Gasparac, Jack (1898 - 1987), Obituary, Greenwood, Beaver, Clark Co., WI

Surnames: GASPARAC GASPARICH MINERICH BRISKI CHUNK DAWES PANNETON RATKOVICH ZAGA

Jack Gasparac, 89, of Route 1 Greenwood, died Sunday, July 26, 1987 in Gurnee, Ill. Private funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m., at Rinka Funeral Home, Greenwood, Clark County. Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery. Grandsons served as pallbearers.

Jack Gasparac was born July 10, 1898 in Delnece, Yugoslavia to Anthony and Agnes (nee Minerich) Gasparac. He received his education in Yugoslavia. He came to Canada at the age of 26 and worked at logging and gold and nickel mining in the Windsor and Kirkland Lake area. On July 11, 1933, he and Mary Briski (19 Feb 1910-12 Dec 1996) were married in Chicago. They moved to Chicago, where he worked for United Motor Coach Co. in Des Plaines, Illinois as a maintenance man. In 1934 they moved to Greenwood (Beaver Twp., Sec. 32) where he farmed. He continued to live on the farm after he stopped farming in the late 1970's.

Survivors include his wife, Mary one son, Jack A. Gasparac, Waukegan, Ill. four daughters, Mrs. William (Mae) Schunk, Inver Grove Heights, Minn. Mrs. Ann Dawes, Deerfield, Ill. Mrs. Joann (Josephine) Panneton, Forge Village, Mass. and Mrs. John (Katherine) Ratkovich, Gurnee, Ill. 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents one son, Frank, three brothers and three sisters.

Rinka Funeral Home, Greenwood, handled arrangements.
The family requests that any memorial be made to the American Cancer Society.

*28 Jan 1939 Immigration Records say he was born in Zelice, Croatia, Yugoslavia.

Marriage of Jack & Mary Briski Gasparac--28 Jun 1913, Houghton Co., Michigan

Witnesses

John Plese, (1871-8 May 1927) of Dodgeville, Michigan, husband of Marie.

Josephine Koenig Gasparich (18 Aug 1893--30 Dec 1986 (aged 93) of Superior, Michigan.
she is buried in the Hillcrest Cemetery, Gallup, McKinley County, New Mexico, USA, bk 7 row 10 gr 86.

*Josephine was married to Jake Gasparac's brother, John “Ivan” Gasparac Gasparich, b. 17 May 1888 in Delnice, Grad Delnice, Primorsko-goranska, Croatia; d. 18 Dec 1934 at the age of 46. He was also buried in the Hillcrest Cemetery, Gallup, McKinley County, New Mexico, USA, bk 7 row 10 gr 84.

**Both Dodgeville and Superior are unincorporated communities in Houghton Co., (upper) MI.

1950 Federal Census, Beaver, Clark, Wisconsin, USA, Dwelling Number 130, Farm, Questionnaire Number 114

Jack Gasparac, 51 yr. old male, white, married
Birth Place Yugoslavia, Occupation Farmer, Industry Dairy Farm; Occupation Category Working; Hours Worked 60; Worker Class Private
Father Birth Place Yugoslavia; Mother Birth Place Yugoslavia
Citizenship Yes Same House Yes
School Completed S8; Grade Completed Yes; Weeks Worked 52
Income none; Other Income 1717; Supplemental Income none
Relative Other Income 0
Veteran No
Years Since Married 19

Head: Jack Gasparac 51
Mary Gasparac, 40 (1910) Wife, b. New Mexico, farm helper
Mae A Gasparac, 15 Daughter
Ann J Gasparac. 14 Daughter
Josiphine Gasparac, 13 Daughter
Jack A Gasparac Jr, 9 Son
Frank J Gasparac, 6 Son
Katherine Gasparac, 5 Daughter
Katherine M Plese, 61 (1889) Sister, widowed, inferred residence: Madibon, Illinois US Citizen, keeping house (widow of Mike)
Lucy Murvin, 59 (1891) in Yugoslavia Sister, widowed, US Citizen

Storm Damage--Mary and Jack Gasparac, who reside northeast of Greenwood (Beaver Twp., SE Section 30, 27N, R 1, W) , lost their barn when the structure was toppled by a heavy windstorm which hit this area a week ago. Extensive damage was done to the barn, and as of now the Gasparacs are not sure if they will rebuild the barn.

