Life reset allows woman to find 'her happy place'
Jun. 13—At age 65, Dornsife resident Diane Brosius was open to a new adventure when she unexpectedly lost her job last November.
After nearly four decades working in the legal profession, Brosius, the married mother of two grown children is now a hospitality employee in Yellowstone National Park.
"It's totally different. I'm getting used to the software program," said Brosius who has been working at the front desk of Old Faithful Inn since May 5.
The national park in Wyoming has been a favorite destination of the avid outdoorswoman since she was 12. She and her husband, Randy, have visited the area many times over the years.
"The last trip was two years ago. I just love it. The Grand Tetons, the geysers, the animals," Brosius said. "I'll just sit and watch wolves, grizzlies, brown bear, elk, mule deer. It's amazing."
Most people who know Brosius are well aware of her love of Wyoming. While working 37 years as a paralegal for Sunbury attorney Thomas Boop, she often joked about leaving the Valley for a job in Yellowstone.
Boop retired last year and Brosius went to work for another law firm until a week before Thanksgiving when she was fired.
"I was stunned. I'd never been laid off," she said. "It's what I went to school to do. I'm one of the few who was doing what I went to college for."
Months of job-searching ended in January when she applied for front desk work at Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park. Within days she had a telephone interview and was promptly hired.
"I wasn't expecting that. I said, 'Can I get back to you because my husband doesn't know I applied for a job,'" Brosius said, laughing at the memory. "He was a little shocked at first" but encouraged her to take the six-month position.
Randy Brosius said his wife was "getting bored" while unemployed and she suspected her age was hindering her job prospects.
"That probably had something to do with" her leaving for seasonal work 2,000 miles from home, he said. "A lot of people wouldn't have the nerve to do what she's doing.
"I told her to go, I didn't want to stand in her way," said Randy Brosius. "And I know she's coming back."
On April 25, Brosius "left my husband, my kids, my two grandchildren and my dog" and headed to Yellowstone to work until Oct. 9. Her daughter, Erin Brosius, of Nazareth, traveled with her across the country by car and flew back to Pennsylvania.
She lives in a dormitory on the sprawling lodging property with other inn employees.
"A lot of them are retirees and husbands and wives," said Brosius, admitting to recently experiencing a bit of "homesickness. But I had two days off and I'm better now." She's looking forward to friends visiting in August.
While it's always been her goal to join Yellowstone National Park's 3,000 seasonal workers, Brosius said she will return home in the fall and renew her search for a job in the legal field.
For now, her focus is on serving tourists at the inn, getting used to living in a higher altitude and enjoying nature.
Leona Rathburn, of Milton, wondered if spending so much time working in customer service had dulled her daughter's ardor for Yellowstone.
"My mother asked me, 'Is it still your happy place? I said, 'Yes, it's a permanent vacation,'" Brosius said. "I'm so glad I did it."
