Molly Bergersen thanks everyone who attended her farewell gathering.
Judy Gahide and Sheryl Katz arranged a wonderful send off for Molly. The event took place in the Poolside Community Center. More than 125 friends thanked Molly for all her volunteer work and hours spent helping others and for just being Molly! Molly helped with the fund raiser Play it forward. The proceeds benefited Neighbors Who Care. She also volunteered with the Sun Lakes Fire Department’s CAP program. This program assisted those left home when their loved one was transported to the Emergency Department at local hospitals.
Molly was born and raised in the San Francisco area. When she married they moved to Menlo Park where she lived for 24 years and then moved to Seattle. Molly worked for Ecolab in Seattle and continued working for them from home here in Sun Lakes until 2009. Ecolab was in the food safety industry—she told me she took care of a lot of chickens!
Molly moved to Sun Lakes after a life change. She had one friend here and took a chance moving to a new neighborhood in a new state and new home in 2003.
She bought her home sight unseen and fell in love with Sun Lakes. She was an avid tennis player and that was a big draw for her. She met and befriended many people and participated in many tournaments as a member of the tennis league. Molly was also a pickleball player and a golfer with the lady niners in Oakwood.
Molly met John Sweitzer in 2005, a good looking divorced guy who was also a tennis player. He introduced himself to Molly and ate some of her french fries…at a gathering of the Cheers Group. That was the beginning of a wonderful relationship. They married in 2008, bought a new home together and lived an active involved life. Molly and John worked as a volunteer couple in Chandler Hospital now known as Dignity Health, in the Emergency Room intake area. They were the smiling faces to thousands of those in pain looking for relief. The staff in the ER loved the evenings that John and Molly manned the desk. They were a calming force in a hectic arena.
Molly thinks the best thing about Sun Lakes is the people! Having a great tennis facility and terrific golf courses help keep us active and moving.
Molly is moving back to the Seattle area—Sequim—to another active adult community with lots of amenities. She will be close to her son and daughter–in–law, Josh and Bradi, and her granddaughter Kelsi who is a pastry chef. I am sure they are thrilled to have her so close.
Many people attending her send off paid tribute to her and all that she has given to us here in Sun Lakes. Molly doesn’t know how to say “no.” She always jumped in when asked for help; She was co-chair of the Unit Captains committee for five years. She also worked on various committees for the ladies 9–hole golf league here in Oakwood.
We will miss her quick sense of humor and her smiling face but she promises to keep in touch with all those who are her friends here in Sun Lakes. By the way, a new neighbor has already invited her to attend a Rotary Club meeting and if we know Molly, she will be a member in no time at all!