Personal

Personal

I was born in 1972 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. I am the youngest of three children in my family.

Family Matters

Dad was born and raised in Regina. For 30 years he was a teacher and principal in Regina's public school system. After retiring, he started his second career by creating his own consulting firm. He authored and conducted courses on traffic safety and forklift certification across the province. His work with the Saskatchewan Safety Council earned him a lifetime membership in 2006.

Mom began her career as an elementary school teacher in the Saskatoon, and later Regina's public school system. Soon after, she left teaching to raise my sisters and me. She returned to teaching music after obtaining her B. Ed. from the University of Regina in the early 1980s. After retiring in 1998, Mom has kept active as a member of several choirs, Osteoporosis Canada, and is an avid gardener. In recent years, she and Dad have enjoyed travelling in the United Kingdom, France and Italy.

I have two amazing, fantastic sisters. Heather lives in Vancouver with her husband Tim. She's an opera singer who performs regularly with Vancouver Opera and other local music groups. She's also a voice instructor at Capilano College in New Westminster, and gives private voice lessons. Heather won the prestigious Eckhardt-Gramateé Canadian contemporary music competition in 1996. Extensive details of her background, engagements and repertoire can be found on her web site, which I created.

D'Arcy is an English as an Additional Langugae teacher in the public school system of Lloydminster, a city straddling the Alberta/Saskatchewan border. Previously, she had taught French and music in the Estevan and Lloydminster public systems. She and her husband Arnie have two kids, my awesome niece and nephew. D'Arcy is a fantastic teacher, an active member of her community and a wonderful mother. Arnie is a generous, hard-working father who is always willing to lend a helping hand to a friend or family member. My niece and nephew are both energetic, talented and all-around great kids. Lloydminster is a much better place because their family lives there.

I was fortunate to know all four of my grandparents for many years. On my dad's side, my Grandma Mitchell was a homemaker who devoted her life to her family. I fondly remember her roast beef dinners on Sundays, knitting, and her mittens and sweaters were most appreciated during the long, cold Saskatchewan winters! She was a very kind and gentle woman, who always took an interest in what you were doing and made you feel special. Born in Bristol, England in 1911, she died in 2002. Grandpa Mitchell was a shop and auto mechanics teacher for many years at Balfour Technical School (now Balfour Collegiate) in Regina. He was a quiet man, but always expressed his love for his children and grandchildren in the things he did for them. Born in Peebles, Scotland in 1904, he died in 1991.

On my mom's side, my Grandma Kearns was an elementary school teacher at Ashley Park School until her retirement in the late 1960s. She always kept busy with her community activities and was famous for her baking. She lived in almost perfect health to the age of 98 until her death in 2007. My Grandpa Kearns was a painter and tradesman who worked for the City of Swift Current. He was also a prominent leader in the Boy Scouts organization in Saskatchewan. He always had plenty of stories to tell and had a passion for horse racing. Born in Bolton, England, he died in 1989.

One other thing I want to mention about my family; I am so very lucky to have been born into the family I have. We all love and respect each other, and get along. Occasionally we have our disagreements, as everyone does, but that doesn't stop us from being close. Growing up, I thought everyone's family was like mine... but over the years, I have come to realize that a functional family unit like mine is a rare commodity. I hope to never take that for granted.