Occupation: I am a retired schoolteacher. I taught first grade at Hawley School for three years and I was at Middle Gate for 18 years. I taught third grade there for six years, then first grade. I retired from Middle Gate School in 1987.

Family: My husband Paul was my high school sweetheart. We have five children, one son and four daughters. They are Paul, Terry, Randi, Linda, and Susan. All of them live in town. We’re close. We do a lot together. I look across the street [Mt Pleasant Road] to my son’s house and just down the street to one daughter’s house.

Pets: We have one barking beagle, Snappy. He is a year old.

How long have you lived in Newtown? Well, I was born in Manhattan, but my great-grandparents moved to Newtown in 1920 and lived in the Hanover District, which was a kind of summer colony then. In the summer, we would come up to my great-grandfather’s house and spend the summer in Newtown. My grandfather and father would commute to the city. When I started first grade in 1938, we moved into Hanover District. I went to Hawley School until I finished fourth grade. Then we moved back to Manhattan. We were there until I was 16, when we moved back to Newtown. Paul and I started building our house on Hanover Road in 1955. We lived in Pennsylvania for three years, from 1965 to 1968, but otherwise, we’ve been here.

What do you like to do in your free time? There’s not much free time. I tutor Spanish. I had intended to be a Spanish teacher originally. My father was Cuban, so it was an easy language for me to pick up. I really enjoy being involved in church activities. Singing in the choir is a lot of fun. I’m the co-president of the Women’s Fellowship at Newtown Congregational Church. Sometimes I man the office when my daughter is out; it’s my husband’s office, Logicorp. I also read Caldecott Medal books and Newbury Medal winners.

Do you have a favorite children’s author? There are so many of them. They’re all so charming. It’s a genre you fall in love with. I can’t pick just any one.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? Travel in and of itself is a destination. Now all of our children have campers and we go camping. We’ve been as far as San Francisco and Prince Edward Island and everywhere in between.

What is the best thing about Newtown? There’s a certain cohesiveness to the town. I think what makes that is people are interested in their town. They’re not indifferent. That’s what makes it a great place to be. You get different viewpoints.

Do you keep anything interesting in your purse? Oh, my heavens. Yes. Everything, even shoes! All kinds of change, socks, and the usual. Cosmetics and a little mirror, always. Pens and pencils, scratch paper, and a couple of my husband’s big handkerchiefs.

Do you have a personal philosophy? A rule that I should live by, and my father and aunts always said this to me: “Keep your eyes open and your mouth closed.” In Spanish it is, “Ojos abiertos y boca cerrada.” I wish I lived by it.

What is the most important lesson you have learned? I think the most important lesson I have ever learned is that children are far more intelligent than we could guess. That was proven time and again in school.