Mary Gasparac of Inver Grove Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota was born on February 19, 1910, the daughter of 25 yr. old Joseph F. Briski and his 19 yr. old wife, Mary Zagar. She died at the age of eighty-six on December 12, 1996.

Mary Gasparac--Greenwood, WI

Mary Gasparac, 86, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, died December 12, 1996, at her home.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Rinka Funeral Home in Greenwood. Burial will be in the Greenwood, Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.

She was born Feb. 19, 1910, in Gallup, New Mexico.

She farmed northeast of Greenwood (Sec. 32, Beaver Twp.) until 1986.

She is survived by four daughters. Mae (William) Schunk, of Inver Grove Heights, Ann Dawes of Gurnee, Illinois, Josephine "Josie" Panneton of Forge Village, Mass., and Katherine (John) Ratkovich, of Gurnee, Illinois, one son, Jack (Gail) Gasparac, Gurnee, Illinois, thirteen grandchildren, twelve great-grand-children; and two sisters, Jenny Miller of Valparaiso, IN, and Ann Etheridge (5 Jul 1916 - 8 Jun 2017) of Forestdale, Ala.

Mike Briski, white married male, Age 30 (abt 1890), Birthplace Austria
Immigration Year 1908, Naturalization Status Papers Submitted
Relation to Head of House Head
Father's Birthplace Austria; Mother's Birthplace Austria
Native Tongue German, Able to Speak English; Able to read and Write
Occupation Farmer, Industry Home farm, Employment Field Own Account
Home Owned & Mortgaged

Mike Briski, 30 (1888) Head
Mary Briski, 27 Wife
Mary Briski, 6 Daughter
Annie Briski, 4 Daughter
Frank Briski, 3 Son
Zora Briski, 1 Daughter
Joe Briski, 33 Brother
Mary Briski 12 Daughter
Kate Briski, 9 Daughter
Eva Briski' 6 Daughter
Anne Briski, 3 Daughter

Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871-1968

Name Jakov Gasparac
Sex Male
Age 34
Birth Year (Estimated) 1899
Spouse's Name Mary Briski
Spouse's Sex Female
Spouse's Age 23
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated) 1910
Event Type Marriage
Event Date 11 Jul 1933
Event Place Cook, Illinois, United States
Event Place (Original) Cook, Illinois, United States

Birth Registration: Gasparich, May, 2 Jun 1934

Park Ridge, Cook, Illinois, United States

Name May Gasparich, White Female, b. 21 May 1934
Father's Name Jack Gasparich, Age 35
Mother's Name Mary Briski, Age 24
Event Date
Event Place Illinois, United States
Event Place (Original) Illinois
Certificate # 6
Mary Bricki, b. New Mexico

Katarina Plese was born 25 May 1891 in Delnice, Grad Delnice, Primorsko-goranska, Croatia and died 6 Nov 1956, at the age of 65. She is buried in the Hillcrest Cemetery at Gallup, McKinley County, New Mexico, USA in bk 6 row, 2 gr 64.

KATARINA PLESE (The Mechanical Transcription below likely contains errors.)

Gallup, New Mex. Section 6, H.B.Z. A good friend, Sister Catherine Dancing (Ruglova), reports the sad news thats she lost her words with this abrupt death when Katarina died on November 8, 1956, who is pictured here.

A few years ago she lost her husband Michael, and four months ago her son, and so now she is behind her Mary Jobe's daughter and five grandchildren, and in the old area in Delnice two sisters, Angneza and Ana. She was born on May 25, 2010, in Delnice, Gorski Kotar. Yugoslavia.

She was a very good member, loved her Community and accurately attended .sectional sessions. Her dead body was lying at the undertaker Roily's, where her coffin was decorated with many wreaths the flowers, among which he was The number of our 60's in A sign of the last honor.

