More About Us
Walter and Nancy
With the Buckhams and Coes, we were founding members of the project. Why did we dedicate five years of our lives to its development, then sell our house in the woods to live at Meadow Wood? Walter wanted lots of Christian neighbors. Nancy was spiritually passionate about the project. Now, two years later, were our expectations realized?
The endeavor of building an intentional Christian community took an unexpected turn for us. Originally, we were Protestants and agreed with the Protestant vision of the community. However, now we are baptized members of the Orthodox Church. The community was designed from the beginning for diversity of faith and practice. Therefore, even though we no longer agree with all of the founding principals and the vision we once held, we find community life socially rewarding.
We have plenty of opportunity to love, forgive, and share life with our sixty neighbors. We greatly value and appreciate all of the friendships, old and new, that Meadow Wood has given us. Walter is an electronic engineer for the Federal Government. Nancy is a CPA who manages the Poulsbo office of Clarke Whitney CPAs. We have two grown children, David who lives in Idaho and Abby in Texas. For hobbies we enjoy gardening, dancing, writing and music.
Rich and Barbara
Rich and Barb met at L’Abri in Switzerland in 1971. L’Abri was then a three-month stay which included intensive studying, working four hours a day on community chores, and eating together with lively discussions. Although they were both Christians at the time, L’Abri gave them a more radical form of “church” that could speak to the culture at that time. Thirty-two years and two adult children later, they want to again do something more radical like L’Abri. Rich is a psychologist who also preaches at church on Sunday. Barb has been involved with social work, specifically in job readiness workshops for single parents on welfare. She is currently active with local ministries for families in transition, including Shepherd’s Sanctuary – which owns the guest unit at Bartimaeus.
Rich and Barb moved to Bartimaeus from the nearby Silverdale area. They have far too many books for any one house. The Buckhams have two grown children and have raised a teenage girl who is going to SPU in the fall.
Guy and Christine
Christine and Guy met in their mid-30s, and he knew he had found what he was looking for in a wife – someone whose values led her to spend time outside of work in volunteer service. On their second date, Guy took her to a decommissioned elementary school and began outlining his ideas for turning the buildings into the makings of a residential community. Christine was so “impressed” that she went home after the date and told her girlfriend she was not going to see him anymore; his ideas were too weird. After listening patiently, the girlfriend told Christine that the ideas actually sounded pretty good. So Guy got a second chance.
The Coes have followed the developments of the cohousing movement for over ten years now, and Guy is convinced that it may be the best model available for whole-life discipleship in this culture. Once Christine got the chance to visit several cohousing communities in action, her enthusiasm grew independently of his. With two young children, it’s the perfect time to begin taking advantage of the benefits of raising children in community. The Coes hope for a multigenerational group from a diversity of backgrounds, and lots of other children for everyone to enjoy, all serving and loving God together.
Guy loves to sing, tell bad jokes and do theology; Christine loves sewing, Creative Memories and is a loving mother. Their son is the most talkative little boy you’ve ever heard, and their daughter is the sweetest little “special needs” child you could ever hope to meet – she has vision and speech problems, but loves to sing and hug anyone in sight. Together they make up one noisy little family.
Joel and Anne
Joel and Anne met in 1982 while they were both in college. Both were very involved in Christian ministry on their campus (he with Campus Crusade for Christ and she with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship). After college, they got married, and after attending graduate school, they both worked for the same environmental engineering company. Joel is an environmental engineer and Anne is a public health specialist.
In 1990, they took advantage of an opportunity to work overseas, in the (then) Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan. While there, they experienced the breakup of the Soviet Union and watched Kazakhstan become its own country. One thing led to another, and the Adamsons lived and worked in the former Soviet Union for 14 years. During those years, God blessed them with two children.
While living overseas in various residential communities (both Christian and secular), the Adamsons came to see the value and benefits of intentional communities and they thank God for the Bartimaeus Community.
Kay and Pinky
Kay is a retired city planner who until recently worked as a “wordsmith” at a local software company. She serves on the Central Kitsap Community Council, grows geraniums, and loves to play piano (and a little banjo) with friends. Kay has two grown daughters and two grandchildren.
Pinky is a retired electrician, and once ran for the United States Senate. Until recently he was a full-time gardener and house-husband. Pinky has been a music lover since the third grade; one of the joys of his life was playing flute in the Bremerton Woodwind Quintet, which he founded. Pinky has one grown daughter.
