Falling out of the Cradle into the Boardroom

By Billi Saucier

This book is the story of a twin girl who survives a childhood of abandonment, foster homes, boarding school, an extended family, and an abusive marriage at eighteen. Following her exit from that marriage at twenty-seven with four children, Saucier devotes her efforts to making a life for her children, furthering her education, and pursuing a career. In the face of prejudice against working mothers and divorcées, Saucier becomes a corporate leader, breaking the glass ceiling at the age of thirty-five as a vice president of Medtronic Inc.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984554550

Billi Saucier

Spending over 25 years as a corporate leader, Saucier first became a corporate officer in 1971, as Vice President of Medtronic, Inc., a pioneer of the implantable cardiac pace-maker. For more than five years prior to that time, Saucier played the role in top management of the company during the growth from a start-up company to a large international leader. Prior to joining Medtronic, Saucier held various positions in several major corporations, such as Pillsbury Mills, Honeywell, Soo Line Railroad, and smaller firms, such as a law firm, municipal bond firm, air conditioning manufacturer, engineering firm, and a city and county planning firm. It was her background in these jobs that prepared her for success in Medtronic. Later, Saucier held position of executive vice president, president and board of director in several corporations, including Lund Martin, Inc., Minnesota Laser, and Surgical Inovations, Inc. Spending eight years as a business consultant, Saucier worked with start-up companies in the medical device field. Saucier attributes her success to several factors: a great deal of self-education, recognizing opportunities, attempting new challenges, and a willingness to make others look good without personal recognition. During the years of raising her four children, as a divorced mother, Saucier devoted all of her time and efforts to her children, career and education. In addition to attending night school at the University of Minnesota, she also attended many classes pertaining to her job. To expand her business acumen, she joined professional societies, such as Administrative Management Society, National Planners Society, Public Relations Society of America, Zonta International and Association for the Advancement of Medicine. When her children were in college, she became active as a leader in the community in organizations such as United Way Corporate Contributions Manager, an American Arbitrator, the Children Home Society Fund Raiser, International Water Ski Event in the Minneapolis Acquatennial, Member of the Minnetonka Planning Commission, participation in the Minority Entrepreneur Development Association, and Boys and Girls Club Fund Raisers. Upon retirement, Saucier enrolled in a nursing program, to satisfy her desire to work directly with patients. She worked in the oncology department of a major clinic, which is now the Santa Barbara Cancer Center of Sansum, until she was 79 years old. Still a high energy person, Saucier finds time for bridge, jazz, symphony, oil painting, nine grandchildren, ten great grandchildren, and her many friends.

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Copyright © 2018 by Billi Saucier.

ISBN:       Hardcover       978-1-9845-5457-4

                 Softcover         978-1-9845-5456-7

                 eBook               978-1-9845-5455-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Rev. date: 09/18/2018

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CONTENTS

Introduction

Falling Out Of The Cradle

Putting Humpty Dumpty Together

Jumping Out Of The Cradle

From The Frying Pan Into The Fire

Turning Point

From Secretary To Corporate Leader

Growth, Opportunity, And Change

Some Of My International Endeavors

Becoming A Vice President

Reflections

References

Dedicated to my exceptional and loving children

Steve, Renee, Todd and John.

INTRODUCTION

In the shadows of the Mayo Clinic sat St. Joseph’s Hospital in Mankato, Minnesota. The hospital staff buzzed with excitement, and the local newspaper camped outside the newborn nursery. What was the cause of all this commotion? Dr. William Black, the chief of staff, was becoming the new grandfather of identical twin girls.

While our mother, Dorothy Black, lived about sixty miles away, in the Twin Cities, she came home to Mankato, Minnesota, for our birth. While we suffered from bronchitis, laryngitis, and premature birth, our cries could not be heard. In order to monitor our progress closely, our grandfather set up a bed next to our incubators.

In honor of my grandfather, I was given the name of Wilhemine. For nine generations, the oldest daughter of the oldest daughter had been named Evelyn. As the oldest by twenty-nine minutes, I also held this honor. At the other end of the spectrum, my twin sister was named Mary Catherine, after my mother’s only sister. We were always known as Mimi and Billi.

