Teresa Pinkley retires, leaving volunteers in familiar hands

After 16 years of service, Teresa Pinkley retired as volunteer coordinator in July, leaving behind some big shoes to fill.

“During her tenure, Teresa built a good, solid group of volunteers,” said Farmington Presbyterian Manor Executive Director Jane Hull. “She worked diligently selecting and placing volunteers in jobs where they would be successful and jobs they would love. She always made everyone feel welcome and appreciated, had a great sense of humor and anything she did was always done with style and grace.”

So, who would be willing to try to step in and fill those shoes? Turns out it would be Teresa’s own, newly acquired, daughter-in-law—Melanie Schwalenberg.

“I had been teaching English from home via Zoom, and I missed working with real, live people. So, when I heard she was retiring, I told her to let Presbyterian Manor know that I was seriously interested in her job because I knew how much she enjoyed it—especially the people she worked with,” said Melanie.

Now, after going through the interview process and being officially offered the job, Melanie feels honored to be carrying on her mother-in-law’s work.

“I feel very grateful to have this opportunity,” said Melanie. “I really love getting to work with the amazing, kind and helpful volunteers. It is neat to get to work with people that actually enjoy working for free.”

It’s been a big summer for Melanie. In addition to landing the new job, she also married Teresa’s son, Kyle Marshall, on July 31. And while you hear about tumultuous mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships, Melanie says that couldn’t be further from the truth between her and Teresa.

“Teresa and I both love home décor, shopping and reading. We hit it off right at the start, and I really value our relationship,” said Melanie. “I feel blessed to have a mother-in-law that brings so much positivity and goodness to our relationship.”

‍