Wanda grew up in Ephrata, Lancaster County, in a traditional family that contained a younger sister and brother. Her father, Bob Gehret, operated, and still actively participates in, a successful insurance agency. Wanda's mother died of breast cancer in 2001.

In her high school days, Wanda was a member of the marching band and the chess club, and played on the field hockey team.  In her senior year, she was editor of the yearbook and was valedictorian of her class.

The family were conservative evangelical Christians, and that strong religious background took her to Wheaton College, where she double-majored in Bible and speech, intending to become a missionary.  But at the urging of her mother, who thought that a woman should have something practical to fall back on if times got tough, she added a minor in education.

While at Wheaton, she played a major role on the school's nationally ranked debate team and was president of the Wheaton chapter of Pi Kappa Delta.  After graduation, when her dream of being a missionary fell through because of a lack of funds, she took a position teaching English and speech at Warwick High School in Lititz.  There, a couple of her students liked her so well that they took her home to meet their father, Bill Shirk, whom she ended up marrying a year later.

In 1977, with Bill's children grown, she and Bill moved to Potter County in northcentral Pennsylvania, building their own log home near Bingham Center.  At that house, Wanda gave birth to two children, Dawn and Shawn, and began caring for foster children, leading to her and Bill parenting about two dozen foster kids over the next years.

In 1983, Wanda began teaching English at Northern Potter High School, and they moved to a larger log house at Loucks Mills, but the tough times were just beginning.  An unfortunate business investment led to their filing for bankruptcy in 1986, and they lost their home to the bank.

The next few years were exceptionally difficult, as Bill tried to establish a new business, and Wanda taught full-time, also taking on any extra duties that might bring in a few more dollars.  All they while, the couple were caring for their own two children and up to five foster kids.

After a few years, Bill's business, a distributorship for Amsoil synthetic oil products, began to pick up, but it was well into the next decade before they could begin to breathe a little easier financially.  In 2000 Bill choose to fulfill a long-time dream of moving to Maine with a new friend, citing Wanda's changes in religious views as a reason.

Wanda still operates a successful Amsoil dealership from her home on Cutler Summit, off Route 449 near Gold, where she mows the four acre lawn with a walk-behind mower.  She shares that home with daughter Dawn, and since May with her new husband, George Petrisek, a retired English teacher from Port Allegany who now is a free lance writer for a number of area newspapers-they had to forego a honeymoon canoe trip in Canada because of Survivor preparations.

Her life is extremely active, filled with civic and community involvement. She just finished a term as president of the Potter County Foster Parent Association, and is a long time member and presently chair of the Potter County Planning Commission, in addition to being a member of the Ulysses Library Board.  As a member of the Tri-Town Fire and Ambulance Company Auxiliary, she recently spearheaded the fund drive for their new building.

Her recreation is in the outdoors- a few years ago, she hiked the 85 or so rugged mountain miles of the Susquehannock Trail. She is active in the Susquehannock Trail Club and the Keystone Trails Association.

She and George hope to get the Canadian honeymoon in this summer.