Kathy Moriarty, Director

Kathy learned about the Gold Tone Choir when they performed at her church. She came in quietly and sat down to sing soprano. The accompanist had to leave for personal reasons and the choir was weeks away from their yearly paid performance. Kathy volunteered to take over leaving everyone wondering how that would be possible. But the group quickly learned that she was very capable and talented. No one knew that she had been accompanying choirs and instruments for 40 years.

She was born in East Texas and received her Bachelors degree in Music Education (B.M.Ed.) from Baylor University.

Kathy has accompanied high school bands for their competitions, is a member of Euterpean Music Club, is the church organist at Westminster Presbyterian Church, and rings hand bells. She is very active in Presbyterian Women and Women United.

Kathy is married to Mike and not ready to retire. She is a real asset and the choir hopes she will continue for many years

Debra Adams

Debra was born in Upstate New York, splitting her first decade between New York, Japan, and Mineral Wells, Texas which became her adopted home town.

You could say she grew up in a musical family. Her mother was a New York Conservatory-trained pianist and organist who played in churches most of her life. Debra and her 5 siblings all played instruments in the Jr. High and High School marching and concert bands.

The first song Debra remembers performing was "Pretty Little Dutch Girl" in a trio of pretty little first grade girls. Since then, Debra has been singing alto in various church choirs. She also now sings with the Southwest Fort Worth Community Chorus and The Euterpian Club women's choir at the Woman's Club of Fort Worth, where she met Kathy Moriarty who invited Debra to sing with the Gold Tones Senior Show Choir. She had been looking for a fulfilling way to volunteer her time after retiring from teaching. When she met the fun-loving members of the Gold Tones, she knew this was the place for her. Volunteering to sing for Seniors in retirement homes and other groups was a perfect fit.

Debra has been married for 45 years and is blessed with 2 children, their spouses, and 2 brilliant grandboys. Along with singing, Debra enjoys listening to music all day long, reading, gardening, traveling and spending time with family and friends.

Darlis Anthony

Darlis, who sings tenor, has been with the Gold Tones since 2002, after meeting one of the choir members at a ballroom dance. He invited her to visit the choir to see if she would like to join, and she has been with them ever since.

Darlis sang her first solo in church at the age of six. She learned to harmonize from a wonderful elementary school music teacher, and then took voice lessons in high school. She has sung with various church choirs and choral groups through the years, and has especially enjoyed her time spent singing harmony in a duet at various venues around the Metroplex. During her working years, she was a receptionist/secretary for a doctor, a 4-H leader, and volunteered in many capacities with her children. She was married to an airline pilot who was also a rancher. His job kept him away a lot so she handled many of the ranching jobs.

Her favorite activities include singing, dancing, designing and sewing, gardening, breakfast with friends, reading and traveling. She is the proud mother of four children and eleven grand children.

Darlis has been a very active member of the Gold Tones serving ten years on the Board of Directors and many years as Chairman of the telephone committee.

Jean Carmichael

Jean grew up just outside of New York City and studied piano through her college years. She also sang in the glee club and choir in both high school and college. She graduated from Sweet Briar College and later received her Master of Science Degree from Springfield College. After graduaton, she and her then husband moved to Spain for 8 years where both of her sons were born.

Upon returning to the States. Jean began her career with the YMCA, serving as an Executve Director in Charlotesville, VA, Dallas, TX and Los Angeles, CA. She then became CEO of the Santa Maria Valley YMCA and finally retred after 37 years as Vice President of the Fort Worth Associaton. Feeling that she had had enough moving around, Jean decided to call Fort Worth her home. Stll connected to the YMCA, she serves on the Natonal Boardof YMCA Alumni.

Jean fills her tme reading, exercising, enjoying the local museums, and lying in the hammock. She has 2 sons and daughters-in-law and 3 grandchildren.

Patricia Graczyk

Patricia was born in Reading, PA. She arrived in Texas in 1974 along with her late husband, Don, who was an Air Force Officer.

