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I was born in La Mesa, California. I spent the first 2 1/2 years living in El Cajon, where my father, John Berlin ran a wrecking yard. My grandparents, Victor & Elma Berlin owned an auction and dancehall. In about 1953 the entire family relocated to Hemet, California. I lived in Hemet until 1965 when my immediate family(Dad-John, Mom-Jo, Sister-Anne, and me) moved to Eugene Oregon. I graduated from North Eugene High School in 1968. From 1968 until 1974 I lived in Portland, Oregon, attended Portland Community College, played music and sang at many Portland venues. I spent a lot of time involved with The Ninth Street Exit, a coffeehouse, located on the east side of the river, in the basement of Centenary-Wilbur Methodist Church. In 1974 I moved to Kent, Washington as the result of a job transfer. At that time my "day job" was as a sales representative for Wayne's Photofinishing. After moving to Washington state, I attended classes at the University of Washington, Pierce College and Bellevue Community College, finally graduating, Magna Cum Laude in 1987. I played lots of recreational slowpitch softball, and in 1977 I married George R. Varichak. At that time he was working for Kent Parks and Recreation. He had previously worked for Seattle Parks and Recreation. He also worked part-time for the Seattle Super Sonics. In 1982 we were blessed with the birth of a baby girl, we named her; Thea. "In 1992 I began a new career as a Chemical Dependency
Counselor, and I worked for South King County Recovery Centers in Kent. George had also made a career change and
worked as a buyer for The Boeing Company for a number of years before he took "early retirement" in 1995.
In the fall of 1995 we moved to the beautiful Bitterroot valley of western Montana. Since moving here, my career
has taken a few other turns; I worked as a Substance Abuse Prevention Counselor for the Ravalli County Drug-Free
Schools from January of 1996 until September of 1996. Then, in February of 1997 I began working as an independent
contractor providing similar services to Hamilton Public Schools, until the end of that academic year. I began
a full-time position as a Chemical Dependency Counselor in the Spring of 1997 for Turning Point in Missoula, Montana.
I am currently providing Intensive Outpatient Program counseling there. Here are some great links for a tour of Western Montana My Interests I really like working with young people about Substance Abuse prevention and I am equally committed to supporting the ongoing Recovery of Chemically Dependent persons. I think that the Twelve Steps, as outlined in The Big Book are the key for most people who really are ready to "take certain steps" to change their lives. Life in western Montana has given us the chance to do many things that we didn't seem to find time for in Washington state. George enjoys hunting here and he and brother Dave were successful enough that I had to try out a few new Recipes this year. The men here in the Varichak household still LOVE Professional Basketball , and all of us remain avid Sonics fans. I enjoy our little farm and sometimes find the time to putter in the garden . I especially enjoy starting new herbs in the greenhouse. I am pretty new at this and welcome any help I can find. I continue to rely on HP(Higher Power) and seek inspiration to focus on spiritual lessons. Thea has been taking private cello lessons for awhile now, she hopes to study music in college . She has been following a vegetarian diet since moving here. A True Gem - a Family Dream Everyone dreams of finding a genie in a bottle, or winning a sweepstakes, or finding out that they are really the long lost royal heir of a long forgotten kingdom. In our family it has been the unrealized promise of mineral wealth from an old, patented mining claim in Colorado.
Friends And Family
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