I am a “PK” – a preacher’s kid! My father was a Methodist minister in England and we moved every 4-5 years so I had a varied school life.  I played tennis and field hockey for my high school and badminton for my university, Hull University.  Here I graduated with a B.Sc in Zoology and Chemistry and taught high school Biology and Chemistry for 3 years.  In 1960, my father accepted  the editorship of 20 volumes of Wesleys’ works.  The American Methodists wanted to have these encyclopedia and 3 Universities offered him a Professorship: Duke, Emory and SMU. He chose Duke and lived in Durham, NC until he died in ’89. After I graduated in 1961, my dad came back to Hull to marry Alan and I and then he, my mother and young brother emigrated. Alan and I came for a vacation in 1963, liked what we saw and so emigrated in 1965.  We came across on the QEII. Two years later, my sister, husband and 2 month old baby also emigrated.

I worked as a research technician at Duke until our daughter, Karen was born in 1966 and then I did some Kindergarten teaching before taking up with Avon.  I had a very difficult territory – mainly Duke faculty and U.N.C. but I was able to penetrate and carried on through the birth of Craig just before Christmas ’67. Alan was studying for a degree in Agricultural Engineering at N.C.State and I became a Manager with Avon for the next 3 years. In 1971. after graduating, Alan worked with local farmers and their building problems. Later, we moved to Jamestown, NC and then, in 1978 down to Miami, Florida.  Here, I worked in a large departmental store – a chain of 49 through Florida.  Working my way up from Service Desk, to Lingerie Manager, to Personnel Manager, to Assistant Store Manager before quitting – 8 years was enough! During all this time, I was able to play tennis in Division 1 of the South Florida Women’s League plus play badminton and won several championships – including NC Invitational Badminton Champion in singles, women’s doubles, mixed and later, seniors. For the last 9 years of our stay in Miami, Alan and I ran a badminton club at Dade County Community College. We saw it grow to over 70 members, many being Orientals.  Even missing a year when the gym roof lifted off during the hurricane, Andrew, 8/24/92 we came back just as strong. The club is still thriving.

 

May 1998, Alan took a job in Dallas and we came to Irving in July  1998. Our instructions to the realtor: we need somewhere close in to town where we can raise chickens. Over the years, in England, Jamestown and even for 3 years in Miami, we have kept chickens (as well as pigs, cows and goats!) and this is what we needed. Since coming here, we have built 5 different bird houses, many fences and gates and dug 2 vegetable gardens.  At present we have 42 chickens, 5 ducks and 3 geese – all female – all egg layers or potential layers. So now, I’m a farmer’s wife and trying to understand the workings of the computer!

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