Patricia began classical voice training when she was 13 years old. She particularly loves songs from the old operettas. Patricia continued to study voice for many years. When her family was stationed in Massachusetts, she attended the Springfield Conservatory of Music. She also performed in various Air Force little theaters and the Officer Wives chorus. Patricia also sang in various church choirs and performed the Soprano solo in Messiah by Handel several times.

Today, Patricia sings in her church choir and sometimes solos at other churches. She has several programs that she sings for various neighborhood groups, etc. She is a proud member of the E. Clyde Whitlock Music Club at the Womans Club of Fort Worth.

Patricia has a son and daughter who live in the area as well as one grandson. She loves to travel, dance, swim and exercise. She is a graduate of UTA and is retired from Alcon Laboratories.

Frieda Graczyk

Frieda, who sings alto, has just joined the choir on August 22, 2017. Her mother-in-law Patricia had found an ad in the newspaper and called to see if they needed a soprano and she joined the week before..

Frieda was raised in a Christian family and has been singing in church all her life. When she was 15 she joined the teenage choir at First Missionary Baptist Church in Elgin, Illinois, then as an adult she was in the adult choir. For 2 years she and 3 others started a quartet singing harmony.

Frieda was born in Chicago, Illinous. During her working years she was a Quality Inspector for various factories. Her last job was at American NTN Bearing Manufacturing in Elgin, Illinous for 15 years. She quit in 2003 to babysit her grandchildren. In July 2005 she moved to Southern Illinous with her husband Richard. He passed away in April 2010.

In March 2013 she came to Texas for her best friend's wedding where she met her current husband Curtis. She moved to Texas in February 2013. Frieda and Curtis were married April 23, 2013 in Hawaii on the island of Oahu.

Frieda has 4 married daughters who live in Illinous with their families. Frieda has 8 grandchildren. She was blessed with a step son, Jason, when she married Curtis. Frieda got the son she never had and her daughters got the brother they always wanted.

Linda Hines

Linda loves to sing so much that she went online looking for a choir. (Spring 2017) When she found out the Gold Tones entertain for retirement centers, she knew she had found the perfect choir for her. When her mother was in the nursing facility, the musical groups were her most favorite activity. Now, Linda gets to bring music to the retirement community in memory of her Mom.

One of Linda's most influential teachers in high school was her choir teacher. Linda sang in select choirs and ensembles where Mrs. Bryant taught performance skills and demanded choral excellence. She went on to sing in choirs and ensembles in college at Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, Oklahoma. Her father was a pastor, so she grew up singing in church and continued to do so throughout her adult life.

Being the Director of the Heavenly-Son-Light Choir was Linda's most rewarding role in church music. She founded and directed the childrens choir for twenty-three years, leading them in two musicals a year. These were full-scale productions with music, drama, costumes, backdrops, and props. She loved teaching kids the joy of singing for God. Those were the best years of her musical life!

As for her career, Linda worked as a graphic artist for Radio Shack, and Harcourt Brace Textbook Publishers, among others. When she started in her field everything was done by hand. But in 1991 she went to the Art Institute of Dallas to learn computer skills.

Linda's husband, Murray, had a 40-year career at Bell Helicopter in management. They have been married 52 years, have two sons and a daughter (by birth), their spouses, one son (not by birth, but by heart), and eleven grandchildren. They love, Fort Worth, their adopted hometown!

Bob Krause

Bob was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and got his Electrical Engineering degree from BYU and his MBA from ASU in Arizona. After working for a number of electric power companies, he went out on his own as an independent consultant handling clients throughout the U.S. for 15 years and then developing contracts with USAID and the State Department in foreign countries (Pakistan, Egypt, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan).

Eventually tiring of travel and warzones, Bob retired but stays involved in family businesses (his wife, Barb,owns a travel agency and they own a beauty salon) and spends time with his twin grandkids.

Bob's interest in music started when his grandfather bought him a guitar when he was 10 years old. He moved on from folk music to pop, show tunes, choir music, barbershop, and classical.

Dorothy M. Sneed Lampkin

The Gold Tone Choir is fortunate to have Dorothy Lampkin as a new member. She adds a new dimension to the choir in their continuing effort to meet the needs of everyone.

