Mary Sonneborn Stromquist
Berwyn, PA
Last updated:
03/10/2007
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After LHS
My folks moved to East Lansing, Mich., in 1968. I studied
anthropology and Asian studies at KU, Colorado and Michigan
State, from which I graduated in 1970. In subsequent years, I
worked here and there, and collected masters degrees in
international communication and public health.
Employment
Most of my adult life has been happily spent as a stay-at-home
mom and professional volunteer. I've worked with youth
programs, the League of Women Voters and the March of Dimes.
Now I organize my life around the Unitarian Church. Among
other activities, I do visual arts and social justice, sing in
the choir, lead our church's national delegation, and am one
of the teachers for our 8th grade sex education class, which
meets Sunday mornings. This is a different kind of church!
Hearth & Home
I married Walter Stromquist in 1980 in Washington, D.C., after
losing touch with him for almost a decade. Walt attended LHS
his sophomore year and later graduated from KU before going on
to ROTC and Harvard. After many years as a math consultant, he
has finally found his dream job teaching at Swarthmore College
in Pennsylvania. We have a daughter, Susan, who is 23 and
recently graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with
a degree in painting. Her day jobs include teaching art,
modeling for drawing classes and landscaping. She lives close
by and visits often. No grandchildren yet, but soon we expect
a "grand kitten" named Smudge, who will join our reigning
tomcat, Tigger.
The Other Stuff
For fun, I take drawing and writing workshops, go to art
exhibits, write some and read a lot. There are several
Philadelphia-area nonprofits I've supported, but my goal is to
semi-retire from some of the volunteer work to be more
creative in my old age. It would be satisfying to have
something published one day. Beyond that, I aspire to be
healthy and work out more than twice a week, learn to garden,
and travel with Walt. Recently we went to Iceland and London,
and plan next to explore eastern Europe.
My Memories of LHS
My fondest memories of LHS include the Florida bus trip with
Mr. Roth's biology class; sampling illicit dandelion wine at a
certain English teacher's house; and finally graduating to
semi-adulthood. Life gets even better after high school, but
you have to make it that far. If you're reading this, you did!
I also remember a painful experience when my garter belt broke
in the middle of band practice. Do you believe we're so old
that we pre-date pantyhose? Seriously, from this vantage
point, we were all pretty sweet kids, who have just improved
with time! |
