How long have you worshiped at Saint Philip’s?
My husband, Jack, and I left Santa Barbara to move to Tucson in 1963. I’ve been a member since then.

Were you raised in a faith tradition?
My father was Roman Catholic, and my mother (who was Swiss) was Evangelical Lutheran. I’m the fourth of five children and I remember being about four or five years old when we started attending St. John’s Episcopal Church in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Well, my siblings and I attended. My father dropped us off at Sunday school every week and then picked us up afterwards.

On the way home from church we would always stop at the barber shop to get our shoes shined. I remember wondering why we would do that after church instead of beforehand.

The answer was that my dad played the numbers at the barber shop!

Sunday School identified a passion that led to your later career.
It did. I taught Sunday School when I was a teenager. (My father said that if we didn’t go to church on Sunday we couldn’t go out on Saturday night.)

I discovered I loved teaching. Professionally, I taught kids at every level except university. My favorite grade was 8.

What about that age made it your favorite?
The kids were in a growth period where they didn’t get along with their parents but still wanted an adult who could answer questions and who they could identify with. That’s the perfect age for a teacher to have influence—and that’s a thrill.

What was important for you to pass along within your scope of influence?
A few things. I wanted them to experience learning as fun and interesting. I also had them work in groups so they could learn that working with other people could help them accomplish bigger goals than if they worked alone.

What types of group exercises did you create for your students?
I took a course at the University of Arizona on how to write simulations. Pretty much anything that was taught in Social Studies class could be made into a simulation.

Can you give an example?
The kids would learn about how trials work and then we would have mock trials. Or they’d learn how elections are carried out and they would have mock elections. The kids loved it.

When they turned 18 they were supposed to call me and confirm they registered to vote.

When I retired the school district asked me to stay on for part of the next year and write simulations that other teachers could use in the future.

You were very involved at Saint Philip’s over the years. What were some ways you volunteered?
I did a lot of teaching. I helped children learn how to be acolytes, I taught Sunday School, and I led EfM (Education for Ministry) classes.

I was also a Eucharistic Minister. At any given time I took communion to about 10 people regularly. I was also very involved with the Altar Guild, and served for a time as the Directress.

Your connection to the parish is different now but you’re still involved.
That’s right. I’ll be 97 years old in June and I live in Desert Springs retirement home in Oro Valley. I’ve been here about 3 ½ years now and my life has changed so much because of that.

I now attend the off-campus worship services on Sundays. Parishioner Raymond Dewey volunteers and leads a service. I don’t think most attendees are Episcopalians but we have a good group of regular worshipers.

What’s something you’re proud of?
I’m proud of saying yes when my husband Jack asked me to marry him. He was the most remarkable thing to ever happen to me.

Jack had a PhD in Philosophy and was a cultural anthropologist. His work gave us a life that was interesting and exciting. We lived in several foreign countries and traveled all over the world.

Jack was good at what he did, and he was asked to do things that took us places that we ordinarily wouldn’t have visited.

What are some of your favorite memories?
No matter where we traveled Jack and I brought our kids along with us. We lived in Spain, England, and Peru, and visited a lot of other countries.

For ten years we rented a sailboat with friends and would live on the boat and sail for two weeks.

Jack had a great sense of adventure and a curiosity to learn about how other people live and why they live the way they do.

You took advantage of that when you were a teacher, right?
I did. One year I asked Jack if he would take my class on a week-long camping trip to some of the reservations in Arizona. He was all in.

I got permission from the school board and the parents (who had to join us). The kids were totally intrigued.

Do you have any hobbies?
I used to love to cook. A good friend of ours married a woman whose grandmother was from Mexico. She taught me how to make the best chicken enchilada you’ve ever eaten.

I edited a cook book for Saint Philip’s 75^th anniversary. No copies are left because they sold out. Warren Edminster did all the illustrations.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with readers?
Saint Philip’s has been a very special influence on my life and the source of most of my close friends. I am very grateful.