How long have you been attending Community?

I started attending Community in Escondido several years ago. I cannot remember when. My youngest son, Greg, started going to the middle school events. He had a really great admiration for Jim Meyer so I thought that Community was a good place for us to be. Over time, I heard more and more about the San Marcos campus and I came here (to San Marcos). Then David (my Godson) who has lived with me for 10 years now expressed interest in coming to church which was really nice. He was baptized here in San Marcos in 2014. The Lutheran church has always supported me in all of the many children I’ve had.

Tell me about your children.

I have four adult children. Dan, my adopted son, is the one that lives closest to me (in Poway). My oldest son, Chris, lives in San Luis Obispo County with his wife and two kids. My daughter Cathleen and her husband John and their two children live in El Paso, Texas.  He is a Captain in the Army.  Then there is my son Greg, who is my baby boy. He and Renee live in Glendale (and he is a producer for the History Channel).  And, of course I have David, my Godson, and then all my foster kids. I took David in when he was 14 and he is 24 now. When he was baptized he told me I got promoted from foster mom to God mother and that is how he introduces me.

I raised my children on this one saying that kind of drives them nuts when they hear it but they all remember it to this day, “If you take care of the minutes then the hours, the weeks, the months, and the years will take care of themselves.” You have to pay attention and take care of what is right in front of you.

How did you become a foster mom?

Foster care has never been my primary job and I never really thought of being a foster parent. It is really my hobby to take care of these children. I think some people are just meant to do certain things. If there is such a thing as a calling for foster care I probably have been called to do that.

I’ve been fostering children now for about 33 years and I’ve had 34 children. It all started with my son, Dan. He followed my oldest son (who is a year older than he is) home from school every day when they were 6 and 7 years old. I said “Chris, who is this little boy? Where does he come from and why does he come here every day?” and my son, Chris, said “Oh he just likes to follow me around.” So as it happened we got to know him better, we took him on a spring vacation. In those days you had to be a foster parent before you could adopt so we entered the fost-adopt program and we adopted him. He is now 38 years old. I spent last weekend with him. He is such a cool guy.

Once you’ve fostered a child you are known by the system and I am still friends with many of the people I meet way back when. There is such a great need for foster parents that someone, either a friend or social worker, always has a kid for you that “would fit great at your house.” So I took a lot of kids but I only adopted the one. Mostly I’ve fostered troubled teenage boys. I’ve been pretty busy because I worked a long time at Kaiser. That was my work life and then I had the other life which was my family and all these children. It has been very interesting. Everyone has their own little version of hobbies, and this is a different one, I know, but it is what I know and what I do best.

Did you grow up in North County?

I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I was brought to North County in during my career with Kaiser Permanente. I came here in ’76 to be the manager of Membership Services. I worked for them for 32 years until I retired.

What did you do before you started with Kaiser?

I went to college in Oregon and then I went on an aboard program and I lived in Europe for two years. I studied religion and how they came about. I don’t want to tell you I studied theology because that is a different thing, but studying religion does give me a background in history and cultures. Religion is such a huge thread in our world and I like knowing where they come from. I am a sociologist. That is where my real love is.

While I was in Europe, I lived in the international house in England, but I did have the opportunity to visit 15 other countries while I was there. My friends mostly were Indian and Pakistani. My friends from India were so hilarious. They have a sense of humor that just doesn’t quit. You would never think that really. I loved getting to know them. I really loved going to school so I went to school for a long time in a lot of places.

What else do you do for fun besides your “foster hobby”?

I have a lot of friends and a lot of children so they keep me pretty busy. I am also a big reader. I probably read at least 750 pages a week. I like to read… a lot. When David was in high school he counted all of the books in my house and my garage and then he went to Escondido High School and told everyone I had almost 2,000 books. I never lived that down.

What is one piece of advice you’d give to others?

Be kind and love the Lord. You can’t go wrong there.  

WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY TREE PROJECT? 

Community Lutheran Church is a growing congregation worshiping 550 people between two campuses each week. As we continue grow, it is important that our relationships with one another continue to grow as well.  Over the coming months, our church website and Facebook page will be introducing you to a member of Community that you may or may not know yet. You’ll have the opportunity to learn a little about each member and delight in the different personalities and lifestyles that come together each week to worship our Savior.

When you join us for worship on Sunday mornings or events throughout the week, we encourage you to reach out and connect with someone you don’t normally talk to. As Pastor Vogelsang so eloquently reminds us, we are all “dear Christian friends.” We just don’t know each other yet! I’d like to change that one photo at a time.

"So that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." - 1 Corinthians 12:25-27