Meet Your New Neighbors

Terrell (Terry) Nelson retired from the heating and air conditioning business in November with a plan to move to Tehachapi to be closer to his daughter and grandchildren. He chose Christmas Eve the move. As you may recall, it was snowing; maybe not the best day to move but he did have a White Christmas, something most people just dream about.

Terry was born and raised in Oklahoma City. His sister, Nancy, still lives there. As a youngster he loved to play the drums. He played through grade school and had a rock band in high school. He said that he still enjoys playing when he has the opportunity. He joined the Air Force out of high school and that is where he learned his trade. Following his six years in the Air Force, he returned to Oklahoma to attend Oklahoma State University. He moved to Bakersfield in 1976 and worked for the railroad, a job he held until 1981. He said that Bakersfield back then reminded him of Oklahoma. From 1981 until his retirement last year he was a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) contractor, having his own business for a number of those years.

Terry has five grown children. His daughter, Tara lives in Stallion Springs with her husband and their three children Eliza, Galina and Laelle. According to her dad, Tara also loves music and sings. Tara has two older brothers, Troy and Tyler, and two younger sisters, Bethany and Ashley. Terry’s current companion is a lovable white ball of fluff named Max. The Poodle Bichon mix protects their home from cats but can be bought by a scratch behind the ears.

Over the years, Terry said that he had dabbled in real estate, at one time buying homes, fixing them up and reselling them and has had property in Weldon for nine years. However, he adds that for the last few years he has tried to live more simply. When he found out that he might have to wait a year for the apartment he wanted in Tehachapi, he went ahead and sold his home in a Bakersfield mobile home park and the next day bought a lovely huge trailer in Tehachapi. He said this will be home until he gets his apartment unless he decides to buy again. In the meantime he is very involved with his church, Grace Fellowship and keeps a great attitude toward life.

Welcome to Tehachapi, Terry.

Hanna Grace and her husband Timothy don’t actually live in Tehachapi but I met Hanna at the January Greater Tehachapi Economic Development Council where she introduced herself and said that she and her Air Force husband had just arrived from Rapid City, South Dakota. Hanna is a graphic designer and photographer and Timothy is now in the test pilot program at Edwards Air Force Base where they currently live.

Hanna and her sister were born and raised in Rapid City in a military family. Timothy’s family was also military but he was born in England and moved to South Dakota when he was two years old. His family now lives in Texas. Hanna and Timothy met at South Dakota State University where he was studying mechanical engineering. After they were married, they spent some time in Florida where she got a degree in Graphic Design with emphasis on advertising from University of West Florida. Now she is pursuing her Masters of Fine Arts at The Academy of Fine Arts in San Francisco and has joined the Tehachapi Mountain Chapter of Business Network International (BNI).

As if that isn’t enough, she and Timothy have two very active boys, four year old Parker and two year old Trevor. The boys are both heavily into Lego. The family has only been in California two months and they have already been to Legoland twice and now have an annual pass. Also part of the household is a Samoyed named Kabar and a cat name Boots Jr. According to Hanna, Boots Sr. was her dad’s cat.

Hanna said that she hopes that they may be able to move up to Tehachapi by the end of the year. In the meantime, she plans to stay active here and her husband will be spending some time here at the glider port where he will learn to fly gliders as part of his training.

Welcome to California, Grace family.

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.