Welcome, New Members!

From January to July 2023, fourteen people became members of WUU. We recognized them during the worship service on August 20. Get to know our newest members by reading their bios below, and be sure to offer them a warm welcome to the community!

Henry Bellows

 

 

 

 

 

Aaron & Becca Bruhl

Becca & Aaron Bruhl moved to Williamsburg from Houston, Texas in 2015. Aaron, originally from Southern California, is a professor at the William & Mary Law School. Becca works and teaches in public health. She works on a variety of community & children’s health issues with the Richmond City & Henrico Health Districts and serves on the board of the Olde Towne Medical & Dental Center. Becca grew up in St. Louis; her parents are long-time members of UU congregations in St. Louis (and now in Boca Raton, FL).

Becca & Aaron’s kids, Elliot (age 16) and Zoe (almost 14) attend Jamestown High School. Elliot is a junior and competes on the school’s cross country and track teams. Zoe is a freshman. She is on the cross country team and swims for 757swim. Their family also has two rescue dogs, Lily (lab/pit mix) and Rusty (German Shepherd/hound mix).

Christopher Dermon (not pictured)

Hilda Gomez

I was born and grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, went to Washington DC, studied Fine Arts at American University where I met Javier my husband who was a Physics student at the time.

We went to California, where I attended San José State University, and Javier pursued his graduate studies in experimental Physics at SLAC. We spent a time in Barcelona, Spain; and returned to the States when Javier was offered a job at CEBAF, later called Jefferson Lab, in Newport News, Virginia. Our children grew up in Yorktown. In my art career I worked as an independent artist and in recent years worked with The Trimble Gallery in art restoration. My husband Javier passed in 2022. I was introduced to WUU by some friends and felt great resonance.

Daniel & Hannah Greene

 

 

 

 

 

John Keating & Elizabeth Malone

John Keating and Elizabeth Malone met as students at the College of William and Mary and were married in the Wren Chapel in 1982. In 1985, they moved to Germany, where John worked as a school psychologist for the Department of Defense Schools, and Elizabeth volunteered as a La Leche League Leader and aerobics teacher. They have three children, Patrick, Martin, and Rosie, who all grew up in Europe before returning to universities in the US. They were introduced to UU in Europe in 1998, and were active members of European Unitarian Universalists (EUU), and helped revive the Wiesbaden UU Fellowship in Germany. After 31 years in Germany and Italy, they returned to Washington DC where John coordinated the Psychological Services and 504 Programs for DoD Schools. Most recently they were active members of All Souls Church Unitarian.

Jennie Lambert 

Although she’s lived in many places, after leaving the Coast Guard, Jennie settled down in Hampton Roads in 2004. As a Business & Financial Analyst, she began to work from home during the lockdown, like so many others. In fall of 2020, she made the move to Williamsburg for a fresh start and new perspective.

Jennie once found a home in the UU congregation in Norfolk, before they moved to Virginia Beach. So, when she found WUU through the Williamsburg Buddhist Sangha, Jennie knew she found the community she was seeking. She is looking forward to finding like-minded friends, so please say hi if you see her around. She enjoys hiking, biking around CW, gardening, interior design, watercolor painting, yoga, & meditation.

Jon Pelletier

Hi I’m Jon. I’m 26 soon to be 27. I served in the USMC for 5 years and moved to Williamsburg with my wife afterwards.

I love my family deeply (which includes our cat and dog) as well as learning about the world and others’ experiences in it.

I’m very grateful to be so welcomed here at the WUU.

 

 

Fred Strong & Sandra Brown

 

 

 

 

 

Jackson Verburg

Anne “Jackson” Verburg moved here when she and her husband, Richard “Rico” Verburg decided to come back to a land-based life. Jackson was an elementary teacher and Rico was a programmer for IBM in Austin, Texas.

In 2003 they retired, sold their house and moved on to a 40-foot sailboat, Apparition. They cruised the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean waters for 10 years.

Next they moved to a 48-foot motor yacht going from St Martin to Trinidad. Now, in 2023, they have put Shadowfax up for sale and are building a house in First Colony with her sister, Helen Hansen, and her brother, Ryland Fox.

Jackson is looking forward to exploring what it means to be a UU.