Biography for

Barbara Dennison Deegan

as published in the 2009 Pollen Count

Barbara Dennison Deegan (Manassas, VA) "Over the years of viewing with interest the pictures of quaintly dressed and coiffed Senior Classes of 50 years ago, I just never thought one day that would be us. Do you suppose later students think of us as 'quaint'? Do they also look for family names that are a familiar part of their own lives? And are you as surprised as I am to see an altered body, gray hair, and wrinkles captured by a photograph? Time has had its way with our bodies, but still we see with the same minds. Through all these years and all that has happened, we have been our 'selves'."

"I have always loved to learn and we were very fortunate to have our teachers in Brecksville. Because I enjoyed school, I got a degree in Education. It didn't take long to discover I was no good at keeping whole classrooms of students quiet or even sitting down. And I began to be unconvinced that sitting down and being quiet were the best ways for learning to occur. When my Jennifer was five, she and I went to Montessori school together. When she moved on, I stayed in Kindergarten, it was a good fit. Creativity was celebrated and learning could occur anywhere."

"With the birth of Keirsten, 13 years younger, my need for little children was satisfied. Quite by accident, because I kept bringing home plants, not knowing what to do with them, a class in landscape design led to more classes and my second career."

"College had taken me to Michigan. In 1996, my husband's job whisked us away to Virginia. It was very difficult to leave behind my daughter, friends and my business. I loved designing and maintaining landscapes. Luckily our land here offers opportunities for both."

"In a way, a third career has occupied me in Virginia, one that involved spending time with and caring for first Phil's dad and then my mother. It was time well-spent."

"There could not have been a better place to grow up than Brecksville. I enjoy returning for our reunions and learning about the paths your lives have taken."