Hometown: Walters, Oklahoma
Present City: Garland
Education: B.A., Oklahoma Baptist University; M.S.W., Washington University, St. Louis
Profession: Longtime social worker, working mostly in private practice and hospice work.
Tell us about your family.
My family consists of my two dear sons, Matthew and Russell, and me. John, my husband, died in Abilene in 2009.
How about your work or volunteer life?
Since moving to the Metroplex, I have been involved at Wilshire working to lead grief support groups through the Grief and Loss Center of North Texas. Early on I worked with children’s grief support groups alongside Laurie Taylor.
Any favorite hobbies?
I like to walk in my neighborhood, but that has gotten difficult since I began to experience balance problems. I read almost all the time! I am always reading at least one serious book and one fiction book. I’m working on Tim Alberta’s book, The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory as well as my most recent edition of Christian Ethics.
What are your favorite places to travel?
I love to travel to Europe, especially England and Scotland. I also love to travel every summer. Several of my friends and I drive to South Fork, Colorado, where we stay with Carolyn Strickland, who I call “the hostess with the most-est!” She has a new itinerary for us each day and it’s always new places or adventures we’ve not had before.
What brought you to Wilshire and when?
I knew I wanted to join Wilshire by the time I had moved here from Abilene because John and I had visited Wilshire with Wesley Coffman, John’s colleague in the music school at Hardin-Simmons University. After coming to Wilshire, I immediately joined New Song Senior Adult Community Choir.
What has surprised you most about Wilshire?
Not much has surprised me, but I’m very proud of serving on the study group that recommended we become a welcoming and affirming church.
What do you think God is up to in your life right now?
I think God is preparing me for continuing to be God’s representative with the folks I work with, both in the Grief and Loss Center and in New Song. I think I am to show how to live life with disabilities.
What’s something interesting most people would not know about you?
When I was young, I was a tomboy who played softball (with a hardball) and no glove. I then played on a church softball team in Abilene with a glove that I still have!