On November 12, a mournful procession began from the funeral home to the church, where Rev. Kalhum sang the sacred mine, and then to the Hill Crest.Cemetery where her body was handed over to mother earth on an eternal resting place. Over the open grave, the secretary, Brother Joe M. Radošević, said goodbye to her.

Sister Katherine, may you be in glory and eternal rest, and to your daughter, grandchildren, sisters, relatives and to our friends, our sincere condolences to all. Matt L. Plese

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GREENWOOD--Military services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Tuesday att he Hill Funeral Home here for Airman 2.C., Frank John Gasparac, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Gasparac, route 1, Greenwood, who was killed April 17 in an auto-motorcycle accident on Guam, where he was stationed with the Air Force. Burial will be made in the Greenwood cemetery.

Frank J. Gasparac was born Nov. 6, 1942, in the township of Beaver and was a graduate of the Greenwood High School with the class of 1960. He had been employed at the post office in Highland Park, Ill., until Jan., 1963, and on Aug. 12, 1963, enlisted in the Air Force.

He received his basic training at Lackland A.F.B., San Antonio, Texas, and then was sent to Charleston A.F.B., S.C. in Feb., 1966, he was transferred to the Anderson A.F.B. on Guam.

In addition to his parents, survivors are four sisters, Mrs. William F. (Mae) Schunk, Muskego; Mrs. John W. (Ann) Dawes, Deefield, Ill.; Mrs. Robert J. (Josephine) )Panneton, Forge Village, Mass.; and Mrs. Joseph (Kathy) Sweet, Madison; and a brother, Jack A. Gasparac, Highland Park, Ill.

A2C Frank J. Gasparac, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Gasparac, R.R. 1, Greenwood (Clark Co.), Wis., was born Nov. 6, 1942 at Greenwood. He was a 1960 graduate of the Greenwood High School.

Before he enlisted with the U.S. Air Force in 1963, he was employed with the U.S. Post Office of Highland Park and Evanston, Ill. He was stationed in Guam with the 79^th aerospace Squadron when he was fatally injured as a result of a motorcycle-truck accident on April 17, 1966.

Survivors include his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Gasparac, R.R. 1, Greenwood; sisters, Mrs. Wm. F. (Mae) Schunk, Muskego, Wis.; Mrs. Jack (Ann) Dawes, Deerfield, Ill.; Mrs. Robert (Josephine) Pannenton, Forge Village, Mass.; Mrs. Joseph Sweet, Madison, Wis.; and a brother, Jack of Highland Park, Ill.

It had always been Frank’s wish to join the Air Force to serve his country and see the world.

Military services were conducted Tuesday afternoon at Hill Funeral Home. Maj. Donald M. Berg, Chaplain at Camp Douglas, officiated, and burial was made in the Greenwood Cemetery. The firing squad, color bearers and pallbearers were all from Truax Field in Madison.

Surnames: Gasparac, Schunk, Dawes, Panneton, Sweet, Voss, Warner, Troy, Miller, Etherige, Morton, Plese, Stengel, Pickert, Genkins, Nelson, Howard, Larson, Briski, Gulczinski, Berg

Military rites were held Tuesday afternoon from the Hill Funeral Home in Greenwood for A2/c Frank John Gasparac, 23, who was killed Sunday, April 17, on the island of Guam in an automobile-motorcycle accident. Burial was made in the Greenwood Cemetery. An air force chaplain officiated.

Airman Gasparac, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Gasparac of Rt. 1 Greenwood, was born November 6, 1942, in the Town of Beaver. He was graduated from Greenwood High School in 1960, and then worked in the post office at Highland Park, Ill., until January, 1963.

He enlisted in the air force August 12, 1963, and took basic training at Lackland AFB, Tex., and advanced training at Charleston AFB, S.C. before going to Anderson AFB on Guam in February.

Surviving besides his parents are four sisters, Mrs. William F. (Mae) Schunk of Muskego, Mrs. John W. (Ann) Dawes of Deerfield, Ill., Mrs. Robert J. (Josephine) Panneton of Forge Village, Mass., and Mrs. Joseph (Kathy) Sweet of Madison; and a brother, Jack A. Gasparac of Highland Park, Ill.

