Shoop too busy to retire from teaching

Monday, 03 October 2011 by Berneta Peeples

Cathy Shoop enjoys teaching in the labs at Scott & White and taking care of wildlife.Cathy Shoop is too busy to think about retiring in five years. She and husband, Doug live in Morgan's Point. He is a retired engineer from Fort Hood and she is a teacher in the labs at Scott and White.

Cathy grew up on Long Island, N.Y. Before she fell in love with the southwest when she visited an old, childless uncle in Arizona. She tells Doug they probably will retire in the southwest. After all, she was born in Wichita Falls when her dad was stationed there with the Air Force.

Flying from Long Island to Arizona was easy. Her dad worked for American Airlines at Kennedy Airport and stand-by transportation was no problem.

As a kid on Long Island, finding a ride to the beach was the goal. The beach was the Atlantic Ocean. When she was old enough to babysit, she found that was not her favorite job. She taught guitar age 14-20 for $2 for a 30-minute lesson.

The last two years were at college on Long Island where she majored in medical lab work. She thinks she got the medical lab bug when she had a microscope as a child.

Along the way she taught all sciences in high school for four years, then moved to Arizona where she worked full time in a medical lab and spent four years getting a Bachelor's Degree that allows her to teach at Scott and White Hospital.

In Arizona she met a good looking tall blond named Doug Shoop and married him six weeks later. He was an engineer and "he moved us to Central Texas."

Doug is a substitute teacher in the Belton school system. He works mostly with the Special Ed program and finds the work very rewarding, she said.

Their daughter Maggie is a CPA and lives in Austin. Their son, Chapman, has a Master's Degree in Economics from Texas A&M and works at the University of Texas.

Cathy Shoop is an elder in Belton's First Presbyterian Church, plays guitar for services and teaches the third grade children Sunday School Class.

"I began teaching the tiny ones when I was very young, and still find them the treasure of treasures," she said proudly.

Yes, her wildlife food bill is a big part of her household expenses.

"The poor critters are there," Shoop said. "There is no food and no water for them and civilization is invading their territory. They have no livelihood and no place to go. They are my responsibility. But feeding raw eggs to a fox is interesting. I see him take the egg in his mouth and run away with it. Does he swallow it or break the shell first? The price of deer corn is entirely beside the point. It's a necessity."

She is a bird watcher and has feeders for any species that happens by. She is secretary of the local Audubon Society.

Cathy begins every week with a special project. As a licensed Ombudsman, she visits patients in a local nursing home every Sunday afternoon.

A big family event is scheduled for November. Her parents have retired to Florida and will celebrate their 59th wedding anniversary. The celebration will be all adults, parents and their four children only. They will come from Texas, California, Colorado and New York. Cathy is the oldest. Her father will celebrate his 80th birthday in November.

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