Our People: Her flowers 'bloom in the spring, summer and fall'

I grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education with kindergarten certification from The University of North Texas, Denton, in 1972. I met my husband, Frank, on my third day at college, and we've been married for 46 years. I taught in the Dallas Public School System for two years.

Because Frank was in retail, we moved every few years; we've lived in the Dallas/Arlington areas three times, the Kansas City, Kansas, area twice, Jackson Tennessee, Carlsbad, and Clovis. Over the years my part-time jobs have included teaching, making pizzas and driving a pizza delivery truck, working for the Shawnee Mission, Kansas Police Department as a school crossing guard, working as a sales and packaging manager at a continental foods warehouse, cleaning houses, and child care. From 1996-2014 I was the interim director/teacher at Immanuel Lutheran Preschool. In 2014 I retired from the preschool and was immediately elected as District President of Lutheran Women's Missionary League Rocky Mountain District - which is a four year term for an area that includes New Mexico, Colorado, El Paso, Vernal, Utah, and Page, Arizona; this district is one of 40 districts and is part of the ladies auxiliary of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. I also became a member of Altrusa International Club of Clovis, Inc. in 1996 and have served as a director, secretary, Vice President, and President of the organization. I was elected Altrusan of the Year for Altrusa, Clovis in 2001. I attend Immanuel Lutheran Church in Clovis where I serve as Chairman of the Board of Christian Education, teach Sunday school, and help with our outreach programs such as our Oct. 31 - Trunk or Treat, Vacation Bible School, and our preschool. Wherever we lived, I tried to be involved in my children's lives and help them achieve their goals - so I've been a Campfire Inc leader, a Boy Scout leader, a Band Booster, a coach for Odyssey of the Mind, and a youth counselor. I've helped with dance recitals, proms, and band banquets. I've had fun with my children and enjoyed them; I was the one who cried on the first day of school, the last day of high school, and as they moved off to college.

My husband graduated from The University of North Texas, Denton, in 1971 with a degree in marketing. He's been in retail his entire career. He worked for Woolco, Woolworth, Wal-Mart, and Big Lots. He's retired from management three times and is now working part time at Big Lots.

I have three adult children: Laura was born in 1974. She graduated from UNM in 1997 with a Biology degree and then attended Michigan State University where she received her PhD in cell and molecular biology. She is married to Min Yu who is the department head of technical sales, project management and resident engineering for Bosch Corp., Italy, working on gasoline and electrification powertrain. They have three children Brianna - 10, Nathan - 7, and Bella - 2, and currently live in Pecetto Torinese, Italy. Min's assignment is for 1-3 years; they've been in Italy 1 year.

Robert was born in 1979 and attended Texas Tech and ENMU. He worked for Wal-Mart for 15 years in Portales, Lubbock, and Centennial, CO stores. He now lives in Lubbock and works for Bee Equipment Sales. He has a daughter, Tori, who is 11. He has a rescue dog that's a boxer/pitbull mix, named Archer.

Christina was born in 1988 and is my only child to attend school in the same town from preschool-high school. She graduated from NMSU with a degree in Animal Science and Washington State University with a DVM in Veterinary Medicine. She has a rescue dog named Anakin, and a rescue cat named Phoebe. She is a veterinarian at All Pets Animal Hospital in Clovis.

Tell us about your pets:

We have rescue pets because I believe there are too many animals in need; I can't help them all, but I can help one at a time. We have a fourteen year old tom cat named Digital who found our son, Robert, in Portales. We have two litter mates, Frisky and Smokey, who I found abandoned, sick, and starving on one of the preschool porches when I was weeding the flowerbeds there in 2014. We are currently taming a wild 7-month-old kitten named Diesel, who appeared around our house when he was less than 2 months old with a broken foot and starving for affection and food.

What is your most prized possession?

My mother's parents came to Wichita Falls, Texas in 1882. My grandfather had bought 300 acres of land sight-unseen about 10 miles outside of Wichita Falls. He was a blacksmith and wanted to be a farmer. That didn't go well, so he finally ended up moving the family to Wichita Falls and opening a blacksmith's shop. He bought my grandmother a beautiful Victorian style house. One of the pieces of furniture in it was an oak washstand with an attached mirror. My Uncle Lester, one of the sons, inherited this wash stand. When Lester was about 83 years old, suffering from dementia, he decided to build a fire on the washstand to get warm. His sister found the fire and put it out before it damaged anything but the washstand. I inherited the washstand, had the burned mirror and frame replace, and sanded the burned area on top of the washstand. The washstand has about an inch dip on the side where the fire burned; but I have this piece of furniture to remind me of the past, the love I had for this uncle, and this wonderful story to share.

How did you meet your spouse?

Frank and I met at college. Freshman Orientation is different now than when I went to college. In the sixties, orientation was held the week before classes started and included registration. So the dorms opened three days before classes began. The university sponsored activities for the freshmen and transferring students to attend so people could meet and socialize. What usually happened was that freshmen and transferring students were there, but also returning students would attend so they could check out "the new blood." So on my third night at college, the university sponsored a "street dance" in front of the Administration Building. My roommate, whom I had only met two days earlier, some other dorm mates, and I decided to attend. While we were wondering through the crowd, my roommate saw some of her high school friends, Frank was with that group of friends. So we all introduced ourselves, talked, danced, and the rest, as they say, "is history." So I can truly say Frank "picked me up at a street dance."

What's your idea of a perfect day?

My idea of a perfect day is to have my immediate and extended family all together where we can have time to visit, play games, and just enjoy being together. I have three older brothers. So we try to get together when possible. Because my family is all over, some in Canada, Georgia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Texas, and now Italy, that doesn't happen very often. So we prize that time when we can have all 35 of us together.

What does your garden grow?

I love flowers of all kinds. So in my yard, I take pleasure in having flowers that bloom in the spring, summer, and fall. Many days I go out and just walk around to see "how my garden is growing." Many of the plants in my yard were transplanted from my home in Wichita Falls; so as they bloom and grow I have fond memories of family connections and activities from my past. I've also shared my plants with my children, so they will have a "touch of home" wherever they go.

What are you reading?

Reading is a fun passion of mine. My favorite authors are Nora Roberts, Catherine Coulter, and Janet Evanovich. I've also developed a love for historical writings about our Founding Fathers such as George Washington and Alexander Hamilton.

How would you like to be remembered?

I would like to be remembered as a kind and loving Christian who made the world a better place and people saw in the things I did and said the "hands and feet of Jesus."