About my family: I graduated from Douglass College of Rutgers University in 1970, majoring in Spanish. I met my husband, Stan, at Rutgers where he majored in Chemical Engineering. He did a stint in Viet Nam and worked for Johns-Manville. My husband died in 2000. Our daughter, Karen, is married and lives downtown. She sold the first company she incorporated in 1994 and has now incorporated a second: Suhaka Consulting. She "graduated" from Walnut Hills School, Cherry Creek HS, and Marshall University ("We Are Marshall") with a Bachelor’s Degree in Math and Physics and a Master’s Degree in Math (in 4 ½ yrs).

Present Occupation: On top of WHCA Board and City Council, I work for Girl Scouts – Mile Hi Council from which I’ll retire in Oct.

Time in Walnut Hills / Previous Location: We moved into Walnut Hills when Johns-Manville moved most of its operations from Manville, NJ to Denver, in 1973. I started Karen’s Girl Scout Troop in 1976 and have been deeply involved in the Girl Scouts ever since, getting a job with the Mile Hi Council in 1986. At the very first WHCA meeting I went to, in 1979, I was elected Secretary and there was no turning back! I’ve been active ever since, being Secretary, President, and ACCORD representative over the years. In ACCORD, in 1986, I became the Executive Coordinator and was there when Randy Pye moved forward to found the City of Centennial. When my husband became ill, I had to step back from the work of forming the city, but when the 12 Sept 2000 vote was counted and the city was official, Randy asked me to run for City Council. I’ve been there ever since.

Why Walnut Hills: I’ve often told folks I could never live in the police-state neighborhoods with strict covenants. I appreciate the opportunity for free expression in our neighborhood. I like hanging my laundry out to dry in the sun and the option to have any color house I want. All those covenanted neighborhoods are DRAB! People care about our neighborhood. We have plenty of fun, sponsored activities and there is no other neighborhood with a Scholarship Program like ours.

Changes That Have Happened in Walnut Hills: When I arrived here Dry Creek Rd didn’t go west of Quebec, which didn’t quite reach County Line Rd. There was a 6 foot gap! There were no highway exits / entrances at Orchard or Dry Creek Rd. We had a volunteer fire department that was stationed were the Orchard Rd southbound exit ramp from I-25 is. Wheat grew in the field that was to become our King Soopers strip center and horses grazed north of Arapahoe Rd. Castlewood Library was in a building on S. Yosemite and then in the basement of the Arapahoe Bank & Trust building. Walnut Hills and Dry Creek Schools had seven grades (K-6) and over 500 students each. The Arapahoe County Fair was held at Windermere and Belleview, in Littleton.

Concerns / Hopes for Walnut Hills: I want to keep Walnut Hills a free and easy place to live with friendly, helpful neighbors. I like the smile and wave feeling we have. Even with junk cars and weeds, we still look pretty good. Passing our fence General Improvement District was a big step for us as a neighborhood and I hope we can always be responsible to the neighborhood.