Military funeral services for A2/c Frank John Gasparac, who was killed in an auto-motorcycle accident on the island of Guam April 17, were held April 26 from the Hill Funeral Home in Greenwood. Officiating chaplain was Maj. Donald M. Berg of Camp Douglas. The firing squad, color bearers and pallbearers were from Truax Field, Madison. Burial was made in the Greenwood Cemetery.

Mrs. Wayne Voss sang, "America the Beautiful" and "Jesus is Always There." She was accompanied on the organ by Mrs. Don Warner.

Out of town people attending were: Mr. and Mrs. William Schunk of Muskego; Mr. and Mrs. Jack Dawes of Deerfield, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. Robert Panneton of Forge Village, Mass.; Mr. and Mrs. Jack Gasparac of Highland Park, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Sweet and son, David, of Madison; Mr. and Mrs. Clifton Miller of Gary, Ind.; Mrs. Ann Etheridge of Birmingham, Ala.; Mrs. Kenneth Morton of Troy, N. Y.; Mrs. Katie Plese of Granite City, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. Richard Stengel of Collinsville, Ill.; Mrs. Walter Pickert of Crown Point, Ind.; Miss Nancy Genkins and Mr. and Mrs. David Genkins of Highland Park, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Nelson of Skokie, Ill.; Mrs. Dale Howard and Mrs. Chester Larson of Wausau; Mr. and Mrs. Frank Briski of Thorp; Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Miller of Dorchester; Mr. and Mrs. Steve Gulczinski of Minneapolis; and relatives and friends from Willard, Wausau, Stanley, Thorp, Loyal and Greenwood and surrounding area.

Mae Gasparac Schunk --lieutenant politician teacher

Mae Gasparac Schunk, American former state official. Member Minnesota Executive Council; chair Capitol Area Architectural Planning Board; co-chair The Minnesota Alliance with Youth, the NetDay Minnesota Program, Minnesota Office of Citizenship and Volunteer Services.

Schunk, Mae Gasparac was born on May 21, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, the first child of Jakov (Jack) & Mary Briski Gasparac. She married William Schunk.

Education

In his memoir, Ventura mentioned that he chose her to "balance out all the testosterone." During her term in office, she visited schools throughout the state and frequently read to students as part of her efforts to encourage literacy and appreciation for reading among young people.

Career

Elected on the same ticket as Jesse Ventura in 1998, she became the first Reform Party member elected as lieutenant governor of any state (The party later changed its name to the Independence Party of Minnesota). Prior to her tenure as lieutenant governor, she was a teacher for 37 years. In the 2000 presidential campaign, as polls showed Texas Governor George West. Bush and United States. Vice President First Rate (at Lloyd's) Gore tied in Minnesota within 2 weeks of Election Day, Schunk endorsed Gore at a rally held on Nicollet Avenue in downtown Minneapolis while Ventura committed himself to a third-party candidate, John Hagelin.

In an interview with Cable News Network, Ventura commented that Schunk had asked him before making the endorsement, and he consented to her decision.

Schunk was educated at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. 1998 Race for Governor/Lieutenant Governor

Achievements

Mae Gasparac Schunk has been listed as a noteworthy state official by Marquis Who's Who.

Membership

Member Minnesota Executive Council. Chair Capitol Area Architectural Planning Board. Co-chair The Minnesota Alliance with Youth, the NetDay Minnesota Program, Minnesota Office of Citizenship and Volunteer Services.

Interests

Flower and vegetable gardening, creative cooking and baking, stained glass, watercolor painting, fishing.

Ask Lt. Gov. Mae Schunk how she handled unruly boys like Jesse Ventura when she was an elementary school teacher, and she breaks out of her tentative reserve, almost laughs.

"As a fifth-grader, I think he would have been very challenging," Schunk said. "But I really liked those kinds of boys. . . . I would have had him into hands-on learning very fast."

