We are midwestern gals: Anne raised in Iowa and Mary on the plains of the Dakotas. We just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary, after meeting in January 2016. Who finds true love and marries in our 60s?? We did! We still can’t believe our good fortune!

We retired in 2020 after careers in education. Anne taught ethics and statistics at UIC in the College of Dentistry and Mary taught middle schoolers in Oak Park. Anne is an artist; many of her paintings have a surrealistic flavor. Mary loves to travel and adores our 2 cats and 1 dog, which causes some angst around nurturing both loves. Mary also enjoys cooking and loves taking cooking classes when she travels to other countries.. We attend theater, concerts and movies. We are both avid readers. Anne sings in the choir. Mary is on OPLGA’s scholarship committee. Anne Is active in a couple of organizations supporting Palestinian concerns, as well as her church’s Mission team.

We are returning to Oak Park, after a hiatus in Forest Park. We find comfort in Oak Park’s diverse community and orientation towards human rights. We look forward to the adventure of co-housing! Mary also looks forward to starting an Oak Park Commons Book Club – details coming after the first of the year!