Doug and Karen were born and raised in Kansas City, KS, attending jr. high and sr. high together, and started dating in 1976. They were married in 1980, and have two grown children. Adam and his wife live in Wichita, and the four grandchildren provide Doug and Karen with many hours of fun! Becca and her husband currently live in Austin, TX.
Doug was raised in the church in Kansas City. Karen was raised in the Methodist church and was baptized into Christ in 1978. They moved to Wichita to attend WSU, and Doug graduated with a business degree in 1981. (He earned his masters degree from WSU in 1995.) Doug has worked in various companies and industries as a human resources manager, from Bartlesville, OK, to St. Paul, MN, and then back to Wichita in 1991. Doug also teaches three business courses at WSU, and has been an adjunct instructor since 1996. He enjoys reading, traveling, and camping in the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota.
Karen is a piano instructor and has taught many Northside children (and some adults) since they came to Northside in 1991. Karen served as the Executive Director of the Bel Canto Youth Chorale, was on the Board of Directors for the Master Arts Chorale, and has worked as a professional accompanist for several nationally-known conductors. One of Karen’s ministries is the Northside Singers, where she co-directs the group and provides many original arrangements of songs to be performed at weddings and funerals. Karen has taught ladies’ classes, children’s classes, coordinated mother/daughter banquets, and was the program director for the Women Walking With God Conference for its first five years. She enjoys music, reading, and traveling throughout the U.S. and Europe.
Doug has taught many adult Bible classes over the years, and coordinated the elementary education for a period of time in the 1990s. He became the deacon over Member Care and Community Benevolence in 2004, and with Karen’s help has served many members at Northside in that capacity. Since October 2010, both Doug and Karen have become involved in the Celebrate Recovery ministry, and currently lead small groups in the Step Study part of that program.