Meet your new neighbors

Irene and Rory Fox love the mountains. They met in Mt. Baldy, California, 12 years ago. Irene was teaching school and Rory was and still is a contractor. Their move to Tehachapi brought them back to the mountains from Canyon Lake, near Lake Elsinore in Riverside County. They had lived in that gated community for six years but the lure of the mountains and friends who were already living here made them think that Tehachapi might be just the place to retire. They found a house in the mountains of Bear Valley that had been vacant since 2005 and had never been completed. The house was the perfect challenge for the contractor who has now made it his own.

Irene was born in Holland and came to the United States at the age of three. She lived and grew up in Baldwin Park, California, until she went to college. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in Behavioral Science and taught kindergarten through sixth grade for 35 years. She has taught adult education classes as well. She told me that she has a brother who is now retired and lives in Palm Springs. Irene and Rory are raising her eleven year old grandson, Etherin, who is also enjoying the family’s move to the mountains and being in a new school.

Rory was born on Long Island in New York State. He has a daughter in Los Angeles with two children and another on the way. Irene told me that she and Rory have an adopted daughter who is living in Ontario, California, who also has three children.

Aside from the many children in their life, Irene and Rory are avid golfers; another reason why they will really enjoy their new Bear Valley home.

Welcome to Tehachapi, Irene, Rory and Etherin.

Rudy and Caroleanne Knopf met online. Rudy was living in Nebraska and Caroleanne was living in Alaska. They were married in Alaska and moved to Nebraska where they lived for fourteen years before making the move to Tehachapi. Why Tehachapi, you might ask? Caroleanne grew up here and always loved the area.

Caroleanne was born in Henderson, Nevada, but grew up in Victorville and Tehachapi. She told me that for years she and her sister looked forward to weekends when they would go to the grange dance on Saturday and then go to church on Sunday. She raised two sons and eventually moved to the Palm Springs area. She said that she waitressed at Billy Reed’s in Palm Springs for 13 years before her sons convinced her to join their families in Kenai, Alaska. One son works as a painter and the other does concrete work. She has four grandsons, three granddaughters and a great-grandson. Her great-grandson lives here in Tehachapi; another reason for making the move west.

Carolanne said that she hated Alaska so was more than happy to move to Nebraska when she married Rudy. Rudy was born and raised in the area around Howell, Nebraska, which is near Columbus on the eastern part of the state. He has two sisters living in Nebraska, one in Fremont and one in David City. For 20 years, Rudy worked in quality control for Great Dane Trailers in Wayne, Nebraska. On his retirement, he was ready for a new adventure. He loves to go fishing, likes to Bar BQ and spend time gardening in the back yard so California sounded good to him. Since their arrival, Caroleanne says that she spends most of her time on the computer or following her shows on television.

Since moving to Tehachapi, they have added six-month-old Boots to their household. This amazing little cat takes great pleasure in jumping straight up in the air like a wound up spring. What a great way to get attention.

We are glad you came back to Tehachapi, Caroleanne. A great big welcome to you and Rudy.

If you have moved to the Greater Tehachapi Area within the last six months and would like to know more about your new community, call 661-822-8188. We will be happy to make an appointment for a hostess to come by and give you lots of helpful information, some valuable coupons, gifts and much more. Many families and individuals who come to the area are pleasantly surprised with the amount of knowledge they gather about their new home. Publishing your welcome article is completely voluntary and is not a requirement of being welcomed.