Creative Katherine Thompson

Irving, Texas, population 900 at the time, was the birthplace of Katherine Thompson.  As a child, Katherine enjoyed living in a small town and playing in the woods.  After High School and a summer job as legal secretary, she attended NTSU (Now UNT) for a couple years.  She was then married and had two sons. James is now 46.  He lives in Alabama with his wife and four children.  James went to West Point, followed by Military Service.  He has worked with Boeing for 20 years.  Rob is 48, married,and has 2 children.  They live in Magnolia, Texas.  He is an investigator and expert witness for Carr Engineering.  All six of Katherine's grandchildren have the same shade of red hair!!

Katherine worked at Austin Commercial construction company for 22 years.  She worked in accounting at different job sites for major projects all over the city, including a two year stint in Albuquerque.  She saw many projects being built from the ground up. "I stood on the ground and stood on the roof.  I liked standing on the roof and seeing the view. "

A few months before Katherine left Austin Commercial she wondered, "What am I going to do when I retire?" She asked around at work and heard about Newborns In Need.  She and a coworker came to their first Newborns In Need Saturday meeting in February of 2013.  She officially retired in April, then started coming to the Thursday meetings as well. She exclaimed, "I dearly love it!"  Katherine learned to crochet from her grandmother when she was 10.  She enjoys quilting, making booties, and knitting. She also enjoys learning new things from all our wonderful teachers at Newborns In Need. This is a creative outlet for Katherine. She has always been a creative person. 

Marge Vissers, "The Other Marge"

Marge Vissers, also known as “The Other Marge” was born and raised in The Bronx, New York City.  She went to college in the city and taught one year of school there.  She then married a man she had gone to church with since they were children.  He was in the Army and they were separated for two of the first four years of their marriage.  During his 22 year military career they moved all over, living in Germany, Colombia and in several places in America.  They have two daughters, Susan, born in Texas and Diane, born in Georgia.  They settled in Carrollton, Texas and opened a Dunkin’ Donuts at Webb Chapel and Beltline. After this venture, she worked as a case manager for senior adults, then as a court clerk for the justice of the peace in Farmers Branch. Then it was time to RETIRE!!

Marge Vissers was introduced to Newborns In Need by Marge Bessire, who lived across the street from her.  Another neighbor, Barb Kelly was instrumental in getting her started making hats and other needed items. Marge’s special focus is in making Parkland Christmas Bags.  She collects Christmas fabric and items for the bags all year long.  Approximately 350 draw string bags are sewn and filled with a sleeper or gown, blanket, hat, pair of booties, and a toy. These are distributed at Christmastime and are appreciated greatly by all the families who receive them. 

Susan McKinney, A Country Girl At Heart

“It’s Willie Nelson and Waylon Jenning’s fault! Music influenced my move to Texas.”  Susan McKinney was born in Bartesville, Oklahoma, and then moved to Missouri with her parents.  After college, Susan packed up everything in her car and headed to Texas.  She landed in Abilene working with an engineering firm.  Within a few months she met a young man at the firm who had just graduated from Texas A&M.  They married and had two children, Jenny and Jeff, then moved to the Dallas area.  Jenny is now married and lives in Washington DC. Jeff is a Graphic Designer with an advertising firm in downtown Dallas.  Susan isn’t yet a grandmother, but she would love to be! 

Susan has always sewn. She learned by watching her mother and grandmother.  She still has the first quilt she ever made. It is about a foot square, made when she was 4 or 5 while at her grandmother’s house.  At 16, Susan made a full size quilt she still has, although it is in poor condition.  One she made at 19 is still being used on her son’s bed at home.

A few year ago while working part time at the library and at The Old Craft Store (where she still works), Susan saw a volunteer ad and found Quilts For Kids.  She made many quilts for this organization.  She heard about Newborns In Need when Marge Bessire came in to The Old Craft Store to pick up some donated fabric.  When there was no longer a Quilts For Kids representative in the area, she started donating to Newborns In Need. Last year she donated 57 baby quilts and her goal for 2014 is 72!  Susan also brought in four new volunteers from her friendship quilting group.

Wanda Singer, Knitting, Crocheting, and Quilting, OH MY!

Originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania, Wanda Singer and her husband moved to Houston in 1976 after an especially hard winter.  They were ready for warmer weather and have lived in Texas since then, except for five years in California. Wanda taught Special Education for eight years, and then stayed home with her children.  Her “volunteer career” started at this time with school activities, PTO, and Girl Scouts. Her son now lives in Boston. He was in the Navy and is now in the Navy Reserves.  Her daughter started her career as an ICU Nurse.  She is now a Family Medicine Residency Program Coordinator for JPS.

