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Member Profiles
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I think of my life as a tapestry embroidered not by knights and mythical creatures but by incredibly strong women. In 1925, at the age of 17 and all alone, my grandmother came to the US from Germany via Ellis Island. She came to Wyoming on a sponsorship from an uncle and has lived there ever since. At 97, Marie still lives at home. She has outlived her husband of over 50 years and 2 of her three children. Her remaining child, my mother, is another strong woman woven into my tapestry. Johanna was brought up on the "good discipline" that could be defined only as abuse and neglect. She married my dad whose military intelligence career would take them far from home. After a stint in Germany, where I was born, my mom returned to Wyoming with two little kids and a third on the way, while my dad went to Vietnam. He was captured and remained a prisoner for over 5 years. My mother became actively involved with The Waiting Wives Association. It was she who, with other like-minded individuals, created the "Don't Let Them Be Forgotten" slogans and now famous graphics, as well as the POW bracelets which were distributed from our home. My mother attended the Paris Peace Talks and spent countless hours on the streets getting signatures on petitions to bring the POW's home and demand information of MIA's. I remember as a little girl manning petition tables, posing for photos and riding parade floats--all to put a face to those who were still waiting. | 
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When my father did finally return, he was sick, mentally tormented and abusive. My mother, fearing for her children, left him. Between bouts of debilitating depression and just trying to make ends meet, she suffered a stroke at age 40. My older brother moved out and spent his last year of high school with our father's mother. My younger brother spent his last year of high school in jail and two years later, while working in Arizona, was killed in a car accident. Because the stroke prevented her from having a full time job my mother learned how to become a massage therapist and discovered that she has healing hands. When she learned that she could heal others, she healed herself.
My tapestry has a beautiful portrait of another amazing woman as well: my mother's sister, Elizabeth. An inspirational high school art teacher, she was my best friend, at times a mother that mine could not be, and a big sister all rolled into one. She, along with her husband, was also my role model of what a happy marriage could look like. At the age of 40, she was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. I held her hand through chemo. sessions and stood by her as her hair fell out. We cried a lot and also laughed. She lost her battle after 7 amazing years of strength, humor and dignity.
My step-mother, too, is embroidered into my life. She saw the good that was left in my dad and made a commitment to him that astounded and bewildered us all. With her amazing strength and patience, she helped him recover and literally return to sanity. Jody also fought a terrifying and heroic battle with cancer. She was a true victor and remains healthy today. Together, she and my dad have become the best grandparents, bar none! My 2 sons adore them.
So I could tell you about my credentials in teaching, my love of Talented and Gifted education and my experiences working overseas. And I could go on about the homes, family and business my husband and I have created together or my hobbies of gourmet cooking, snorkeling, gardening. But those are only the elements and small details in the back and foreground of my tapestry's composition. And while my husband and sons are the silver and gold threads, it is the brilliant shades of these and other amazing women who are the main subjects of who I am.
Of course at age 40, my tapestry is no where near to being completed. And as I search for new colors, new strands and pieces, it is only logical that I gravitate to an organization of strong women like Zonta.