Continuing Careers

Glenridge members Walter and Jean Vallee have always been career-minded. While both are retired from full-time careers (Walter in law enforcement and Jean in professional modeling), they still continue to work in their respective fields.

Today, Walter has leveraged the 28 years he spent with the Chicago Police Department into a 30-40 hour-a-week job in security. “I had a fantastic career, and I enjoyed every minute of it,” he says. “Just about everything that could conceivably happen in a big city eventually did. I saw it all.”

Even though he retired as deputy chief in 1986, Walter has never stopped working. “I still love what I do,” he says. “There’s no such thing as a bad day, as far as I’m concerned.”

Jean Vallee – a former high-fashion model – still works, as well. She spent most of her career in Chicago, modeling for both television and print, before moving to New York, where she was a designer’s model with the exclusive Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan and also worked for major accounts in the area. “I was lucky to have one of the top jobs in the high-fashion world,” she says. “I worked with interesting people and traveled a lot. It was
really exciting.”

Jean recalls the pressures of being a full-time fashion model – having to watch what she ate
and exercise regularly. “We put in long hours and had vigorous schedules,” she recalls.

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