Hands-on, late-in-life learning flows both ways these days in the Ventura-Schunk administration. The 65-year-old Schunk, official understudy and a heartbeat away from the top state office, is taking a crash course in governing from the unruly 47-year-old governor, himself one of the more inexperienced people ever to hold the job.

Schunk, meanwhile, is influencing Ventura on education policy and the complicated business of public schooling, a function that consumes more state government money than any other.

That sets her apart from most previous lieutenant governors, who typically have tended to sideline issues and ceremonial functions. Schunk only occasionally cuts ribbons, preferring instead to stick to her goal of visiting each of the approximately 350 school districts in the state.

And in this year's legislative session, she played a key role within the administration on a front-line issue: whether to abandon or retain the Profile of Learning. Schunk argued in favor of fixing the profile rather than scrapping it, and Ventura followed her advice, according to administration officials.

Schunk is the other half of this truly odd couple at the state's helm.

Ventura, of course, is a south Minneapolis city guy, gut-driven, street-smart, brash, hip, politically incorrect, an exhibitionist, a child of the '60s.

Schunk is just old enough to be his mother and certainly old enough to have been his teacher.

She was reared on a Wisconsin dairy farm. She's rather meek, cautious, professional, careful not to offend, always dignified. All her life she has done the right and proper thing, a child of the '40s.

Although she clearly has expertise on the central issue of education, Schunk comes off as unsure of herself at times and not quite in command of issues outside the realm of public schools.

Until she was picked as Ventura's running mate, she had zero political experience. She was a regular voter who crossed party lines, but she had never run for office, never been an activist for causes or candidates.

Ventura selected her last summer because he was looking for a running mate who would neutralize his excess "testosterone" and provide him with some credibility on education issues.

Some Ventura aides roll their eyes at the thought of Schunk as governor, and one cabinet official remembers her asking when Ventura would be appointing county commissioners, who are elected. There is at least a suspicion that she would be overmatched by the pressure of the top job.

Could Schunk, having seldom managed anything larger than a classroom, fill the bill?

"I think so," said her predecessor, Joanne Benson, a Republican who also came into politics after a career in education. "No lieutenant governor is anxious or ready to assume the job, but I think she would rise to the occasion."

Opinions are mixed about her current readiness.

"I think it would be very difficult for her to step in," said state Rep. Alice Seagren, R-Bloomington, who worked with Schunk on education issues during the legislative session. "She doesn't have the breadth of knowledge [a governor] needs to have. . . . There's some astuteness she doesn't have."

Seagren added that Schunk is a "very, very sweet person," with "lots of integrity" and that politics could use more people like her.

Ventura himself expresses only the very slightest reservation about Schunk's ability to step in - at least right now - and he makes it clear that despite the constant national buzz about a presidential candidacy, he isn't going anywhere soon. And his health is fine.

"Mae is a complete novice to politics, but she's learning very quickly," Ventura said last week. "She could do the job, but acquiring more experience would make her more likely [to govern well]."

By all accounts, Ventura and Schunk are genuinely fond of each other, and Ventura says, "She is in the loop when she needs to be, not in on everything, but she has her business to do."

Other recent lieutenant governors, particularly Marlene Johnson under Gov. Rudy Perpich, were similarly inexperienced in state politics. And it should be noted that no lieutenant governor in Minnesota, since Perpich in 1976, has been obliged to take over because of the death, disability or departure of a governor. Perpich succeeded Wendell Anderson, when Anderson resigned to become U.S. senator.

Schunk insists that she's working hard, learning fast and ready to take command, if, God forbid, something should happen to Ventura.

She said he talks to her "sometimes three times a week, sometimes once. . . . "I feel comfortable with him. He gave me the leadership on education, and during the campaign deferred to me. . . . Sometimes he has said to me, `Mae, you have to be prepared,' and of course, you don't like to hear it."

Insiders agree that Schunk already has been a big influence on at least one crucial issue: Ventura's defense of the highly controversial new graduation standards called the Profile of Learning. The profile has been hit with criticisms that one might expect Ventura to sympathize with: too much state control of local districts, too complicated, too full of soft gobbledygook and politically correct notions, too bureaucratic.

