About The Author
Lynn Assimacopoulos
Lynn Assimacopoulos didn’t realize it at the time, but being laid off from her job as a hospital staff nurse would be one of the best things that could’ve happened to her. The year was 1990 and Lynn was looking at job ads when she noticed one for a nurse writer at the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society’s Long Term Care National Campus. This temporary, six-week position intrigued her.
“I had never really heard much about the organization and had absolutely no experience in long-term care, yet I could not get the words ‘nurse writer’ out of my head,” says Lynn. “Nor could I even believe there was actually a job about the two things I loved the most – nursing and writing.”
Lynn began writing at the age of 5 and had wanted to be a journalist but she ended up going to nursing school instead and had worked at the Red Cross, a home health care agency and local hospital ICUs in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Still, she decided to apply at the Society. And after being hired, she was elated. “Since the very first day, I loved every minute of it,” Lynn says. “I continually prayed that they would need me to stay on permanently.”
Her prayer was answered at the end of those six weeks. The temporary job became a part-time job and later, a full-time position as nurse writer/project consultant. As the sole nurse writer on staff, Lynn aided in the writing of departmental policy and procedure manuals with the Society’s nursing, dietary, social work, activities, medical records and therapy consultants. She also taught a class on cultural awareness for some of the Society’s workshops.
“I couldn’t wait to go to work every day,” she says.
my hobbies
My oldest son got me interested in rock hunting when he was about 12 years old. He and his best friend had me drive them to various natural locations to hunt for different kinds. They collected them and also made jewelry from some rocks. I started to collect some rocks because I found them most interesting. This is my basket of various interesting rocks from various places on the earth.
The Earth is made out of many different types of rocks and minerals. Rocks are continually evolving and changing; they don’t stay the same over long periods of time. As the wind blows or water runs over rocks, they become worn down and pieces of them blow or wash away to gather in other places. Scientists separate rocks into three different types, which are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Igneous rocks form when melted rock cools and becomes hard again. Sedimentary rocks have layers of sediment that build up over time to form the rocks. Metamorphic rocks are the rocks that form after high pressure or heat changes other rocks.
I collect some of these which are called Greek worry beads.(My husband was Greek), and have some hanging on my wall. Sometimes I give these as gifts also.
Worry beads or kombolói, kompoloi (Greek: κομπολόι, IPA: , bead collection; plural: κομπολόγια, IPA: ) is a string of beads manipulated with one or two hands and used to pass time in Greek and Cypriot culture. Unlike the similar prayer beads used in many religious traditions, including the Greek Orthodox komboskini, worry beads have no religious or ceremonial purpose.
I have done genealogy on my own family and my husbands. My pictured genealogy book is about 5 inches thick and I have traced relatives back to the1500s.
Genealogy is the study of family origins and history. Genealogists compile lists of ancestors, which they arrange in pedigree charts or other written forms.
What is a simple definition of genealogy?
noun, plural ge·ne·al·o·gies. a record or account of the ancestry and descent of a person, family, group, etc. the study of family ancestries and histories. descent from an original form or progenitor; lineage; ancestry.
Inspiration for a Book
Lynn also liked being able to pray at work. But the thought of giving a devotion made her nervous. Knowing she might be asked by the Rev. Dr. Greg Wilcox, she wrote a few devotions just in case. “He caught me one time by the coffee machine and asked me if I’d give devotions and I couldn’t say no,” says Lynn. One time after she gave a devotion, a co-worker spoke to her and encouraged her to write a book. She decided to try, but she didn’t tell her family. “I secretly took it to a local publishing company,” Lynn says. “For Christmas, I gave each of them a copy and they looked at me in surprise.”
Her book, “I Thought There Was a Road There,” was self-published in 2000. It was a compilation of some of the devotionals she had written during her time at the Society, along with others she had written. “I felt like I developed those devotional ideas because I worked there, so I gave all the proceeds from the book back to the Society,” she says.
Writing today
Even though she retired in 2005, Lynn still loves to write. She had another book published in 2015 titled “Separated Lives.” The book is about her helping a young man search for his birth parents – a “sometimes tearful journey with unexpected twists and turns.” At 83, she still wishes she could work as a nurse but she tries to keep busy in other ways. She spends much of her time staying in contact with her three sons, 6 grandchildren, friends and former co-workers. She reflects fondly on her time with the Society. “It was the most wonderful organization with the best, honest, truly Christian, hard-working persons I had ever worked beside,” says Lynn. “I will forever cherish every day I spent there. It was a joy and one of the most rewarding treasures of my life.”