann’s career included a 31-year stint at her own beauty salon in Wayzata, where she worked and supervised 15 employees. In 2005, she retired from the beauty salon, got contractors and real estate licenses, and became a Realtor with Edina Realty. She shares the job with another woman. “I can do the computer stuff even when we’re in Arizona,” she said. “I can do everything but show houses.” The couple built two spec homes in New Prague, acting as their own general contractors. “It was just trial and error,” Ann said. “We had built all our own homes over the years. Tom learned how to do carpentry work when he was in college, and we built three homes from scratch.” Prior to learning construction on a summer crew during his college years, Tom said, he also learned about building from his grandfather.
“We built these homes when the market was falling apart,” Tom said. “We kept them and rent them now. We built three houses we lived in while I was teaching and then sold them in the 1980s.” The time needed to work on home construction came because of declining enrollment and subsequent school closings in the Robbinsdale District, Tom said. “I went through nine years of layoffs and uncertain cuts and school closings,” he said. “To supplement my income, I built houses and sold them. I do enjoy carpentry. It’s sort of a hobby for me. I’ve built furniture as a hobby.” In 2004, the couple found a three-acre wooded lot in Plymouth with a 1964-vintage rambler on it. They completely redid the house, adding a porch, deck, family room and another wing and a second garage. “I’m very proud of our project in Plymouth,” Tom said. “It was an older home, and we completely remodeled it, doing a lot of the work ourselves. Our daughter and son helped.” They’ve filled the wooded lot – which includes a pond – with multiple flowerbeds Multiple flower gardens and a pond are featured on the wooded lot Ann and Tom Walerius own that Ann plants and tends. in Plymouth. (Submitted photo) Tom’s days often include a 45-mile trip to the Walerius family farm in New Prague on which he was raised, the oldest of six brothers and one sister. “I worked hard as a kid,” Tom said. “My dad had a fairly large dairy farm; my brother took it over after college. My dad and brother worked full-time on the dairy farm and then retired from that.” Corn and soybeans are planted on 400 acres of the land now. “I used to work the farm with my brother and my dad,” Tom said. “Now I operate the farm and my brother works for me.” “Our farm is small by today’s standards, but we work it full-time,” Tom said. “I’m out there every day in the spring and the fall. It makes you feel young, as long as Grandson Nick Kale, 11, helps Tom and Ann Walerius do the chores at the family farm in New COUPLE - TO PAGE 7 Prague. (Submitted photo)