But with Schunk at his side, Ventura late in the session suddenly took a strong stand and fought hard for changing rather than scrapping the standards.

Schunk said he kept asking her, "We're doing the right thing, aren't we?" And he almost always brings her into a defense of the profile. Christine Jax, commissioner of the Department of Children, Families and Learning, says there is no question that Schunk is an influential force in education.

"They set the broad policy; I have to figure out how it works," Jax said. Jax said she finds Schunk to be "pretty spunky herself, despite the style differences."

Schunk says she's invigorated by the amazing turn of events in her life and ready for what comes next. Returning recently from a lieutenant governors conference in Rhode Island, Schunk said she was enthusiastic about "accountability in education, technology, kids having an education in global economics." She says she's also getting up to speed on agriculture issues. "It's exciting, it's motivating, it's energizing."

The education mission

Schunk appears to be less involved in the hodgepodge of ribbon- cuttings, promotion of tourism and miscellaneous fill-in roles assigned to or assumed by previous lieutenant governors.

She did preside at a Kmart opening in Anoka recently and competed in a milking contest in Scott County, where the former farm girl defeated this year's Princess Kay of the Milky Way.

But she's been mostly occupied fulfilling her promise to visit every school district in the state, her mission being to listen and report to the governor about what needs to be done. She has visited about 70 districts in six months, with about 280 more to go.

To some, this may look like a questionable commitment of time and money, in that one probably can learn as much from visiting, say, 100 districts. But Schunk is well-received on these excursions and she says she is certain it will pay off. She says she regularly briefs Ventura on what she's learning.

At the schools, Schunk displays an obvious rapport with children and staff members and seems to command attention and respect. Her spiels consist of tried and true stuff about the paramount importance of education and doing the right thing.

On her return to the last school where she taught, Phalen Lake Elementary in St. Paul, at an assembly composed largely of Asian- Americans, she hugged her former students, gave a brief lesson on the symbolism of the American flag she brought them from the U.S. Capitol, and said: "Be proud of your country. I am."

At Scenic Heights Elementary School in Minnetonka, Schunk asked a set of standard questions about what it means to be respectful of others.

At the Heart of the Earth School, a charter school for American Indian children, Schunk joined a dance around the drums and listened to a pitch for state help in establishing a new Indian education complex in St. Anthony.

Robert Ballintine, a member of the school's advisory council, observed that Schunk "seems to have an affinity for Native American culture."

Schunk says she does indeed feel a strong bond with immigrants and other marginalized people. At Heart of the Earth, she urged the children to hang onto their heritage and language and said she regretted losing her own native tongue.

Croatian roots

Schunk is the daughter of Croatian immigrants, and her father's story, in particular, is a dramatic one.

As she tells it, Jack Gasparac was caught up in the region's timeless ethnic conflict during World War I. Captured by Serbs, he was tied to railroad tracks and left to be crushed by a train, but escaped by chewing through the ropes.

He stowed away on a ship bound for Canada, labored as a gold miner and immigrated illegally to Chicago, where he married Schunk's mother, Mary, also of Croatian descent.

They eventually bought a run-down farm east of Eau Claire, Wis. Ventura is a younger son, a carefree spirit, but Schunk was an eldest daughter and always the serious one. She was constantly reminded by her mother to provide an example and to be responsible for her five younger siblings.

"When I went to college [at what is now the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire] I was not the person who went out and did the night thing, going and drinking and that," Schunk said. "I stayed home and did my studying while everyone else ran around. I worked my way through college . . . and not just one job. . . . I was a librarian and a check-out girl."

As a cashier at a grocery store near Eau Claire, she met a local farm boy, William Schunk, who is now a software engineer for a defense contractor.

The Schunks, who were married in 1958, have a grown son, Ben, who also is in the computer business. They live in a ranch house on a 1.5- acre lot in Inver Grove Heights, and spend a lot of time in their terraced garden. Despite her prim image, William Schunk says, the lieutenant governor likes to hunt and fish and camp, and she's proficient with a shotgun.