Wanda free motion quilting pillowcase quilts at a Thursday meeting.

As a girl, Wanda’s Grandmother taught her to sew and quilt. Her mother taught her to knit when she was five and she taught herself to crochet as a teenager. About five years ago, Wanda found Newborns In Need. She had knitted about 60 baby hats and wasn't sure where to donate them. She went onto the Lion Brand website Charity Connection and saw information on Newborns In Need. Wanda mailed Marge and the rest is history. Now as a permanent fixture at Newborns, Wanda helps deliver to Parkland and her Chevy Tahoe has become the mobile storage unit. Wanda enjoys her work with Newborns in Need. She said, "It's fun and I feel productive.  I've learned so much about quilting!"

Mara Cook, A Newborn's Newlywed

Mara Cook is a relatively new addition to the Newborns In Need family. Mara was born in the Philippines. She has a degree in Business Administration, Marketing Management. While working in corporate banking, about two years ago, she met Jason Cook while he was in the Philippines on a two week business trip. They communicated via the internet for over a year, then Mara came to the US and she and Jason were married on November 8, 2013.

Even before she was married, her Mother-In-Law, Roberta Cook, invited Mara to Newborns In Need. Unable to work in the US for a few months, they decided this would be a productive use of her time.  Mara did not know how to sew, crochet, or knit.  She started by learning to loom knit hats. Next, she tried piecing together 6.5 inch square quit tops.  Then Mara moved on to batik quit tops, "They asked me if I'd like to work on the batik strips, since then I can't stop!" She works on the quit tops at our Newborns Thursday work meetings and every other week at home.  She and her mother-in-law take turns using Roberta's sewing machine every other week.

Mara and Jason are enjoying married life.  Mara hopes to be able to work in the next few months. The couple has no immediate plans to make Roberta a grandmother, but they do plan to start a family in the future. With her new skills, their children will have beautiful, handmade baby hats and quilts.

Nancy and Larry Petty, A Giving Combination

Christians with a heart for service, Nancy and Larry Petty have volunteered with Newborns In Need since January of 2000. Nancy has lived in the Dallas area all her life.  In 1956 Larry made his way from Arkansas to Texas.  Nancy and Larry were engaged two weeks after they met and married a few months later. They have had four children.  One child passed away a few years ago. They have a son who is 48; he is severely handicapped and lives with Nancy and Larry. A daughter lives in Mesquite; she is a homemaker and has two children.  Another daughter is a Nurse Practitioner, working in Garland with refugees.

Nancy is a sewer and creates a significant amount of items for Newborns In Need every month, including diaper shirts, blankets, hats, and burial outfits. The couple has connections to several organizations in the area.  In addition to Newborns In Need, they work with Family Place, Nexus, Mission East Dallas, Sharing Life Community Service, and White Rock Center of Hope.  They also work with Hope 4 Refugees, which is the organization where their daughter works.  This group helps refugees from Myanmar (Burma) set up apartment homes in the Dallas area.  As a result of all these connections, Nancy and Larry are able to put gently used items to good use.  If you have anything to donate, they will find a home for it.  You can drop off items at the Saturday Newborns In Need meetings, but please bring them early as the Petty’s usually make their drop off/pick up stop close to 10 am. Larry is the driver for the couple.  He is the “man power” behind all the deliveries.

Thank you so much to Nancy and Larry for all they do for the newborns, children, adults, and families in our community.

Marge Bessire, Our Unofficial Newborns In Need Ambassador

When a new volunteer comes to a Newborns In Need meeting, chances are the first person they meet will be Marge Bessire. Marge is our unofficial Newborns In Need Ambassador.  She is quick to welcome everyone and make sure they find a way to contribute their time and talents.

Marge is from Itasca, Texas. She said, "I was born on a cotton farm in Itasca. I went to school in Itasca. I got married in Itasca, just like my parents, aunts, and uncles." Once married, Marge and her husband moved to Carrollton, Texas where they raised their son, who is now married and has a son.  She worked in "Corporate America" for 32 years before she retired.

A friend and former co-worker, Patricia Clay-Jolly, looked into creating a local chapter of Newborns In Need in 1999.  Patricia asked Marge to join her, "since you are retired and have nothing else to do." (Said with tongue firmly in cheek.)  They contacted Parkand Hospital to find out what was needed for the steady stream of newborns delivered daily. Marge fondly remembers the month they delivered three hundred items. What an accomplishment!  We now deliver over two thousand items monthly.  She would love to see us up to three or four thousand items a month so we can serve even more babies.