Margie & Jim
Family Profile: Jim and Margie have been partners for 10+ years and were friends for many years before that. We independently came to Olympia in 1972 to attend The Evergreen State College, in its second year of existence.
Margie has 3 children: Delphine is a social worker in Seattle, Maile works for drugstore.com in Bellevue, and Avery is a recent graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, relocating in the Pacific Northwest.
Jim has 2 children: Molly is a graduate of Western Washington University, interested in international travel and lobbying, and still finding her way into what comes next. Ryan is an avid soccer player, snow boarder, and a student at Willamette College in Salem, OR.
Personal Profile, Margie:
I grew up in Oregon, Maryland, and Colorado. After graduating from TESC, I lived in Idaho for a year before returning to Olympia to work at Blue Heron Bakery for 10 years. After Blue Heron, I worked in a futon and furniture store for 10 years, and since then I have worked at the Dispute Resolution Center in downtown Olympia as staff support, and more recently assistant training manager. Family and raising kids has been the most challenging and rewarding part of my adult life.
Some of the things I do for fun are yoga, massage, singing harmony, writing poetry, sewing, and kayaking on the Puget Sound. My biggest passion is for being in the wilderness- hiking & backpacking, rafting, cross-country skiing, or snorkeling. Two of the most interesting things I’ve done are living in Nepal for a year, and rafting the Grand Canyon. I also get a lot of happiness and support from my women’s group of more than 25 years. I am concerned about the political, environmental, and spiritual health of our world, and how I can be more effectively engaged. I have always preferred living in larger than nuclear family situations and I am happy to be part of creating this co-housing community.
Personal Profile, Jim:
I grew up of the working class in in the 1950′s and 60s.Spokane. After graduating from TESC, I went to law school in Chicago, and have traveled throughout the USA and Europe. I am approaching 60, curious about nearly everything and especially the patterns that connect that everything. I became a widower in 1994 and the years since have been mostly devoted to parenting.
Hobbies and Interests: I enjoy kayaking, playing the piano and guitar, hiking, reading, thinking, and conversation with friends. I love warm salt water and Rumi Poetry. I am fascinated by the process of moral development. I am particularly interested in the work of the contemporary American philosopher, Ken Wilber. I believe that we have only begun to express our potential to live together responsibly and in mutual respect. We have much to teach and much to learn from one another. I have lived in intentional community for large portions of my life and for the most part enjoyed it.
Employment: For the past few years I have worked for the Recreation and Conservation Office of the State of Washington. We have the fortunate responsibility of funding the purchase and development of the best places in this state, and then to protect them forever. For 20 years before that, I worked as a policy planner in shoreline management with the Department of Ecology. I have worked in the legislature as a staff attorney and as a lobbyist. For 6 years I practiced law in Olympia.
Last updated: 2009