Dorothy is an interpreter for the deaf. She has been doing this for 40 years and has too many civic and professional awards and recognitions to be listed here. Her graceful arm and hand motions add to the enjoyment of the non-hearing impaired in the audience, too.

She received her degree in Education from Texas Christian University and taught in Fort Worth for 31 years. She is married to A.B. Lampkin who sings tenor in the choir. They are the proud parents of 2 boys, two girls, 19 Grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Dorothy is a delightful addition to the choir and the Gold Tones hope she will be with them for many years.

A. B. Lampkin

A.B. is a true native Texan born in Gonzales and grew up in Anson, Texas. He is an alumnus of Grambling State University and attended Charter Life Underwriters Classes at Texas Christian University.

He has worked as Managing Editor for the Dallas Express Newspaper, a tailor for several men's clothing stores, life underwriter for two major insurance companies and retired as Team Leader for the Fort Worth I.S.D. Transportation Department.

His community service activities are almost too numerous to name. He has been very active in Reading Across America and can be found reading to school children on many days. He supports Women of Achievement with anything that is needed. He helped establish the Goodrich Center for the deaf, and, he has been active in Texas State Teachers Association and the Boy Scouts. A.B. has received many awards, but is the most proud of his "Second Miler Award" given to those who go that extra mile.

Invited to join by Calvin Harris who has been a member from the beginning, A. B. is a new and welcome addition to the choir's tenor section. His music study began in high school where he was taught sight reading. He continued singing in church choirs and has been the guest soloist throughout Texas.

Married to Dorothy for 53 years, he is proud of their four children, ten grandchildren, and eleven great grandchildren.

We hope he will be with the Gold Tones for a very long time.

Karen Havens Martin

A 1976 graduate of Texas Tech University, Karen started her adult working life in Fort Worth with Eddie Childs’ Western Company. His motto of "If you do not have an oil well, get one" sounded good to her. She had started Tech with a partial music scholarship, but quickly changed her focus and regretted it for many years. Joining the Gold Tones in 2014 was a joy years in the making.

Karen became a travel agent in Ardmore, OK in 1983 as the industry was just starting to computerize their operations. She continued in that exciting field in Odessa, TX and finally moved back to the Fort Worth area in 1988 to manage, and later own TCU Tan, Nails, and Travel. Moving across the street and changing the name to Cruises Plus, she owned the agency for many years and traveled the world in a quest to meet everyone, see everything, and do everything before she died. Nearly accomplishing just that, she went back to school for her Masters at Tarleton State and started teaching. In 2004 she was privileged to start her final degree at UNT with a Doctoral in Administrative Education. One of her great joys before retiring in 2012 was directing class choral performances each year. Along with her husband, Stephen, also a choir member, she hopes they give as much joy to others, as singing gives to her.

Pam McKenzie

Pam McKenzie moved to Ft Worth in March of 2016 and joined the Gold Tone Show Choir one month later singing in the alto section. She was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pam has a Bachelor of Music degree from Aquinas College and has been involved with Catholic church music for 35 years. She presently is serving the St Joseph Church in Cleburne as Music Director. There she is developing and adult choir and has formed their first childrens choir. In Michigan, Pam, has sung the Grand Rapids Diocese Choir performing at many Ordinations of priests and deacons and singing each year one of the elaborate Requiems for All Souls Day. She has also been on the local board for National Pastoral Musicians (NPM) in Grand Rapids and has chaired two large conventions there. Besides having fun with her two grandchildren, she enjoys gardening, arts and crafts and traveling.

Carole Miller

Carole was born at Langley Field, Virginia, where her father was stationed during World War II. The family moved to West Texas where she grew up in a family that loved music. She started taking piano lessons in the 2nd grade and continued until graduation from high school. She grew up singing in church choirs and in the A Capella choir at Midland High School. She and her sisters always sang at family reunions whenever there was a talent show.

Carole graduated from Texas Tech and taught first and second graders for 38 years, retiring 14 years ago to move back to the family home to help her sister care for their mother who had Alzheimers. Carole is one of the newest Gold Tone members, joining in January after moving with her 2 sisters to Ft. Worth to be closer to family. She saw on the Next Door Candleridge app that the choir needed new members, so the three sisters decided to come to a rehearsal and check it out and are enjoying putting singing back into their lives again. Singing is almost always accompanied by a smile! We have had two gigs and like the new music that we are learning for our next one.

