I was born in East Whitburn, a small village in Scotland. I attended Whitburn Academy for my school years, and then continued my studies in business and economics at Bathgate College.
My life in Wolfurt, Vorarlberg, began in 1983 when I married an Austrian and had three wonderful children – two girls and a boy. In Wolfurt, my English friend and I started the first English group for children aged 3 to 12. We only spoke English and no German, which was a great success. Eventually, I started giving private lessons to some of the kids until they felt confident enough to communicate with the group.
In 2002 I left Austria and went to Ohio in the US, where I became the business office manager for one of the Corinthian Colleges for Nursing. In my spare time, I supported the students and arranged help groups for single mothers.
In 2005 I was offered a job with J.P. Morgan Chase which gave me more time at home and to support school children. My voluntary work included a group of 8 handicapped teenagers once a week we taught everyday chores and hygiene, went on excursions, cooked together, shopped and visited various restaurants.
In 2013 I returned to Vorarlberg and still help old and young with daily English conversation.
I have various interests such as nature, dog walking, sewing, aerobics, backgammon, swimming, meeting new people, and helping others with English.