Welcome, Nita Mountjoy!

If you have noticed an additional beautiful soprano voice in our choir lately, then you have “met” Nita Mountjoy, aka the mother of Debbie Walker! In fact, when Nita joined WACC a few weeks ago, it was her second time to be a member at WACC. Nita, her husband Tom, and their four children were first members at Washington Avenue from 1973 to 1977, before Tom was transferred to another job location.

Nita was born in Montrose, Colorado, but the family moved to Casper, Wyoming, when she was only nine months old. In addition to preaching, her father was an accomplished pianist with a beautiful tenor voice and sang in the at Yale University Glee Club. Here’s an interesting fact: Nita’s father and grandfather were both Disciples of Christ pastors. She inherited her Dad’s musical talent and has spent much of her life singing in and directing choirs and small choral groups. She was a member of the Ashtabula Choral Society for over 40 years. Her father was eventually employed by the St. Louis Christian Board of Publications (now Chalice Press), which is where they were living when Nita met Tom Mountjoy through church. She was 15, and Tom, an “older” man at 18! Nita majored in Music Education at Culver-Stockton College in Missouri, and she and Tom, a railroad employee, were married when she was 21. Nita taught for a few years but quit to devote her time to their family of four. Here’s another fun fact: Debbie is the oldest and the shortest!

The family moved to Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1966, where Tom was employed in carpentry work until a back injury changed his direction, and he accepted a position with Union Carbide. More transfers followed, including four years in Oberlin, which is when the family joined Washington Avenue Christian Church for the first time. Tom’s last transfer was to Jefferson, Ohio. Nita tried to find work as a teacher in Jefferson, but there were no positions available. Eventually, she found a satisfactory career as a general activities director in nursing homes. Her musical background helped her particularly when she worked with patients in an Alzheimer’s unit.

Sadly, Tom passed in 1998. Nita was able to stay with her musical activities and continued her nursing home career to retirement. She enjoys reading and has been active in many book clubs. She also loves movies and is considered the Family Movie Critic. In December 2022, she moved in with daughter Debbie and son-in-law Wayne, joined the WACC Community choir, and after that, the church.

Nita, you are welcome and wanted here. We are so happy that you are part of the WACC Family.