By Roving Reporter, Marcia M.
This month, we are meeting Lea Ann and Pat W., members of our Voices of Praise. We met for lunch and spent two and a half hours together. Lea Ann and Pat shared their stories. I strongly recommend you chat with them to learn other fascinating details.
Lea Ann and Pat have been part of PB UMC since November 2007. They both love being part of our Voices of Praise. They said, “Ron J., our Music Ministries Director, is very versatile. He favors lots of different kinds of music and often has something new for us to perform.”
In addition to our Voices of Praise, they both participate in the Worship Committee. Twenty-nine years ago, they formed WalkerVision Interarts, an audio-video production company. This family-run company does a lot for performing arts in San Diego. The first thing they did for PB UMC was the video for the Christmas musical. They do a lot of videography for Ron. They also do work for lots of organizations outside PB UMC.
They have been married for 54 years and have two children, a daughter (46) and a son (50). What is the secret to the success of their marriage? One answer is the way they handled Pat’s frequent absences due to his military service the first twenty-two years of their marriage. Another is that they set out to disprove his father’s prediction that it wouldn’t last. The real reason: “We’ve complemented each other’s strengths over the years.”
Lea Ann told me, “I always knew I wanted to major in music, but I had terrible stage fright singing solos. So I dropped out of college and we eloped. Eventually, Pat sang duets with me helping me get over my fear of singing. I was singing in the chapel choir in Germany when the director had to leave and there was no one to take over. So I learned to direct choirs, and have been directing off and on ever since.”
Pat told me, “In High School I was a ham radio operator and knew I was going to go into electronics. In addition, I loved music. In college, I joined the men’s glee club and enjoyed the fra- ternity with the members.” As a nuclear engineer and astronomy teacher, he gained a love of music and electronics. That led him to bringing together artistic, scientific, and spiritual aspects of life. “I enjoy integrating all three. It is delightful to see the connections and even the misconnections.”
I hope this inspires you all to get to know these two better. Tell them Marcia sent you.
