Bill & Betty Mohlenbrock
Bill and I fell in love at the age of 19 and 20 at the University of Illinois. We have been married for 58 years, and were blessed to have one daughter (who is 56 years old) and four amazing grandchildren who are all some of our closest friends. We have been attending Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church for only about a year in this chapter of our lives. We previously attended for almost two years during our Navy tour in 1967-68 (during the Vietnam conflict). While we have not served in any roles at Graham yet, we both have “flirted” with the idea of joining the choir. We served as deacons in the La Jolla Presbyterian and NCPC churches in other chapters of our lives. We both were raised in “church-going” families. We made personal commitments to our Lord as we became adults and experienced life’s challenges and responsibilities. He has been central to our marriage from day one.
Together, Bill and I love walking, hanging out with our grandkids, talking/sharing our various “ministries.” (Bill has a ministry in healthcare and Betty has one in family literacy. Remember Reading Legacies that we introduced last month? If not, you can read more about below, but this is Betty’s ministry!) We enjoyed playing tennis and jogging in our younger years.
I have always loved children, and so for a time was a third-grade teacher. I then left the classroom to change the paradigm in our country to help parents and communities make it a priority to read aloud with children regularly. It is the educational and emotional solution to many problems children and youth experience today, and so I started a ministry called Reading Legacies. Bill has always loved being an orthopedic surgeon - originally based on his experience as a young man working in a camp for handicapped children and adults. That was his favorite job - working at that camp, but he also LOVES being a doctor and getting to know his patients. He is passionate about using data to help doctors and hospitals to provide quality and cost-effective healthcare. My dream job was being a mom during our daughter’s growing years. Our work will never be done, but our Lord continues to give us the energy and passion to continue! Most recently, the Lord has been teaching me patience – what a thing to be learning!
Now for the “silly” parts!
In case it is important to anyone, we use Crest toothpaste.
If we could go back in time and meet anyone other than Jesus, Bill said he would like to meet Peter, and I would like to meet Mary Magdalene.