Pam and John
John and Pam were introduced by the pastor of their local church in 1989. Three years later, they were married and on a journey to liturgical worship and service. When the group first started talking about living in community, they thought “commune – not interested.” Five years ago, however, when talk turned into prayer, they joined in the process of seeking God’s will for their role in the community.
After two years of involvement in meetings, planning and training, they realized there was “no way” to participate financially – so they prayed. John found that the Lord was leading him to build a garage, which increased their home’s value and made it possible to buy their unit. Now they are here – participating in meals, fellowship, prayer and work parties. God has even made it possible for John to have garage space on the property, to work on his hobby car.
John has worked at Keyport as an electronics technician for the last 40 years, while Pam's teaching career has spanned 36 years in public and private school. They've served on their church board for 10 years, and have both taken short-term missionary trips. They enjoy working out at the YMCA. John is a sports enthusiast, and Pam enjoys playing the flute, gardening and reading.
Peter
Peter is originally from the Bay Area in California, and now works in Seattle. He enjoys both being a spectator and a participant in a variety of sports. Paraphrasing Will Rogers, one of his mottos is “I never met a sport I didn’t like.” He also loves science fiction of all types, although he draws the line at donning Romulan or other costumes at SciFi conventions. Family connections (Christine Coe is his sister) and a desire for community are among Peter’s reasons for joining the Bartimaeus group.
“Cohousing is a type of neighborhood that seeks to blend some of the traditional benefits of home ownership with a much stronger sense a community. As someone who has been a renter all of my adult life, I have rarely even known the names of my ever-changing cast of neighbors. I feel that this built-in sense of community will be a major benefit for me. It’s interesting how life sometimes takes you down different paths – or even in a circle. The idea of breaking away was part of my motivation for leaving California and now, almost twenty years later, living in the same neighborhood with my sister and her family was a major factor in my decision to join.”
Denise
“For years I have been intrigued with the idea of cohousing. I have always enjoyed neighborhoods that have both kids and older adults – and everything in between. In graduate school, I studied geriatric nursing and found that the people who tend to age the best have a lot of social support, i.e. connections to their immediate community. I have found this to be true both personally with my own aging parents and professionally with my clients. Connection is what cohousing is all about – or ‘where it’s at’ as we boomers used to say.
“Middle age is the perfect time to take up a new challenge. A few years ago I started tap dancing and since that time I have been in a couple of musicals and several recitals. With grown children and young grandchildren, I now get to make them go to grandma’s performances. (Payback for all those years of piano recitals, soccer, football, baseball, choir trips!) I also learned the joys of landscape design and gardening. It’s very centering, which I find I need more and more in my hectic work life.
“I look forward to the challenges and joy of living in a small, diverse community within a larger community here in beautiful Bremerton.”
Jim
Jim has four awe-inspiring grown children. He grew up among Quakers in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In 2007, he moved to this area after thirty-five years in Nashville, Tennessee. Before that, he has lived in Rochester, NY, Berkeley, CA, and Delaware, OH. His whole life he's been involved with teaching, software, research, and growing startup companies. After discovering Bartimaeus, Jim decided this community was the right fit for him.
“Bartimaeus is a uniquely rich and wholesome neighborhood. I thoroughly enjoy residing near family and friends, while exploring life-long interests.”
Don and Jan
Don and Jan met while attending the University of Montana and will celebrate their 54th wedding anniversary in January, 2009. They built a house in the mountains near Missoula where they reared four children while Don managed a business and Jan was a high school counselor. Since retiring they have taught English in Shanghai, China, and Kathmandu, Nepal, and have enjoyed traveling over much of the planet. They are grandparents to six.
Their attraction to Bartimaeus stemmed from a desire to live within a faith community. They enjoy being part of a multigenerational group with diverse backgrounds.
John and Judy
John and Judy moved to Washington from California in 2000. John is a retired electrical contractor. They moved into Bartimaeus right after it was finished in 2006, living next door to their daughter who helps out with their care. They love life at Bartimaeus, especially the common meals. At ages 87 and 90, they have no desire to live in an “old people’s home.”
They love the stimulation that comes from keeping track of so many people of all ages. John keeps us all laughing with his corny jokes he remembers from 70 years ago.
Dawn
Dawn has lived in the Bremerton area about 35 years. She has 4 grown children in the area and 8 grandchildren. She has her own business making wedding cakes called “A Piece of Cake.” Dawn was living in an apartment complex, not having any connection with her neighbors.
She says Bartimaeus is “more than friendly. It feels so safe because you know your neighbors are there for you should anything happen.”
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