Occupation: My first job ever was helping out in a nursing home. But I’ve really had three different careers in my life. When I graduated from college in the 1960s, I was a physical education and health teacher. Then I took drum lessons and was a singer in a band for 12 years. Drumming is great exercise and also great therapy. Singing allowed me to work at night so I could be home during the day with our two children. My third career was in counseling. When my son went off to college, I wanted to go back to school. People always told me their problems, and I wanted to learn how to give back and be able to help them.

So I went to Fordham University in New York City, while my daughter was at Columbia. That led to my becoming a psychotherapist at Wellspring, a residential facility in Bethlehem. After doing that for several years, I stopped seven years ago. Now I volunteer.

How Long In Newtown: We’ve lived here since 1983; that’s 21 years. Both of us are from Long Island.

Biggest Change You Have Seen In Town: Traffic. There’s just too much of it. Every day I consciously try to let someone into traffic. Sometimes, there is no other way you can cross a busy intersection unless someone is nice enough to allow you to go out in front of them.

Family: My husband, Ronnie Buttner, owns Anodic Company in Stevenson. They make anodized aluminum. He is also president of the A.K. Allen Company in Mineola, N.Y., that manufactures pneumatic devices. I met Ronnie through music, when he had a band.

Our grown children are Randy, whose band The Zoo has played at Tuxedo Junction, and Cammi, who is the mother of our two grandsons. They both live on Long Island, N.Y.

Hobbies: Walking, reading, and volunteering. There is a phenomenal volunteer organization at Ashlar. The Masonicare health care professionals are amazing.

Pets: We have a Westie named Brittany who is 12 years old. And we have a Devon Rex cat. They are the dogs of the cat world –– on your lap all the time. They want to be with you wherever you are.

Favorite Books: I read more for fun now than I used to. I’ve been all through the Midford Series by Jan Karon. I love light mysteries. Sometimes Catherine Coulter and Anne Perry are too intense. You’ve got to turn the next page, and it’s hard to put them down.

Organizations: I’m co-chairman of the Home Life Department of the Newtown Woman’s Club (GFWC), and I was club second vice president for two years. It’s a wonderful organization that I’m proud to be a part of. They do so much for Connecticut and the Newtown community through their fundraising efforts. It’s a lot more than just women meeting for lunch once a month.

I also support Ann’s Place, which is near and dear to my heart since I am a 24-year breast cancer survivor. I help facilitate newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. We meet twice a month on the second and fourth Wednesday, and offer full counseling and therapy to all cancer patients throughout the Danbury area.

Most Vivid Memory About Newtown: I’m always so proud of Newtown. When friends visit, I show them Edmond Town Hall and the murals, the movie theater, the flagpole, The Pleasance, the library, and the view from Castle Hill. I’ll never forget one perfect sunrise we all saw during an Easter service held there in the 1990s by the Newtown Congregational Church.

Favorite Vacation Spot: I’ve had a lifelong wish to travel, and now I’m lucky to be able to finally do it. When I was 8 years old, I read Heidi, so in September I visited Switzerland. I visited Paris with a friend, and four years ago, my two sisters and I took the southern route across America from California going east. We drove through Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. We didn’t have a schedule, but we hiked wherever we wanted to in the parks along the way. It was wonderful.

Personal Philosophy: I believe that we are all connected ––  a part of something that is so much greater than the human mind can possibly imagine. So, if we say or do something that hurts another person, we, in essence, hurt and diminish ourselves. Likewise, if we make choices which foster love and goodness, we in turn feel happier and the world benefits from our positive energy.