Hello fellow Falcons! Here is my meager attempt to condense the past forty years of my life to a single page. I sure hope that all of you will also be submitting your biographies. All of our lives have been filled with ups and downs; failures and successes; tears and smiles, but each life is a precious gift from God. I look forward to sharing your stories and connecting with new and old friends from yesteryear (oops, a small flashback to The Lone Ranger!).

I actually didn't graduate with our class since I married in my senior year and moved to California to be with my husband, Ronnie Pratt, who had attended one semester at Jones during my sophomore year. I only needed one credit to graduate so I finished at Bakersfield High School. Ronnie and I met when I was fourteen. His parents were divorced and his dad lived next door to my friend, Bobbi Amidon. He visited in the summers and at Christmas. After we married and in rapid succession we had three children and subsequently moved back to Houston in 1964. In 1965 a most important life-changing event took place in my life. I met Jesus Christ in a personal relationship of repentance and faith that truly changed the course of my life. Although I had known "about" Christ all of my life, I had never entered into any kind of spiritual relationship other than perfunctory church membership. My family was dysfunctional before that word was fashionable, but I will spare you the ugly details. Suffice it to say that my high school years were difficult at best. What a relief to hear the good news that Jesus Christ loved me warts and all and moreover that He had a plan and purpose for my life! I know that Jesus was all around me in high school. I recall that many of you were so involved in Youth for Christ and in your various church organizations, but somehow I never got connected. This I regret.

After returning to Houston, I gave birth to two more children. If you're counting that makes five. I have two sons and three daughters and happily one granddaughter and two grandsons. I can truthfully say that I had five "unplanned" pregnancies! In today's highly organized and well-planned nuclear family, this borders on idiocy. I can only concur with that conclusion. Between child number three and child number four, I had a brief college career at UH, but soon determined that I did not have the ability to be a competent full-time mom and a good college student at the same time. In the late 70's it became difficult to make ends meet with our large family, so I finally had to relinquish being a homemaker and go out into the working world. That was kind of scary since I was thirty-two and had never had a real job. Thankfully, God has graciously blinded all of my employers so that I appear to know what I am doing. For the past twelve years my job has been at Rice University assisting professors in their search for research funding and the administration of such funding when received. My step-dad always wanted me to go to Rice, but this is as close as I could get!

My wonderful husband and I will soon celebrate our fortieth wedding anniversary for which I am truly grateful. Without the Lord, we would never have made it! Amongst my offspring there are three college graduates with assorted degrees in Business, Psychology, Slavic Studies and Theology. My three daughters have scattered to California, Indiana and Massachusetts, but my two sons have stayed nearby. I have three beautiful grandchildren. My eldest son's daughter is ten years old and a special joy. My youngest daughter gave us two grandsons ages 1 year and 2 1/2 years. Unfortunately for us, they live in Massachusetts. I have become a frequent flyer over the past three years! When I'm not at Rice, I spend my time with church activities (Sagemont Church) and as a volunteer at our local Crisis Pregnancy Center (the Lord knows I have some experience in this area!). Every other minute is consumed with children and grandchildren and friends. Retirement sounds wonderful, but I think I'll still be plugging away at Rice for many years to come provided I don't get too cranky or set in my ways in my old age (actually, that may have already set in). If I had my druthers, I would love to travel and to spend more time with my grandchildren, but what the future holds remains to be seen. Lest this brief synopsis of my life appears to focus only on the positive as often happens in these scenarios, let me assure the reader that my life has had its share of disappointments and failures, but my Father has seen me through them all and in so doing changed the focus of my priorities and hopefully made me a more kind and compassionate person because of these heartaches.

In closing, I must say that it has been such a joy to rekindle relationships with old acquaintances from Jones and to become better acquainted with many I knew only by name. Many of you are people I didn't know well in high school and that was surely my loss. The reunion will be great fun! I'm looking forward to seeing you all there! Until then, may God richly bless you through His Son, Jesus Christ!