Reformer or insider

Schunk has worked 36 years in the education trenches, teaching elementary school and, in recent years, developing curriculums for gifted and talented students.

She is a fan of the Renzuli model, or "teaching through the eight intelligences," which go beyond gifts in verbal or mathematical aptitude and include musical, artistic and athletic skills, as well as interpersonal or intrapersonal development.

Her job at Phalen Lake involved finding children with these gifts and pulling them out of their regular classrooms for special instruction.

Schunk is a creature of the public school establishment, a longtime teachers union member, but front-line experience doesn't necessarily equip one for leadership in education reform.

And so far, neither Schunk nor Ventura has come up with particularly imaginative critiques or remedies for the chronic underachievement of many children in public schools, opting instead for simple solutions such as reducing class size and exhorting parents to become more involved.

"The [Ventura-Schunk administration] doesn't really yet have an education policy; he's said as much himself," said John Brandl, dean of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, referring to Ventura. "There is an admirable attachment to public education, but it could be much broader than just appropriating more money and lowering class sizes."

Dean Barkley, a top Ventura adviser, says Ventura and Schunk are just beginning to develop a comprehensive school-improvement plan. It might include elements such as state funding tied to student performance.

Barkley says that Schunk's experience eventually will pay off and that she will be uniquely able to sell to teachers and administrators whatever plan develops.

"There's going to be a huge need to educate the stakeholders and to get buy-in from teachers unions, principals and others. They aren't going to welcome huge change with open arms. Mae could play a huge role in interacting between them and administration."

Mae Schunk

- Born: May 21, 1934, in Chicago.

- Raised: On a dairy farm in Greenwood, Wis., east of Eau Claire.

- Family: Husband, William, software engineer; son, Benjamin, 28, information services technician.

- Home: Inver Grove Heights.

- Education: Greenwood High School. B.S. in elementary education, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Master's in curriculum and instruction, University of St. Thomas.

- Career: Public-school educator in elementary grades for 36 years, mostly in the St. Paul School District. Was teacher, also served as assistant principal, curriculum specialist and teacher of gifted and talented students.

- Hobbies: Gardening, cooking, reading (most recent book: "The Courage to Teach," by Parker J. Palmer).

The tiny town of Greenwood has a direct link to the political phenomenon of the year - the election of Jesse ``The Body'' Ventura as governor of Minnesota.

His running mate, Mae Schunk, graduated from Greenwood High School in 1952 and is now lieutenant governor-elect who's preparing for her first term in office.

``She is someone you could count on and trust in,'' classmate Mary Ann Drieman told the Marshfield News-Herald for a story in Thursday's editions.

Schunk was Mae Gasparac at Greenwood High. She attended kindergarten through eighth grade at Christopherson School, a one-room school northeast of Greenwood, and she grew up on a farm in the area.

``Everyone in Greenwood is proud of this,'' District Administrator John Kammerud said. ``We are all waiting with anticipation to see how she does.''

Kammerud said he plans to invite Schunk to the school's academic awards banquet in April.

Schunk, 64, is a veteran elementary school teacher. She and Ventura, best known as a professional wrestler, are the first major candidates of Ross Perot's Reform Party to win public office. They won with 37 percent of the vote in the three-way race Nov. 3.

Up until the Ventura campaign, Schunk said she had no desire to get into politics.

``I have always been interested in politics, but I wasn't active in it,'' she said. ``I didn't belong to a party. I was more interested in the person than the party.''

Schunk recalled the day in June that she was asked to serve as Ventura's running mate.

``I was taken aback. My expression was, `What? Are you sure you have the right person?''' she recalled, admitting that she doubted the ticket would win.

Her top qualification was as an educator who had been in the classroom, Schunk said.

``I will promote parent involvement in education, because that brings about better achievement,'' she said. ``I'll also want smaller classroom sizes, because better interaction between teachers and students brings better schooling.''

She added, ``Jesse and I agree that we are not here about parties. We are here about people. What's good for the people, Jesse will sign.''

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