We are always excited when new members become part of our community. They each add a new dimension to life at Memorial UCC.  Here are the people who have joined in 2010. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact \n This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

February 21, 2010

Sarah and Alexander Fritz moved to the Madison area from South Florida in 2005 because Alexander had a psychiatry residency here. He is now employed as an outpatient psychiatrist at the University of Wisconsin and is a clinical assistant professor in the med school. Sarah is a psychotherapist with Stoughton Family Counseling Services. Sarah went to Illinois Wesleyan as an undergrad and Alex went to the University of Tennessee.  It’s a good thing Wisconsin rarely plays Tennessee in football, otherwise Alexander would face major divided loyalties. They live in Fitchburg and last year they began joining us for worship.

They have two sons – Brandon, who is almost 6, and Evan, who is 2. Their hobbies include "highpointing," through which through which they hope to climb the highest point of every state. So far, they’ve done that in 38 of the 50 states.

Bob and Mary Holtshopple are joining us from Swiss UCC in New Glarus – the church where Mary was confirmed as a youth. Along the way, they also belonged to St. John’s UCC in Monroe and to Covenant Presbyterian in Madison. They build their home on Lake Waubesa 25 years ago. Now, as they think they are getting older, they thought they’d find a place closer to home and we’re happy to have them here with us.

Bob was born and raised in Monroe, served in the Korean conflict in the early 1950s and worked as a mechanical engineer for many years for Weiler, Strang, McMullin. He took early retirement in 1985 as head of the engineering department at what was then Madison General – now Meriter – and finally got around to his final retirement in 1992. He likes traveling, gardening, fishing and building projects.

Mary grew up near New Glarus as a first generation Swiss and has maintained ties with many relatives living in Switzerland. She graduated from the Madison General School of Nursing in 1950, got her bachelors’ degree in nursing in 1980 and retired as a registered nurse in 1989 after 39 years of working in clinical and hospital settings. She enjoys reading, travel, gardening, painting “funky chairs” and being a standardized patient at the UW Medical School.

Both Bob and Mary enjoyed mission trips to El Salvador and working for Habitat for Humanity in Florida and in Green County. They have a son and granddaughter who live in California and a grandson who is a student at UW-Madison. One son is deceased. They sponsor 3 school age children in El Salvador. One of them they first met when he was in grade school. He is now is student at the University in San Salvador.

Leah Lonsbury hardly needs an introduction today. Since she joined us as one of our pastors at the beginning of January, she has quickly distinguished herself as a wonderful presence in our midst. You already know a lot of her biography – grew up in the Kansas City area, taught high school for a few years, went to seminary in Atlanta, served for three years at First Baptist Church in Madison.

Justin Lonsbury may need a bit more of an introduction. For starters, he is Leah’s husband. Together, they are the parents of Aiden and Mara. He, too, grew up in the Kansas City area, went to the University of Kansas and remains a die-hard Jayhawk fan, and now is working on his doctorate in educational policy at UW-Madison. He is an avid reader, a great fan of music, pretty smart about computers and is becoming a brewmaster of homemade craft beers.

You can meet our new members in 2009 here.