All of our foundation board members are amazing, of course, and that includes Mary LeFever, who first met Hal and Norma when her husband, Harry, taught with Hal at Springfield High School in southeastern Pennsylvania. When Hal and Norma formed the UnTours Foundation in 1993, they asked Mary to be a founding board member. Mary appreciates how the foundation provides low-interest loans to entrepreneurial individuals or groups, who would not otherwise qualify for loans.
Here’s more on Mary……..
Favorite book: CALL ME ISHMAEL, STILL: Selected Poetry by Harry Lewis Le Fever [Elizabeth’s note: contact me, if you want to buy a copy!]
Favorite children’s book: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Childhood ambition: to have my own nursery school and a dog kennel
Indulgence: dark chocolate
Biggest challenge: the long good-bye journey with my beloved Harry and his frontal temporal dementia
First job: waitress at the Hawthorne Inn in E. Gloucester, MA summer of 1950
Last job: UnTours member of the Swiss team!
Soundtrack of your life: “What a Wonderful World!”
Animal friends: 2 dogs in Childhood (Sandy & George), 1 in Parenthood (Tammy), 6 in Grandparenthood (Kerry, Riley, Koda, Roxie, Shue & Sheba), and 1 in Great-grandparenthood (Donegal)
Mission statement: to do what I can to maintain a respectful, caring and peaceful environment wherever I may be in this life
Couldn’t live without: hugs and laughter
Most unusual gift received: $1,500 from Norma & Hal Taussig to found The Walden School which is 45 years old this year!
Passionate issue: Dr. Maria Montessori’s educational philosophy
Proudest accomplishment: Giving birth to my 3 loving daughters – Denyse, Michele & Colette
“Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future.” Maria Montessori