Not long after leaving the farm in Iowa to enlist in the Navy, my father was accepted to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. My mother, a native of Rhode Island, met him at a midshipman's dance where the romance blossomed. Soon after graduating from the Naval Academy, my parents married and my father transferred to the Air Force to be a fighter pilot. I was fortunate to see the world and old enough to realize my dad was flying dangerous missions when stationed in Vietnam. I have a special love and gratitude for our veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice.

I am blessed to be the mother of six children, but tragedy struck when my oldest died suddenly in 1999. I believe God gives us graces in the midst of sorrow, though. I found this out soon after when my mother was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). I would travel home as often as I could while being a single parent to the three younger children who were still in school. For six months in 2003, I would stay each month to assist my father in caring for my mother. When she died May 6, 2003, I was able to help my father plan for my mother’s funeral and burial in Arlington National Cemetery.

That was only one of the gifts I received a few years earlier. Life does go on and my oldest daughter married a wonderful man and I now have two beautiful granddaughters. I enjoy traveling with the family and every year I go to Haiti on a medical and dental mission trip.

Life is about change and we need to chart a new course during different passages. My father now has Parkinson’s Disease and I have once again become the family go-to person for a parent. Driving was becoming an issue as was his mobility and in 2010, as difficult as it was to move away from all his friends, my father moved to Nashville to an assisted living. It is difficult to watch the changes, but I’m prepared to navigate the changes. I have worked as a marketing director for an assisted living, care coordinator for an elder law attorney and administrator/case manager for a firm that helped clients attain Medicaid and VA benefits.

Certifications:
Notary public
Licensed insurance producer in Tennessee

Professional Memberships:
Senior Services Network, North Chapter Co-chair
Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce Ambassador.
Hendersonville Senior Citizens Center Board of Directors, Fundraising Committee Chair
Our Lady of the Lake Parish Council, Administration Chair and Building Committee Chair
Our Lady of the Lake Haiti Committee, Co-chair