Birth Date: April, 1949

Number of Children: 5 Children, 30 Grandchildren, 1 Great-grandchild

A Little Something About You:

“Once my youngest started school, I began teaching full-time. Over a period of thirty years, I taught junior and senior high at a classical, ecumenical school, and I was often the dean of girls. I have been retired for four years. Since retiring, I have been teaching the lectors and extraordinary ministers of communion at our church, and I have recently been placed on the pastoral council. I have also been part of a team that creates and gives retreats for differently abled adults, as well as holding monthly gatherings.”

Your Favorite Book:

“I love books, so it is hard to choose a favorite. I guess if I had to choose what I could bring on a vacation to a desert island, I would bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s Ring Trilogy. (I know, that’s cheating a little, because it’s three books).”

What piece of advice has helped you most as a mother?

“The advice I clung to as a mother was three-fold, depending on the season of life: 1. “Do not let your soul despair for their crying.” 2. Expect to correct. And as they grew older, 3.  I did not have to be the Holy Spirit to my children. There is one Holy Spirit, who is perfectly capable. I would, no doubt, mess up big time if I tried to do his job, so I better leave it to him. I simply need to pray and then hand them over. This really helped me not to feel so responsible. I did my best; they were making choices, with the help of the Spirit.”

What is your favorite scripture?

“My favorite Scripture as a mom is 1 Peter 4:8 ‘…for love covers over a multitude of sins.'”

Finish this statement, “Motherhood is a mighty calling, because…”

“Motherhood is a mighty calling, because the Lord trusts us to raise up new saints for his Kingdom. We share in his own ministry by sacrificing in every area of our lives in order to bring this about – and we often do it in the face of opposition and scorn from the culture.”