About Me Page

Growing up in a small town in northwest Missouri, I spent my time showing horses, swimming (and as a lifeguard), playing basketball, and lots of other great activities. It was the rodeo team and the opportunity to ride and show horses that locked me into the University of Nebraska—Lincoln. There I graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in Speech/Language Pathology and a Master’s Degree in Audiology. I have worked as a school audiologist and a speech/language therapist in school districts in Kansas, Missouri. Georgia and now, in South Carolina.

I have been married to my husband, Russ, who has been a Southern Baptist pastor in churches in Missouri, Georgia, and South Carolina. All three of our now young adult children are graduates of the University of Georgia at Athens, so you will probably hear me say “Go DAWGS!” during football season. Our daughter, Joanne, is married to Trey Skaggs. They live in Oklahoma where Joanne is a Doctor of Internal Medicine in practice with the Oklahoma Medical Center. Our oldest son, Joel, is married to Jennifer, and he is currently on a church staff in the Athens, GA, area. Most important, I am the grandmother of nine grandchildren: Anna Kate, Abby Joy, Emma Claire, Callie Elizabeth, Jessie Love, Johnson Bentley, Caroline Rae, Ruby Hope and Rya Grace. Our youngest son, Jonathan is employed by the Greenville County Schools, teaching US History at Wade Hampton High School. He just recently got married to Janelle Dodd who also teaches music in Greenville County Schools.

My greatest love is my family, teaching children, and serving God. My husband and I have enjoyed traveling together on vacations and mission trips. My goal is to be in all of our 50 states and I have only 2 more to go! We have also had the opportunity to travel in the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Canada and Australia.