Author
Biographies
Back Row Left to Right
Lucy Engbring, Donna Schenk, Melany Nitzsche, Roselyn Mathews, Elizabeth Parker, Patricia Robert
Front Row Left to Right
Geriann Fitzgerald, Meg Bergmann, Elizabeth Hoffman, Gea Pierce, Lori Becherer
Lucy Engbring
Geri Fitzgerald
Betty Hoffman
Roselyn Mathews
Melany Nitzsche
Lori Becherer has been actively
writing since 1989 when she started her first daily journal. She is a relentless gardener who loves the
tiny discoveries that live within her gardens.
Most of her poetry and essays evolve from daily observations and journal
entries. She resides on her childhood
farm near Millstadt, Illinois with her husband of 23 years. In addition to writing and gardening, Lori
also enjoys painting, portraiture and dream journaling. She has been published in Personal
Journaling magazine and several times in health information journals and
periodicals. Lori is employed full time
as Assistant Director of the Health Information Department at a local
hospital.
Meg Bergmann is a native of south St. Louis
County. Having formerly tackled such varied tasks as California beach bumming,
wild animal rescue and rehabilitation, and television news, she now
devotes her time to writing, veterinary assisting, and family. Meg currently
resides along with her husband and their two children in Columbia, Illinois.
Lucy Engbring was born in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but Valmeyer, Illinois has been her home for the last 38
years. She boasts 57 years of marriage "to the same man, of course!"
She joined the Marine Corps during World War II, and spent most of her
married life as a military wife. After earning degrees from the
University of Wisconsin and McKendree College, she taught reading in the
Valmeyer school district. She wrote features for the Waterloo Republic-Times for many years, and continues freelance
writing. She and her husband Jerry have eleven children. With the nest now
empty, she has more time to read, write, travel, play piano at the Care Center,
and just enjoy being "a recycled teenager."
Geriann "Geri" Fitzgerald grew up on a grain
and dairy farm in St. Rose, Illinois. She now resides in Waterloo, Illinois
with her husband and their two teenaged sons. Geri has worked full time for a
nearby utility company for twenty-six years, and in her spare time she enjoys
writing, reading, walking trails, and most of all, spending time with her
family.
Elizabeth "Betty" Hoffman is a retired Home
Economist. She began painting and writing as retirement projects and attended painting
workshops in exotic locales such as Bermuda, Greece, Ireland, Switzerland,
England and Arizona. Her watercolor paintings have been displayed at numerous
local shows. Betty was born in 1913 and has two children, nine grandchildren
and eighteen great-grandchildren.
Teacher, poet and dreamer, Roselyn Mathews grew up on a
picturesque farm in southern Illinois.
The innate beauty of the rural setting of her childhood still strongly
influences her writing. A former high
school English teacher, Roselyn considers herself a perpetual student of
life. She teaches creative writing and
personal development classes at St. Louis Community College at Meramec and at
Southwestern Illinois College. Roselyn
founded the Heartland Women’s Writers Guild in 1998.
Melany Nitzsche worked as a CPA
for almost 10 years before escaping to save her sanity. She currently serves on the Board of Directors
of the Missouri Lupus Foundation and has been active in fundraising for brain
tumor research. She also enjoys
traveling, reading, writing, earth-friendly living, and obsessive organizing. She credits her dad for her sense of
curiosity, making her an expert at nothing, yet interested in everything. In that same vein, she is currently a
student of literature at Webster University.
Elizabeth “Liz” Parker lived in
Australia, Arizona, North Carolina and Chicago before returning to the Alton,
Illinois area where she was born and raised.
After teaching and practicing in hospital critical care units for over
15 years, she earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Arizona State University. She currently practices law in Illinois and
Missouri. She has two daughters, Brigit and Meredith. In addition to writing, she studies Flamenco dance, practices
yoga, and with her fiancé Jerry, enjoys horses and motorcycle riding. Her lively family, varied homes, careers,
and extensive travels provide rich material for her writing.
Gea Pierce is the oldest of six children and
was born, raised and educated in The Netherlands, Europe. She moved to the USA
in 1973 after marrying an American in 1971.
She was employed as a teacher in The Netherlands, Arizona and in
Missouri, before opening a photography studio in Waterloo with her
husband. They divorced in 1985. She remarried in 1990 and became a mother at
42. Reading and writing have always
been a very important part of her life.
Patricia “Pat” Robert has taught reading and English
courses at Red Bud, Illinois, and before that, at Dieterich, Illinois. She has
longed to write a book since she was a young girl. Her publishing credits
include articles and poems in publications for teachers and inspirational
magazines. During the 1980's, she was a correspondent to the Effingham Daily News. Joining the
Heartland Women’s Writers Guild has been a catalyst that has helped her grow as
a writer.
A volunteer for Hospice, Donna Schenk wrote her first poem to
express feelings at the loss of her first patient. That poem won 2nd place in a Southwestern Illinois College
poetry contest. Over time, writing poetry has become a passion for Donna. Her poems have placed in a variety of
contests, including “Poet of the Month” by QB Publishing and 1st Place in the
St. Louis Writer's Guild Poetry Contest.
Donna gives credit to God for inspiration, the Heartland Women’s Writers
Guild for encouragement, and her six children for loving support.