A product of doting parents and a silver-spoon existence, our mother was one of the few women attending college in 1935. Graduating tenth in her class from the University of Minnesota with a degree in journalism, she continued her education for a master’s degree in social work after our birth. Our father, who had grown up in Boston, likewise continued to attend the university. Experiencing a life of social advantages during the Depression while most others were deprived, our mother was ill prepared to make the necessary sacrifices required in raising twin baby girls.

Not to worry though. Our grandparents were there to provide whatever we needed. Even though our parents lived in Minneapolis, my early memories are of my grandparents’ home in Mankato. Complete with child-size mahogany furniture, china dishes, and china-faced dolls, our playhouse on the third floor of their home was a childhood dream. Tea parties, playacting, and assisting the maid in the kitchen characterized our play. Stories of our escapades linger in my mind, blending with real memories.

I vividly remember that it was our grandfather who provided us with a cradle of love and adulation in our early years. I dedicate this book to him. While I hope he hasn’t been able to watch the suffering we endured as a result of his death, I hope he’s been able to observe our survival and success in dealing with it.

FALLING OUT OF THE CRADLE

Huddled in the dark next to my twin sister, I could hear children playing nearby. Having climbed into the toy cupboard under a window bench, Mimi and I were alone together, hidden from the world. Suddenly, it became very quiet. It was dark and scary. The children must have left. We could now plan what we would do and talk about what might have happened to our parents. I felt abandoned and lost. I ached inside and wanted to cry. Somehow I couldn’t. Having Mimi next to me felt good.

A week or so ago, we had been taken to this castle-like house on a hill. Isolated in a large bedroom way up high, we were receiving our meals from a dumbwaiter. Mrs. Tripp, a grandmother-like person, told us we would have to stay in this room until she was sure we weren’t sick. She didn’t want us to give any germs to the other children. I wasn’t sure, but I thought she said this place was called the children’s home. To make ourselves feel better, we pretended we were on an adventure to a castle and being kept prisoners. Although we didn’t know what happened to our sisters, Yvonne and Valeria, we pretended they stayed home. That way, we avoided the thought of our parents sending us there.

Days went by. We began planning our escape down the dumbwaiter. Just when we had a plan, Mrs. Tripp showed up. As she took us into a playroom full of children, I thought maybe we would find Yvonne and Valeria. Looking around the room at all the children, we searched for our little sisters. Not finding them, we were filled with panic. Too stunned by the entire experience, we didn’t question Mrs. Tripp about them.

As we sat close to each other on a bench, a nosy little girl named Nona teased us. What happened to your mother and father? she asked.

Mimi answered, Our daddy went fishing.

I told them that we had two baby sisters, aged one and two. Other girls began to gather around us. I told them how Valeria had long blond curls and blue eyes and how she could sing Mary Had a Little Lamb. Yvonne has auburn pigtails, I said.

One of the girls, who had long braids and freckles, accused me of making that story up. Each of the girls told us how she had been brought there because her parents had died. Learning the horrid truth about this place from these girls sent shivers through my body.

No one had told us our mother and father had died. We knew our mother was sick and she had been put in the hospital. I remember my father counting his money the night before he left us. When I had asked him why, he told me he was going on a fishing trip. The next day he took all four of us girls to Lorraine’s house. Since Lorraine had a parrot that talked and she always made us spaghetti, we were happy to go there to visit. What we didn’t realize was that our father would never return for us.

Filled with fright and pain, we managed to sneak into a toy cupboard to hide. Now what should we do? I wondered if our grandfather knew where we were. I knew he would come and get us if he knew what had happened to us. What had happened to Yvonne and Valeria?

I kept myself busy, remembering how our grandfather had always rescued us when our parents left us or we became ill. How we loved him. Because he was always leaving to visit his patients, we called him Bye-Bye. Often we were very mischievous. Then Grampa would get very serious with us. Yet he had a twinkle in his eye as he spoke, so he never scared me.

As I was thinking about our happy times, I heard a worried voice close to our cupboard.

Where could those girls have gone? It is too cold for them to go outside without coats.

Then we heard a door close. I wondered if anyone would ever find us. Hunger was beginning to set in; my stomach growled, and I was thirsty. We began to question whether or not we should come out of the cupboard. Slowly Mimi opened the door a little. We crept out into the playroom. Empty and dark, it felt lonely. The only light came from a doorway down the hall.

