Veterans Day is this Saturday, and much of Monroe County will be recognizing the achievements and history of American veterans in one way or another.

One local veteran will be receiving special recognition in Valmeyer as Lucy Engbring celebrates her 100th birthday Nov. 11 and her many accomplishments through the years among family and friends.

Engbring is originally from Milwaukee, Wisc., born one of the oldest children of Italian immigrants.

She attended South Division High School, graduating in 1941 just a semester before her high school sweetheart Jerry graduated.

After leaving high school, Engbring found herself attending the University of Wisconsin as she pursued an education in journalism – though it was there, right amid the start of World War II, that she would be drawn toward the United States Armed Forces.

“I graduated from high school in 1941, that was the year that the war started, so I thought ‘Well, I’ll just keep going. See what’s going on here,’” Engbring said. “And of course the campus was loaded with military men. They all came there to get their lessons, learn about radio and whatever they were learning. And I thought ‘Doggone it, I’m gonna join!’ So that’s when I joined the Marine Corps.”

Engbring first went to training at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, later serving the rest of her time in the Marines at Quantico, Va., serving as an instructor.

She summarized her experience in the Marines by saying she had a good time in the service, though, as previously reported, her service was not without its hardships as she lost many men she had come to know in combat.

Engbring – along with Jerry who had served in the Navy as a pilot – left the service at the close of the war in May 1946.

She returned to the University of Wisconsin, graduating in 1948 with her journalism degree and also getting married to Jerry just before the end of her academic career.

The couple then proceeded to do quite a bit of traveling as they grew their family, with Jerry’s continued pull toward the military leading him to serve in the Air Force for 18 years – Engbring recalled spending three of those years in Madrid, Spain.

They eventually returned to Milwaukee, though Engbring recalled how Jerry heard about a job opening at the Defense Mapping Agency – now known as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency – in St. Louis, which led to their move to Old Valmeyer as Engbring wasn’t keen on living the city.

In the many years since, she and her family’s military connection has stayed strong as she and Jerry became members of Valmeyer American Legion Post 901 and she became exceptionally active in the women’s auxiliary.

Engbring spoke about her family’s experience with the military, noting that their military background stretches well beyond just herself and her late husband.

“We’ve always had a lot of military stuff going on,” Engbring said. “Our oldest son joined the Air Force. I had two sons in the Coast Guard… And then my daughter Susan, she was in the Navy for six years. We’re military people, really. That’s how we ended up being with the Legion there in Valmeyer.”

Of course, Engbring has done plenty more with her life outside of her time in the military.

Given the fact she and Jerry had 11 children, she naturally spent a great deal of time caring for them as well as the family’s farm – though when they had all entered school, she decided that she wanted to return to work.

Engbring found herself working in the Valmeyer school district as they had been looking for someone to help in the library part time. Her work there then turned into overseeing remedial reading and serving as a teacher’s aide.

She later attended McKendree University to get a teaching certificate as she felt herself drawn to the profession, though, not wanting to leave Jerry alone as he entered retirement, she opted to work as a substitute teacher, teaching, as she said, every class.

Engbring has also had the chance to put her journalism degree to use over the years.

She recalled how she attended an auxiliary meeting and decided to try and drum up some interest in the meeting within the community.

She wrote an article and sent it to Bob Voris, longtime editor and publisher of the Waterloo Republican.

“I got a call from him,” Engbring said. “He said, ‘Well, have you written before?’ I said, ‘Well no, I just graduated from school and did journalism work there.’ He said, ‘Oh, I could tell right away that you like to write. I’d like you to write for us.’”

Despite her concerns about having time to write given her many other responsibilities, Engbring managed to put together a column called “The Family” for eight or nine years, also writing hard news – community meetings and such – for Valmeyer, a task which she undertook for four years.

The work eventually became too much for her, and she had to step away, though she did show her writing skills again as she wrote for the Monroe County Independent for 15 years.

Engbring has seen a tremendous amount of change over her century of life, from the 1993 flood to several moves of the Valmeyer Legion Hall.

She has further managed to touch the lives of many around her, both in her family and in the community.

Her daughter Susan offered some kind words for her mother as she approaches her 100th birthday.

Susan noted the amount of change Engbring has seen over the years. She recalled how her mother has spoken about growing up with no car, telephone or TV only to now be in the digital age, happily using a computer.

She further spoke about how generally impressive Engbring is, always staying composed and cheerful through life.

“She is an amazing mother and an amazing all-around person,” Susan said. “I think she’s happy, she’s very excited to see all her kids, her grandkids, her great-grandkids and family friends who are gonna come, hang around, honor her, sing happy birthday. She’s seen a whole lot in her lifetime, and she has really learned to just go with the flow.”

Mary Asselmeier, a friend and colleague of Engbring’s through the Post 901 women’s auxiliary, similarly praised her, noting how dedicated she has been and continues to be in her work as she still attends meetings and only recently stepped away from being the organization’s historian.

“She and her husband Jerry were always involved, always in it, always with it, and their children are equally lovely,” Asselmeier said. “They’ve just raised a beautiful family. Great spirit. Just givers for sure. She has a very giving heart. She’s a very lovely person.”

Engbring is still sharp as a tack and is quite pleased with the life she’s lived these many years.

As previously mentioned, she’ll be recognized during a private gathering at the Valmeyer American Legion this Saturday, with many of her friends and family packing into the hall to celebrate her milestone birthday.

“It’s been a great life so far,” Engbring said. “I tell all my kids, if I should go to sleep tonight and not wake up tomorrow morning, I would die happy because I’ve had a great life. I can’t complain.”