We continue our story in Part IV of Stephen Wurzel’s life. After their seven months tour of the USA, Stephen and his wife came back to New York and stayed with Janice’s parents who lived in Port Washington. It was a small town on the North Shore and had a laid-back country feel. Stephen’s father-in-law was an old-fashioned country doctor and still made house calls. They lived in a brick house, with the Doctor’s office in the basement.

Stephen got a job with Panduit Corporation, which was out of Tinsley Park, Illinois. According to their website, Panduit Corp. develops and provides physical infrastructure solutions, networking equipment for businesses. The Company manufactures cabinets, racks, cable ties, copper systems, fiber optic systems, grounding systems, identification and labeling systems, and installation tools. Stephen became a traveling salesperson for the company and had a territory which included New York. They bought a small house in Tuxedo Park NY which included an acre of land with tall trees, close to a golf course. Their family began there with the birth of their first-born son.

In 1984, Stephen’s dad worked for Tridon Automotive parts, and they built a plant out in Nashville Tennessee. His dad asked him to come to Nashville and be his sales manager. Stephen said he was fairly good at it so went to talk to his wife. After much discussion, he and his wife decided to move there. Janice would miss her family and friends, but she agreed to this next step in their lives. She was pregnant with their second child at that time. They bought a house there and when they were driving out, they were 45 minutes out from the city and the baby was coming! They had their second baby in the car on the highway! They raised their family and developed so many friends over the 35 years that they lived there. While in Nashville, Stephen’s dad started another company and bought out his partner. Stephen started a media company and became the salesperson for Marketforce Media. He learned how to shoot commercials for scripted ads for automotive parts companies. He collaborated with companies to purchase time for scripted ads for television and became known for this talent. People came from all over the world to learn and shoot commercials with him. In 2012, his parents died within a brief time of each other, and he sold the company. Stephen was able to help quite a few people in the auto parts and media business related to this industry, so much so that he was able to retire at 62.

Stephen worked in Chattanooga at an office that was above a Yoga studio called SISU (meaning Strength of Will) and he learned about emergence care and soul massage. His youngest son was living there, and he had a small apartment. He practiced with the people of this studio and survived the pandemic. Stephen’s youngest son got his degree in Chattanooga at Suwanee University in Environmental Science and moved out to Colorado. He is at UCAR in Boulder. Stephen’s oldest was also in Colorado practicing and working, so after 35 years, Janice and Stephen decided to move here. The move was more dramatic as they left so many friends behind, but it was meant to be. The boys got married and Stephen and Janice are now grandparents. It’s hard to fathom how a young English Literature and Philosophy major from SUNY became an entrepreneur and so much more.

No matter where we come from, we all have so many opportunities to be good at something even if don’t think we are, and then thrive with our choices. I hope you take this example of a great person and live your life to the fullest!

Concluding in Part V tomorrow!