lindsay richards garrett

LindsGarr@aol.com

31 Woodbury Place / Rochester NY 14618

Spouse: John L. Garrett

Education:  Adrian College, BA 1974

Bio: During the summers after high school I lived in Rochester, NY with my amazing and very tolerant grandmother. My days were filled withworking menial jobs at a local hospital. One summer I was the laundry lady and got to hand out uniforms to all the doctors – I had a blast!  Those jobs, as mundane and menial as they were sparked my interest in health care which came into play later. After graduation from Adrian College in 1974, I moved to Rochester NY for a year waiting for my then fiancé to graduate from Middlebury (I am the older woman). In the interim I worked at a large department store in the Executive Buyers program. We were married in 1975 four days after he graduated and spent the rest of the summer traveling around Europe – knowing we wouldn’t have that chance again for many decades. 

And oh by the way, that grandmother I mentioned – well, it was she who fixed me up with my husband of 45 years.  How many people can say that? And we’re still very happily married😊

We then moved to Albany NY for three years while John went to law school.  My exciting career there was as the office manager for an opticians office.  Not my dream job but hey, it paid well. Following law school, we moved back to Rochester where we have lived for 42 years. 

We thought we’d have a bunch of kids right away so I never really considered starting a career.  Turns out it wasn’t meant to be so I ended up focusing my energies on volunteerism while supporting John in his job as a Trust and Estate lawyer in a large law firm.  To fill my time, I started out learning how to be an effective volunteer by joining the Junior League.  Those invaluable experiences morphed into not-for-profit board work which has been incredibly fulfilling.  I’ve served on the boards of a hospital, museum, nursing home (glad I’m not a trustee these days!), Association for the Blind, etc,. and various other boards.  It has all been very fulfilling for me – and I hope helpful for Rochester as well.

Having volunteered full time for 35+ years, I decided it was time for something a little lighter so joined a garden club as well as a local women’s social club (like the Village Club).  Ended up being President of both which was great fun and a nice change from all the serious volunteer jobs I’ve had over the years.  Happily I was asked to sit on several national committees of the Garden Club America which was an incredible experience. That organization makes a huge impact on conservation and environmental issues worldwide  - in addition to all things horticulture and floral.  PLUS these national leadership jobs gave me the opportunity to travel all over the world. It was a great way to end my volunteer career.

In terms of interests, travel has been #1 for John and me. We’ve been fortunate to have taken some unbelievable trips and each one has enriched our souls.  Our favorite place by far is Africa.  Picture Out of Africa and that is exactly how we experienced it.  It just becomes part of your soul when you’re living out in the wilderness experiencing nature in its rawest form. It becomes addictive; the epic scale of the landscape – the friendliness of the Africans - the incredible encounters with wildlife taking place right under our noses…. We just keep going back to fill our souls and last year was our 6th trip. We are so lucky!  Had we had a family we probably would not have taken such extravagant vacations BUT life takes you on a journey and we simply try to make the best of it.

So there you have it.  While sadly we don’t have kids or grandchildren  I DO have an AMAZING husband who puts up with all my weirdnesses.  We are both still (relatively) healthy and try to stay fit so we can continue to enjoy life. 

My photos:
Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa / Longboat, FL