ORUCC Welcomes 15 New Members!

Abi Degner

Who am I and who do I want to be? I want to be someone who lives fully in the present moment, “a bride married to amazement” as Mary Oliver would say. I want to be part of a more loving world. I am excited that ORUCC’s community can help me work towards these goals.

I live in the Orchard Ridge neighborhood and have been here for 5 years. I have also lived in Texas, Chicago, California, and Washington. I live with my husband Marco and my german shepherd Rowen. We visit my husband’s family in El Salvador about once a year. I work as a PA doing veteran disability work during the week. In my free time I do watercolor painting, teach dog training classes, practice felting little wool animals, work in my garden, and I’ve been learning rock climbing for the last year. I love to hike and be outdoors. There is nothing in the world like being in the middle of a forest. The arboretum is my favorite place in Madison and is the reason that I moved to this neighborhood. I look forward to getting to know you all. Thank you for welcoming me!

Milly & Richy Garcia

Milly and Richy have called Madison, Wisconsin, home for over 25 years, having emigrated from Lima, Peru. 

They initially moved to the U.S. to support their family’s restaurant business and to be closer to relatives already living here. Since settling, they have built a beautiful life together, welcoming three children: Adrian, 22, who is pursuing computer engineering at UW-Whitewater; Amelie a sophomore at Oregon High School; and Angie Mia, a sixth grader at Verona Middle School. Milly has dedicated her career to helping others as a nationally certified medical interpreter and translator, currently working at children’s hospital as an education and employment specialist for the Hispanic community. Richy has focused on logistics working for a major Food Distribution Center for over 18 years after transitioning from a background in business administration and medical sales in Peru.  The family enjoys a close-knit community, having lived in Evansville for 17 years before moving to Fitchburg for better opportunities. They share their home with five beloved puppies and cherish their time together, especially traveling. Most recently, following the loss of Milly’s mother to Alzheimer’s, the family found comfort and support in the ORUCC community, where they felt welcomed since their first visit. Finding a new church community has been a true blessing for Milly and Richy, providing them with a sense of belonging and support that they have longed for since leaving Peru. After facing the challenges of isolation and the difficulty of making new friends in a different country, they are grateful to connect with others who share their values and faith. 

The welcoming environment at ORUCC has helped fill the void left by the distance from their homeland and friends, fostering new relationships that remind them they are not alone in this world. They appreciate the warmth and camaraderie of the congregation, which has made transitioning to life in Madison more enriching. With newfound church friends and a supportive community, Milly and Richy feel hopeful and excited about their future, knowing they have a place to call home and people to share life’s journey with.

Allison & Mike Haas

Our names are Mike and Allison. Andrew is our son who is one year old. We live in DeForest, WI. We both grew up in the Madison area and returned after attending college at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse where Mike now works in quality in the pharmaceutical industry and Allison is a science teacher in Rio, WI. We enjoy spending time outdoors going for hikes and growing tomatoes in the summer. We wanted to join ORUCC to have a great place for our son to grow up where we know he will be loved and supported for who he is. Mike grew up attending ORUCC so it only made sense for us to drive a bit farther each weekend to a place we feel welcome and know our son, Andrew, will be welcomed too! 

Mary Landeck

Usually it takes me a long while to make a decision but when I first moved back to Madison from Ft. Collins, CO. after being gone for

over 50 years, the first church I visited was ORUCC and I knew that

this is where I wanted to be! I was born in Whitehall, WI, at a time when my Mom was staying with relatives as my Dad was away serving in the Navy. As the oldest of five, and I’m told by many relatives somewhat precocious, I would often be shipped off by train by myself from my childhood home in Milwaukee to a very rural area to have fabulous summers being a farm kid and having one adventure after the other with mostly boy cousins. My parents moved to Madison when I was starting 6th grade and I attended Sherman Jr. High, graduated from Madison East and the U.W. with a degree in American Institutions and Secondary Education. In both high school and college my main interests revolved around civil rights(I was able to get 6 credits as an undergraduate for my thesis on racism) and anti-war activities. I think my major accomplishment back then probably was learning to sail and then living on a sailboat with my first husband after having been brought up by a mom deathly fearful of anything water. This was in Pewaukee which of course has a big lake. Undoubtedly my major accomplishment as I look back 77 years are my 4 children and 9 grandchildren. I have had many interesting jobs during this time i.e.: animal caretaker for Harry Harlow’s rhesus monkeys, lab tech for Dr. Fred Mohs who developed the Mohs

Micrographic Surgery for the removal of skin cancer, direct patient care of developmentally delayed children, and working as a benefit counselor in Door County where I lived for 37 years. However I am most proud of my children, four of whom work in primary healthcare. Because of the lack of quality affordable childcare I have taken on the role of granny-nanny and am loving it with a little time out to pursue my passion for lifelong learning.

Sophie Kramer & Paul Hunter

From Sophie: Sophie is the daughter of immigrants from Hungary; she grew up in many places around the world, the longest in Auburn, Alabama. When she married Paul 35 years ago she also committed to living in Wisconsin! Sophie and Paul lived in Milwaukee for 23 years where they

raised three wonderful humans. Sophie grew up as a Unitarian and explored other faith communities before joining Plymouth UCC in Milwaukee. Sophie is a doctor who does house calls, practicing geriatric medicine now in Madison since

2019. She is also active in advocacy for equitable informed health policy. In her free time she enjoys family game nights, walking our adorable rescue dog “Betty,” reading historical fiction and cooking. She looks forward to being part of a community striving to follow the path of Jesus

and exploring how to live a moral life with humility and love.

From Paul: Sophie Kramer and I moved to Madison in 2019 after raising our 3 children in Milwaukee, my hometown. I completed medical school in Madison and have been faculty in the UW Department of Family Medicine and Community Health since 2009. I teach UW med students and provide medical consultation for public health professionals in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin about communicable diseases and immunizations. My mother was a liberal Roman Catholic. She instilled in me a strong sense of social justice. Sophie and I joined Plymouth United Church of Christ in Milwaukee because of its commitment to social justice, especially support and welcome of transgender people. I have been watching birds since I was 5 years old. I organize the annual Friendship Christmas Bird Count in southern Adams County. I am always looking for more people to help with the count. 

Diane Light & Kathleen Remund

Diane writes: I was born to a French speaking working class family in northern N.H., the first in my family to attend college. I birthed 3 daughters, and am loving living near 2 of them here in Madison. I am a retired nurse, book lover, gardener and knitter, spouse (to Kathleen Remund), and Memere to 4 wonderful grandkids. We moved to Madison from Menomonie in June this year, and love our new neighborhood and very small house.

I was attracted to ORUCC after listening to services online last spring, and you are all even better in person! So happy to have found this church home!

Kathleen writes: I am a native Minnesotan who grew up in a suburb of Minneapolis. As an adult, I lived in one lovely, funky neighborhood near the University of MN campus for 31 years. I raised my two children there and thought I would never leave…until I was called in 2016 to serve a congregation in Menomonie, Wisconsin. My early “career path” was a meandering stream of nonprofit work, feminist and social justice activism, and corporate and small business efforts until I finally embraced my theological vocation and began attending seminary in 2001. Diane and I met in 2010 and married in 2014, braiding our family of five children and their various partners. My perspective on the world has been shaped by significant international study and travel. I love to read, sing, perform, write, preach, and weave connections among people. I am surprised and delighted to find myself in Madison as a semi-retired person. And thrilled to be joining ORUCC.