As Joe’s parents were teachers and administrators, and Mary Lou a high school biology teacher, “We’ve always been involved in some aspect of education.”

Friends and social gatherings were mostly educationally oriented. Discussions of pedagogy and learning theory were common. A lifetime of all that is to have a fairly intimate understanding of the effort and the struggles of educators.

An early eye-opener in Mary Lou’s career was three summers teaching biology in “Frontiers of Science,” an eight-week, day-long, eat and sleep in the dorms, immersion for 30 of the most outstanding science students in the state of Colorado. Taught at the University of Northern Colorado’s Lab School, the program is experiential and project-oriented, supported by the likes of Ball Aerospace, Martin Murietta and others, with an alumni of astronauts, doctors and scientists. Their individual and team projects all required high levels of collaboration, communication, and cooperation with mentors and team members—as much of science is impossible without it.

As it turns out, that approach to business is also rewarding. For 30 years, theirs was a world of architects, designers, artists, engineers, planners, lawyers, CPA’s, appraisers, lenders, realtors, builders, sub-contractors, investors, government staff, and elected officials. In just about every aspect of land development and real estate, it was their job to orchestrate all the pieces for a real-world, successful development in every way. They lived and breathed community design and planning, how people want to live, work, and play; what most of us like to see and experience in our homes and neighborhoods, and they sought to understand many of the practical elements that lend themselves to happy, healthy, and productive lifestyles.

Shortly after retiring to the seaside village of Langley on Whidbey Island in Washington, the school district decided to close the school in Langley, and began offering those facilities for lease to private businesses. Along with collaborators Bruce Andrews and Dr. Frank Cordell, Joe and Mary Lou were developing a curriculum of “Living by Design” and had begun researching and experimenting with pilot programs. When the local school closed, it seemed as if providence came knocking. The school’s Wood Shop, Home Economics Lab, Greenhouse and Garden were the perfect venue for the Living by Design curriculum.

“We were looking for exactly those facilities in Colorado, and now here they are in Wasington a few blocks away!”

The Foundation has been the source of funding for a substantial renovation and outfitting of the Wood Shop and Kitchen. Now christened the “Learning Lab at Langley,” it has served as a platform for hundreds of classes in wood shop, cooking and gardening and has hosted many community gatherings. “For the first few years, we were earning the trust of the schools, parents, and community and I think we’ve done that to a large degree.”

So, now is the time to implement more of the Living by Design components and host other teachers and programs like Living by Design that address personal and social growth more directly.