Softly walking down the hallway, we could hear voices of children as we approached the lit doorway. As I smelled the food, I wished I could eat. To my surprise, I now wanted to join them. As we walked into the dining room, we were greeted by a smiling Mrs. Tripp. All the children clapped! Here we thought they didn’t like us. Now they seemed so happy to see us.

Weeks went by, and no one would tell us what happened to our family. Finally, Mrs. Tripp took us to see our little sisters, Yvonne and Valeria. Valeria had been put in a nursery with other babies. I remember the big room with rows of white cribs. Yvonne had been put in a nursery with other children too young to go to school. With tears in their eyes, they hugged us and begged to stay with us. We asked if they could visit our playroom to meet the other girls. We were so happy when Mrs. Tripp agreed. When the time came for them to return to their nurseries, they both clung to us as they sobbed. I felt so sorry for them, yet so helpless.

Mrs. Tripp told us that they would be leaving us to live in a very nice foster home way out in Deephaven, a suburb of Minneapolis. Even though Mrs. Tripp told us that they were not dead, she didn’t know any more about the situation. Fighting back a deluge of tears, we hugged our little sisters as though we might never see them again.

Despite Mrs. Tripp’s assurances that we would be able to visit them, we didn’t believe her. She said they were only being taken there because they were too young to live in a children’s home. We believed they were being taken away from us forever.

Why can’t we go with them? We will help take care of them. We promise not to quarrel, my sister said.

No, we aren’t able to put you in a foster home yet, said Mrs. Tripp with a sad look on her face.

After being separated from everyone in our family, we were truly frightened that we might lose each other.

Are we going to stay together? Mimi bravely asked Mrs. Tripp.

While her positive reply gave us comfort, the trauma of being taken to an orphanage at the age of five, without knowing why, left us with a feeling of abandonment. Only years later would I realize its impact—the fear of emotional and physical dependence. Only years later would I realize that the attention and love given to us by strangers during this crisis would result in my becoming a major risk-taker.

Quite unexpectedly, we were taken into a very large parlor with huge, dark furniture and a big red rug. Our aunt Mary and uncle Bill had come to see us. Running across the room, we each landed in one of their laps for big hugs. Now, I thought, we would finally find out what happened to our family. Maybe they had come to take us home. Uncle Bill was a doctor. Aunt Mary was a lieutenant in the Air Force.

Our smiling aunt became very serious. With tears in her eyes, she told us how our grandfather had gone to be with our grandmother in heaven. I felt my body go numb.

Is our mother dead too? I asked.

Our aunt assured us our mother was alive in Midway Hospital, not far away. Even though she told us our mother would come to visit us soon, I felt abandoned and unable to speak. Everything in the room seemed to be distant and unreal.

Wondering why we couldn’t come to live with aunt Mary, we cried and begged her to take us home. We couldn’t understand how she could leave us in such a place. Losing our grandfather was like losing everything we had ever had. He was the person we relied on and believed in for as long as we could remember. I knew he would never have left us in a place like this. If he were in heaven with our grandmother, as our aunt said, why wouldn’t he have God do something about us?

In her usual manner, my aunt gave us big hugs and tried to distract us with gifts she had brought us. As we discovered the eyes of the china dolls opened and closed, we hugged each doll, hoping we could keep them. Mimi’s doll was pretty, dressed in blue velvet and had brown hair. I thought my doll was cute. She was dressed in a red-checkered dress and had blond hair. Unlike most occasions, we didn’t even argue over which doll we wanted. Usually, we were given the same kind of everything; otherwise, we would always want whatever the other had.

As we opened the large box with camel hair coat and legging sets, I noticed the look on Mrs. Tripp’s face. Later, we learned that these beautiful outfits would be exchanged for snowsuits. This loss was compensated for by the news that the snowsuits would make it possible for us to play outside in the snow.

As we awoke each morning, we kept hoping our mother would come to visit or that we might hear from her. We heard nothing. I felt angry and forgotten. While listening one night to the older girls in the dormitory, we learned that people visited on Sundays to find children for adoption. Watching the children as they played on the playground, they would sometimes pick out a child. From then on, we made every effort to show off and to get their attention. If we spotted anyone watching us, we would make a point of getting close to them, smiling and behaving very well. Time after time, we did this little act, but no one chose us. Why wouldn’t someone want us? I remember thinking.

After what seemed like years, our mother did come to visit us. Tears ran down our faces as we walked into the parlor to