Member Bio

My grandparents immigrated, one from Sweden the other from England when they were young. I’m the oldest of 4 and grew up in St Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis. With a degree from the U. of Minnesota, I & a friend taught 4th grade in Portland, OR for one year, then took a 3 month tour around the US in my 1956 VW Bug. Then, back in Minneapolis, I taught 5th grade & married. We had our baby daughter with us when we moved back to Portland, OR. There I received my Masters in Special Ed., & acquired our baby boy. Changed circumstances created our move to Mandan, ND where I helped create the first Learning Disabilities programs in local elementary schools. 11 years later, i divorced & moved with my 15 yr old son to Riverside, CA, continued to teach Learning Disabilities classes till I retired, twenty years later. During that time I became involved in the Sierra Club, leading hikes & trips both bike & snow sports, on weekends & during summers, many of these into my favorite Sierra Mtns. With time, I also began traveling during the summers to many areas of the world. Such places as biking the Natchez TraceTrail & bike touring S. Korea, hiking around Mt Blanc, walking the Camino, birding in Australia & many more. Once retired, I moved first to Camas, WA & then into Portland, OR where I continued my active life style, adding dancing, kayaking & photography as ways to explore the beautiful NW. I moved to Santa Fe in June as a way to escape COVID19 [it turned out I escaped demonstrating this past summer as well! ]. Here in my cozy casita in Santa Fe, I’m enjoying the quiet peacefulness of staying in place surrounded by nature.