|
Nancy Patterson
Hello, everyone!
Though I did not graduate from Flint Central, I went to Longfellow and then to Southwestern for a year before my family moved to Flushing. I see so many familiar names on this site and thought I should say hello and share a bit of what I've been up to.
I graduated from Michigan State with a degree in English and taught for almost 30 years in a district west of Lansing. During that time I earned a PhD in English, and once I had enough public school teaching years in, I retired and accepted a position at Grand Valley where I taught for 17 years. I am now fully retired
I never married, but I did have a long-term relationship with an antique dealer and used to accompany him to auctions. I dabbled a bit in antiques, but once I started my doctoral program, I had to focus on that and my teaching. He and I drifted apart and I eventually moved to Grand Rapids to be closer to my work.
I had some health issues a few years ago, but things are going well. I garden, and, until Covid was very active in the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus. Singing has always been close to my heart and I will be thankful when our magnificent chorus can sing together again. A few years ago we performed at Carnegie Hall (and got paid!). The NY Times even gave us a good review.
I have a standard poodle, Lucy, who will be 3 in February. She keeps me active. Before I got Lucy, I adopted an 8 year old standard out of foster care named Bridget. She and I were a therapy dog team and used to visit nursing homes, the cancer floor of a local hospital, a library where children read to the dogs (it was adorable), and local university students during exam week to help relieve stress. Lucy will become a therapy dog, too, as soon as Covid is under control and the training can begin. The picture below is of Bridget and I at GVSU's
exam week stress relief. 
|
