Tales of the traveling Nana
Linda Voccio leaves behind the fast pace of full-time accounting to be a full-time “Nana” and part time world traveler.
When Linda Voccio retired a year ago, from Tyson foods, where she had worked for over 11 years, she had expectations of doing a few things she and her husband had always wanted to do. She had no idea what adventures awaited her at the time or how busy retirement would really be. Leaving behind the fast pace of full-time accounting, she quickly transitioned into a full-time “Nana” and part-time traveler of the world. The Voccios’ have been members of the Rome community since they moved for Gary’s medical practice in 1990.
While Voccio’s husband Gary was young in his career as a pulmonologist, Voccio had to put off her education to take care of their three growing children: Paul, Juliet and Laine. It wasn’t until all three children were almost grown that Voccio could refocus on her education and career. She later graduated with a Master’s Degree in Business from Berry College, a school that would always be closed to her heart.
“My career began in Rome working as an administrative assistant where I transitioned into the District Director over the local American Diabetes Association,” Voccio explained. “When they closed the local office, I took a year off to focus on college, eventually going to work with SunTrust and the world of banking. After some cut backs at the Rome main office and I obtained my master’s degree while I was working in the accounting department at what was then Sara Lee, later Hillshire Brands and currently Tyson foods.”
Voccio said that with her husband’s extensive schedule it had become harder to schedule family events and trips bringing her to the decision that it was time to finally retire.
“Our children were transitioning their roles in life to parents and I wanted to be there to help them with that,” Voccio explained. “It is also nice to be able to take trips when Gary’s call schedule allows or if the kids need me to help out with the grandchildren.”
Not long after Voccio retired, her oldest child, Paul, was offered a position with a company in London, England. With his wife expecting their second child at the same time they would need to be moving, Voccio said she was honored to step in and help her daughter-in-law with all the mechanics of moving a family overseas.
“I started out my travels this year in San Antonio where I stepped in to help Laura and Paul by babysitting my grandson Silas,” Voccio said. “I had so much fun seeing him every day and helping Laura cope with moving plans and pregnancy.”
Voccio said that she had taken two more trips to San Antonio this year to help out, the second of which she got to meet her new granddaughter, Scarlett, for the first time.
“I brought Silas back with me so that Laura could focus on getting all the paperwork together needed to move the whole family to London,” Voccio said. “It was fun for myself and Gary to get to spend time at our home with our grandson.”
Voccio has also made the trip out to London to help with the unpacking and childcare while her son and daughter-in-law get used to navigating their new life with now two children.
“London is a really neat place to visit, especially seeing it with your grandchildren. There really is not car needed when you live there,” Voccio laughed. “Most all your errands and traveling can be done on foot or by public transportation. The people are also incredibly helpful and kind.”
Voccio said on several occasions strangers had stepped in to help guide her in town and help a “Nana with a sometimesbulky stroller.”
“Not only have people jumped up because they saw two ladies with children to give up their seat to complete strangers have reached to help us carry items and strollers up and down steps,” Voccio said.
“You don’t see that kind of thing here a lot in America. It was very different.”
Voccio said that the biggest challenge had been learning the ways of the London tube.
“I remember one time we were going to meet Paul for lunch and they suddenly announce we would have to disembark the subway for an earlier exit due to some work on the line,” Voccio laughed. “There is no internet underground in the subway, but thankfully there were really helpful people. We arrived a bit late to lunch, but in one piece.”
Despite a great deal of time devoted to helping her son’s family move, Voccio said that she also has enjoyed spending a great deal of time with her daughters and their children.
“Laine had her son,
Malloy right before Laura had Scarlett,” Linda said. “Malloy and Layne have come up several times to go on outings with myself and Gary, as well as my daughter Juliet’s daughter Amelia to Berry College.
“Amelia was just fascinated with the cows and we all had a wonderful time.”
Between outings with the grandchildren, Gary and Linda also have made time to do some traveling as a couple, visiting Seattle in July, Oklahoma in August and Kansas City in September.
“Gary and I have for a while enjoyed visiting the presidential libraries’,” Voccio said. “This year we were able to see Truman’s and Clinton’s libraries. Independence was a really neat little town and the Truman library was very impressive.”
Voccio said that the visits to the presidential libraries were very personal to herself and her husband. “Gary often reads their biography before we go and we always learn something we didn’t know about the presidents,” Voccio explained. “Not everyone gets to be president and you don’t often understand why they decided to be president in the first place until you really study them.”
Voccio said that a previous visit to former President Johnson had touched them most in all their visits.
“Gary and I were teenagers when he was president and his library really had an excellent representation of that time in our life,” Voccio said. “It was connected to how things were when we were young.”
They plan to try and see all the libraries once they are both retired and have an open schedule.
In addition to her position of world-traveling grandmother, Voccio said she has continued
her work with the Rome Independent Film Festival where she has been closely tied for the last four years.
“We had a really great year and I was proud of the group we had travel in to watch our movies,” Voccio said. “I got to meet Burt Reynolds, which was an absolute treat and it really brought back memories watching the ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ movies again in the theater.”
Voccio said that she was also very touched by Reynolds new film which focuses on aging and dealing with consequences and regrets.
“His work really resonated with me as we are also getting a little older,” Voccio said. “It was impressive to me that we had over 70 filmmakers show up to this festival and get to see Rome, a place where they may eventually decide to film something if they enjoyed their experience.”
Voccio said that she plans to continue working with the group in an advisory capacity in the years going forward so that she can free up time and when the RIFF festival comes around again, to enjoy the movies as a guest.
Adding to an already filled schedule, Voccio said she has thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Berry Scholars program, taking classes that range from book composition and analysis to learning to play bridge and pickleball.
“I really enjoy learning how to do new things and listening to people that can expand my understanding,” Voccio said. “I thought about what I might want to do next, but most of it is a lot of the same: more travels, more presidential libraries on top of my home gardening and just enjoying cooking for my husband.”
“One day Gary will retire,” Linda laughed. “And then we will take some longer trips.