I was born Dorothea Ruth Tomboulian in White Plains, NY, a suburb of New York City.  I was named after my two grandmothers, and my grandmother Dorothea didn’t like Dotty or Dory as nicknames, but had been called Teddie by a friend and liked it, so she suggested it as a nickname for me. Dorothea means “gift of God,” and Theodore means “lover of God,” a combination that means a lot to me. When I was old enough and my grandmothers had passed, I changed my name legally to make Teddie my middle name.

I was the second child of four. We started going to a Presbyterian church when I was eight, and my father started saying grace every night before supper. My parents made us go to Sunday school, and I was confirmed at the age of thirteen. I was an excellent student, but terrible at sports. I loved the music of the Beatles, but was also influenced by my father’s love of Baroque music.

My dad was an electrical contractor. My mother worked in her home office scheduling his business and doing a small business of her own that found pros to do work at people’s homes. When I was 15, we moved to a farm in the Finger Lakes of New York. I went from a high school with three grades and 1500 students to a K-12 school with about 800 total students. It was quite a culture shock. I met my ex-husband, Jim, while on an assignment for social studies class. He was ten years older and not a believer, but I was in love.

I attended Rochester Institute of Technology for a degree in Photographic Illustration. Jim and I married after my freshman year.  Jim and I moved to Denver after I graduated with highest honors. I worked doing portrait photography nights and weekends for a few years as we started a family. I have a son, a daughter, and two grandchildren.

Once my kids were in school, I decided to find work I could do during the week days, so I earned a Teaching Certificate in Art and taught at three elementary schools. After 24 years of marriage, Jim and I divorced. I later married Tom McConnell, an old friend from Good Shepherd Church in Northglenn. Then we moved to Arkansas to be closer to my parents. Fifteen years later, we moved back to Denver to be closer to my daughter and my grandkids. Our marriage was much sweeter than my first, mostly because Tom and I were both committed Christians.

Shortly after we returned, we found out that Tom had kidney cancer. He fought it hard, but passed away five years later. During that time, I worked in several office jobs, including being a dispatcher at a trucking company and the administrator for Westminster Presbyterian and later for Good Shepherd in Northglenn. The ministers I worked with encouraged me to  take the online classes from Dubuque University that were  required to become a Commissioned Pastor and helped me gain the hands-on experience I needed. I worked for 18 months as the pastor of a small church in Denver, then decided to do pulpit supply work for a time. I recently found out that I have a great-grandfather who was a Methodist minister in Colorado.

After I’d recovered enough from Tom’s death to feel lonely, I met my husband David through an online dating service. He was also widowed and also loves art, so we have a lot in common and understand each other well. We married in 2020.  He and I volunteer with a Christian retreat weekend called Koinonia. We’re very close and happy together.

I’m delighted to be serving God by serving you all at Valmont, and look forward to getting to know you all better.

Email: pastor@valmontchurch.org