Occupation: I don’t work outside the home anymore. I was in marketing. Now I volunteer with the Friends of the Library Book Sale. The library was such a big part of my upbringing. It’s the place where you do your research; it’s the place you go when you need quiet time. I’ve been a big supporter of libraries wherever I’ve lived.

Family: I have a wonderful husband, Peter. He is also retired and is involved in activities and community work.

Pets: We just lost two wonderful cats, Scooter and Buff, within the past two years. Scooter was 20 years old and Buff was 17. We’re petless at the moment, but we’re putting ourselves in the market again for another pet or two.

How long have you lived in Newtown? We’ve been here for seven years. We moved from Ossining in Westchester.

What do you like to do in your free time? I actually do a lot of fiber arts, weaving and quilting. My specialty and love, though, is needlework, which is really a dying art. It’s a beautiful art form. I belong to a couple of clubs that support the promotion of needlework. I am president of Friends of Counted Embroidery in Newtown and I also belong to the Housatonic Valley chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild. I love to cook and, of course, read.

Do you have a favorite author or book? I’ve got several. Doris Kearns Goodwin is my all-time favorite nonfiction writer. She is one of the presidential historians. She is also the author of my favorite book, Wait Till Next Year, a memoir of her own life. Right now I’m reading her latest book, Team of Rivals, about Abraham Lincoln. Fictionwise, I like Margaret Atwood and, of course, John Steinbeck.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? I love Hawaii. It is truly like paradise. That and New Zealand are my two favorite places.

What is the best thing about Newtown? The library. To me, a library is the central place where all knowledge is held. It’s the one place where everything is collected. The Newtown library is unique in that it’s an historical place itself. It is the hub and such a great resource in the community. And the book sale is truly unique in that it is so large and well organized. This is my first year volunteering and it looked so chaotic at first, but it is amazingly organized.

Who do you most admire? I think I admire the everyday people who through adversity or illness just get up every morning with smiles on their faces and make the most of the day. I think that takes a tremendous amount of strength.

What is your personal philosophy? Every day is a do-over. Every day you get a new chance to do it better or differently.

What do you most cherish? My husband. He’s such a sweet, kind, funny person who is always there for me. I’m a lucky woman.