After teaching kindergarten in White Bear Lake, Minn., I married Richard Gehrenbeck ’56 in 1958 and then we moved to Sidon, Lebanon, where we were short-term Presbyterian Mission Teachers in Gerard Institute and Sidon Girls’ School for two years. Dick taught physics and math, and I taught 9th-12th grade English. The principal of Gerard was Doug Hill ’46, Sandy Hill’s (’57) first cousin. Both summers we spent in Europe, one summer volunteering at a work camp in Germany, buying a VW and driving from Germany back to Lebanon -- quite a trip! 

Then back to Minnesota where I taught kindergarten at Hancock School in St. Paul, and Dick was a graduate student at the University of Minnesota. After Dick earned his master’s in physics we moved to Parkville, Mo., where Dick taught physics at Park College. I taught one course each semester in the elementary education department.

It was here that our children were born. Anne Reynolds Gehrenbeck-Shim ’85 was born in 1963. She and her husband David are Licensed Clinical Psychologists and practice in the Boston area. They have two daughters and a son, and live in Waltham, Mass. Nancy Maulsby Gehrenbeck-Miller ’87 was born in 1965. She and her husband Steve ’88 live in Minneapolis with their two daughters and son. Nancy is a stay-at-home Mom and also a student at St. Catherine’s College studying nursing and Steve is a carpenter’s apprentice. David Lindgren Gehrenbeck was born in 1969. He and his wife Laura (both Swarthmore ’91) live in Arlington, Va., with their two daughters and son. David is a Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. State Department and Laura is a stay-at-home Mom.

In 1969, we moved back to St. Paul where we lived in married student housing and Dick began work on a Ph.D. at the U. of Minn. I was a stay-at-home Mom and loved every minute; there were lots of families with children, so we all enjoyed it. When Dick finished his Ph.D., we moved to Providence, R.I. Here, he accepted a position in physics and astronomy at Rhode Island College. I continued to be a stay-at-home Mom. During this time I was able to be very active in our local Presbyterian church and became a first time woman elder, and then went on to active participation in the Presbytery of Southern New England and later became the first woman moderator of that Presbytery. When all three children were in school full time, I worked part time as a resource teacher at an inner-city tutorial in Providence. I also took courses at Rhode Island College and earned certification in the teaching of ESL (English as a Second Language) and began teaching full time in Providence Public Schools. After earning an M.Ed. in reading from Rhode Island College, I became a reading specialist in Providence until I retired.

In November 29, 1993, Dick rode his bicycle to RI College and then unexpectedly died of a heart attack; it was a tragic time — and still is. It was good to be teaching and keeping busy. Then I retired in 1995 and babysat my granddaughters in Waltham, Mass., two days a week while daughter Anne and husband David earned their Ph.D.’s at Boston University. Son David and his wife Laura moved to Providence where David began work on a Ph.D. at Brown University and I helped care for their daughters also. When David finished his Ph.D., the family moved to Arlington, Va., so at this time I moved back to Minnesota in 2000 where I live in Vadnais Heights.

One of the really fun things that I am doing is serving on our 50th Reunion committee. Our committee is great and already we are “Remembering, Reconnecting, and Passing it On!” I really hope that everyone will be able to attend our Reunion.

I like to help daughter Nancy as much as possible now that she is attending St. Kate’s, and I get to play with grandkids Nathan, Julia, and Jane. I keep busy with church work — I sing in the choir, participate in a book group, am on the Church and Society committee and serve on the annual Presbytery Mission Conference planning committee. I volunteer at the White Bear Emergency Food Shelf and am on the planning committee for the Relay for Life, a fundraiser for cancer research.

I like to travel. Since two of my children and their families live in Boston and Arlington, Va., I visit them often. As a Foreign Service Office, David has served in Armenia and Australia, so I visited them in both countries. There is an annual lecture in the History of Science at Rhode Island College in memory of Dick, so I always attend that and visit friends in Providence. Last summer, I was in Florence, Italy, for a cousin’s wedding.

Words cannot begin to describe how Macalester very positively changed my life and prepared me for a life of loving to learn. Of course it prepared me to be a teacher and to grow in that profession, but it did so much more. I was a better wife because my horizons had been widened, and together we could grow and embrace the world around us. I was a better mother because by then Macalester and the experiences I had had helped me appreciate my children and be a better nurturer. It made me a better family member, neighbor, church member and community member because Mac nurtured my mind and my desire to contribute to the good of our society and to be an informed citizen.