Occupation: I’m retired from Union Carbide where I was a chemical engineer. Now I conduct moving and estate sales. My aspiration was always to be an antique dealer, but it evolved into the estate sales business instead.

Family: My partner, Roy Meadows, who is a retired Union Carbide executive and who now works for A-1 Handyman. He loves it and enjoys the interaction with people in town. And I have a son, Michael, who lives in Sterling, Va. He graduated from Newtown High School in 1987.

How long have you lived in Newtown? I moved here in 1983 and lived in Sandy Hook. Roy and I bought a house on Poverty Hollow in 1990 and we have lived there ever since.

What do you like to do in your free time? I’m very active with Carbide retirees. I distribute information to the retirees through the Internet and that keeps me busy. I’m the secretary for Newtown Planning and Zoning Commission, and I do taxes for the senior citizens through AARP every February at the Oxford and Newtown Senior Centers. If every congressperson would spend one day a year doing taxes for senior citizens, they would immediately revise the tax code. It is ridiculously convoluted. I like working out at Joann’s Studio on Route 25. Not only do you get a good workout, it’s a great social environment. I also collect old coffee grinders and a number of other items at antique shows and markets, at flea markets, and on eBay. There were quite a number of companies in Connecticut that made grinders around the turn of the [20th] century.

Do you have a favorite book? Primarily I listen to books on my iPod. Right now, I’m listening to Andrew Carnegie, but I listen to all kinds of things. My favorite was a book on Alexander Hamilton.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? We go all over. We like to see new places. Both of us are collectors — Roy collects old cast iron — and we just went to a convention for coffee grinder collectors in Augusta, Maine. This was a small convention, but often there are over 100 collectors at a convention.

What is the best thing about Newtown? I would say that people here are extremely friendly and it makes it an inviting place to live.

What is the biggest change you have seen in Newtown? The development. Since we’ve lived here, a lot more subdivisions have gone in. Now there’s a lot more emphasis on open space, though, because people have become aware that we don’t want to overbuild, and that’s a good thing.

Who do you most admire? A lot of people are inspirational. One person right now whom I admire is my friend Aggie Burns. She just got her six-year degree with honors in education. She works for the Brookfield School System, developing curriculum for grades 3 to 8. She is so passionate about what she does. She just pours herself into her work. And I admire Joann Lockwood, too, for taking over the exercise studio from Karen Finlayson, who had run such a successful business. When you take over a successful business and keep it growing, it’s amazing. I have to mention Lilla Dean, too. She is the chairperson for Planning and Zoning and has been a mentor for me because of her knowledge of the town.

Do you have a personal philosophy? The old adage of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” But do it first. Take the initiative.

Do you keep anything interesting in your purse? Well, besides the usual stuff, I do keep a measuring tape — I collect the old ones from the 1920s and 1930s — and I have a magnet and a magnifying glass. Those are the three things you need when you are antiquing.