Making Strides

Greenwood bus driver named Caregiver of the Year

It all started over a heart-shaped pizza on a cold winter afternoon in Garfield Park. Maria Dampier was a single mom trying to make ends meet. She wasn’t interested in dating. But then Bill Dampier asked her out for pizza, and she said, yes. They were both bus drivers at Perry Township Schools.

They were married on Dec. 30, 1972. On that happy occasion, she couldn’t imagine how things would turn out. Instead of growing old together at home where they built their lives around four children, Maria spends her days caring for Bill as Alzheimer’s robs him of his ability to walk, say more than a word or two, or to care for himself.