Today's Featured Biography

Christine Johnson Dunton

I moved to the Washington DC area in October 1967 almost 45 years ago. I got a job at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner, and Smith where I met my wonderful husband, Phil, who was a stock broker. We've been married over 44 years, and we have 2 children, Peter and Rebecca (Foret), and 3 grandchildren, Hannah, Miles, and Isabelle Foret. Two years after our marriage we bought a house in Falls Church, VA in 1970, lived there for 19 years, and moved to McLean, VA in 1989. We are one stop light from Washington, DC.

I went back to school in 1981 and over the next 8 years, I earned 3 degrees: AAS, BSTM, and MBA. I worked full time except for 2-1/2 years and helped raise our 2 children. I couldn't have done it without the help of my terrific husband who attended the school functions and took the kids to orthodontists' appointments when my work or college requirements were in conflict.

I've been retired since May 2007 and worked in the computer field for 24 years. I like to say that I “caught the curl”. I entered the field right when business computers were coming into their own, and everyone was getting one on his/her desk. I loved developing a variety of computer database systems for my financial, marketing, and human resources clients.

Because I lived in the Washington DC area, I had many opportunities available to me in both the public as well as the private sector. I worked at the Corporate Headquarters of Mobil Oil in Fairfax, VA before it became ExxonMobil. What a privilege to be hired by not only a Fortune 500 Company but a Fortune 5 company! When Mobil went through their third downsizing phase, I took one of the buyouts and “retired” for the first time in January 1997 after 10 years. I left my job on a Friday and walked into my next job on Monday. In 1999 I was assigned to work on the Y2K (Year 2000) Project for the US Senate. My biggest thrill was standing on the Senate floor and being able to see the senators' initials carved into the desks! My last job was working for US Customs (2003-2007) a part of the Department of Homeland Security. Having retired three times, I was now being accused of “retiring” so I could collect presents and have a party.

In the 1990's my husband and I made three trips overseas: Israel, Greece, and Italy. To celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary in April 2008, we went to Antigua which is where we honeymooned. We've returned to the island on several occasions both before and after our 40th Anniversary. However, for the last few years we've become “snow birds” and have migrated to Vero Beach, FL during February and March. In September 2010, we vacationed in San Diego and Los Angeles. In the future we plan on visiting more places in the US.

Some things I enjoy doing since my retirement are reading books (particularly murder mysteries), watching movies, listening to Classical music and Brazilian jazz, playing computer games, working out at the gym, and walking. I love listening to music on my iPod while walking or working out.

I've been a member of my church's book club for 3 years and had exposure to many books that I wouldn't have ordinarily read. I always looked forward to our group getting together to discuss the book and our conversations afterwards. The thing I miss most since I no longer work is the mental stimulation.

My husband a is real baseball fan as I was when the Braves were Milwaukee's home team. Phil grew up in the the Albany, NY area and was a Yankees fan. In our early years in Washington, Merrill Lynch had tickets 3 rows behind the Senators' dugout, and we took advantage of seeing many games. It is now wonderful after all these years of not having a baseball team to finally have the Nationals. We have gone to the Nationals' Spring Training down in Viera, FL every year since they came to town.

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