Vicki married when she was 21, the norm in the late ‘50’s, and with her husband, Ed, raised six children.  Working nights as a nurse to help support the family while Ed was in graduate school, she was at the same time continually taking part-time courses to complete her B.S. and M.S. degrees.

All during this time she was also teaching her children and they never went to bed before a story was read to them.

The year that her youngest children (twins) started college, she went off to graduate school to earn the Ph.D. in Community Health.  Thereafter, she taught Women’s Studies at the university level for twenty-five years, during which time she attended the fourth World Conference for Women, held in Beijing; traveled to Central America and Cuba to witness and report on social injustice; and presented scholarly papers in Norway and Uganda.

Her passion for excellence and hard work was instilled in all six of her children and was passed on to her thirteen grandchildren as well.  Vicki and Ed’s dedication to the intellectual development of their children resulted in all six earning Ph.D. degrees.  Her oldest granddaughter has earned the Ph.D. as well and is currently a university professor.

The guiding principle for Vicki in all aspects of her life has always been simply:

“Be nice!”

In her retirement, in addition to swimming 100 miles a year, she has worked to serve disadvantaged youth by volunteering to tutor elementary school mathematics.  As a result of this experience, Vicki established The Hurtova Foundation, a charitable organization whose mission is to help kids who are behind in school, and is writing the Kayla Books.  These books are offered free to those who cannot afford them, and for a donation for those who can.

You can contact Vicki at:     vickifmeyer@gmail.com