You’re retiring. How long have you been at Grant?

I’ve worked here for 16 (years), and it’s a great job. I’ve worked for four principals. I’ve worked for the district for 26 years. It’s been a great 26 years.

So why are you retiring now?

Because I’m old.

My husband retired in November, and so now it’s my turn. We have an 8½-acre farm, and we will have no trouble keeping busy. The commute is super hard, and that’s one reason I’m retiring.

Are there things you experienced as a secretary that you didn’t expect?

There’s a lot of things you don’t expect. Nothing is ever the same. Every day is different. I’ve seen kids hurt to where I’ve seen bones. I’ve seen kids get full-ride scholarships. I mean you know, huge, huge differences.

What exactly will you miss?

Probably the routine. I’m a very routine-oriented person. I probably will miss not having an agenda for every single day. It will be different. There are a lot of people that I will really miss. That will be the hardest thing. There is so much in this job to love.

What are you looking forward to? Do you have a lot of plans?

I’m looking forward to gardening. I’m looking forward to swimming in our pool during the day instead of at night when I get home from work. I’m looking forward to using our boat that we probably haven’t used in 10 years. I’m looking forward to spending time with my husband. We love to remodel and do stuff like that. Working with animals. I don’t think I’ll have trouble keeping busy.

What animals do you have?

Oh, we have cows, goats, turkeys, chickens, pigs, geese.

Do you have a favorite?

I like working with chickens. I’ve got an incubator, so I like to incubate the eggs and watch them pop. They’re pretty low maintenance. For a senior prank, (the seniors) threw a chicken in the upstairs hallway, and everybody was kind of excited about it. And I said over the radio, “Bring it down to the main office. I’ll put it in a cage and take it home.” And that’s how we got started with chickens.

Did you grow up on a farm?

Nope. I grew up in Northeast Portland; went to Madison High School.

So moving to a farm was a huge adjustment then?

Yeah, we’ve lived there almost 17 years. We saw this ad in the paper, and it said 8½ acres out there in Colton, which is where my husband grew up. And he said, ‘Let’s go look at it!’ And I said, ‘I am not living out there.’ And then he said to me, ‘You can have any animal you want.’ And he knows I love animals. So I said, ‘OK.’ We actually bought the property and the house without me ever actually going in the house. The house was crap.

It must’ve been a big project. What was it like?

We ripped up carpets. We painted floors because people had let their dogs pee on them and all that stuff. So it’s a work in progress. Most people who own houses are never done, and we probably never will be, either. We need a new kitchen. We built a new barn. It’s just something we love doing. We like to work with our hands. ◊