Carole also enjoys get-togethers with family and friends, playing the piano, sewing, and traveling. She loves her new home in Ft. Worth and the fact that there is so much to do in the DFW area.

Jeny Miller

One of my favorite childhood memories is holding my baby brother, rocking and singing him a lullaby. When he looked up and smiled at me that was the beginning of my love for singing. From church choirs to high school and college choirs, I have been singing just about my whole life.

I grew up in West Texas and as the third daughter, followed in the footsteps of my older sisters and attended Texas Tech. I graduated with a Bachelors degree in music education (B.M.Ed.). I taught for several years and although I loved teaching, I had the opportunity to apply for a totally different kind of position. So I tested and was one of a few women selected to work for the U. S. Navy in an apprentice program to become an electronics mechanic. I spent the next several years at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California working on nuclear submarines. Every day was a new adventure. The Navy ultimately had other plans, and conducted a huge reduction in force. In other words, I got laid off. I weighed all my options, thought long and hard, and decided to move back to Texas. So I packed up everything and moved, lock, stock and barrel, with a 16 year old daughter in tow. Left a son in California with my fingers crossed and many prayers that he was indeed old enough to take care of himself. I am so proud to say both kids are highly successful adults!

And here I am, many years later, now retired, but still looking for new adventures and still singing. I love being retired. It gives me a lot more time to do those things I love; like spending time with loved ones and singing with the Gold Tone Show Choir. I also love quilting. I am just a novice at it but feel a great sense of accomplishment when I complete one. So that is my story and I am sticking to it!

Tom O'Connor

Tom, like so many, started piano lessons at an early age, started playing the trumpet in seventh grade and continued playing in the band through high school. Played Barintone in college at North Texas State. (the Baritone is an instrument used in marching bands and concert bands in the 40's and is no longer used)

His singing began with the Army Men's Chorale where he sang on TV in Washington D.C. He also sang on nation wide TV on the Arlene Francis Show from New York. He continued singing in many church choirs and other groups. Currently he sings with All Saints Episcopal Church and the Fort Worth Symphony Chorus (SWBTS Chorale) in addition to the Gold Tones.

He learned about the Gold Tone Show Choir from former member David Lindsey and has been with the choir for four years.

Before retiring, Tom was a Licensed Engineer for 40 years in product design at General Dynamics and has spent 4 years with a consulting firm.

Tom's wife is a physician and they have three daughters: one a veterinarian, one a teacher, and one a corporate attorney.

Since he is 90% Irish, he would like to rent a castle in Ireland for a family reunion when everyone can get away at the same time.

Lynette Parkhurst

Conversing with The Gold Tones Show Choir director before their performance at an assisted living where her mom is staying, Lynette, a soprano, was invited to sing on the spot. The rest is history. Born and raised Fort Worthian and Church Music graduate of Texas Lutheran University, Lynette has accompanied choirs, instruments, Lutheran Seminary in the Southwest (LSPS), and rang for seven years with the Austin Handbell Ensemble - a professional community group. Having served as Music Director in several denominational churches, she is in her 18th year as the Music Director at St. John/San Juan Lutheran in South Austin. Not knowing much Spanish and the Lutheran Spanish hymnal only having a melody with Do, Re, Mi chords, paved the way to create accompaniments, be a member of the Episcopal Cancionero (Songbook) Executive Committee, and be a resource for the Latino community. If there had been accompaniment in the Lutheran Spanish hymnal, I would have practiced and gone home. I love to be able to play tango, salsa, bossa nova, and glissandos in church! Since 2012, Lynette teaches Latino Hymnody at LSPS Spanish Intensives; June 2017 for the Episcopal Latino Ministry Competency course. A Masters of Music in Mariachi/Salsa at Texas State University in San Marcos is her next goal. Just north of Austin - Cedar Park - is where Lynette resides with her husband, when not being with mom. A total of three children, three Hispanic grandchildren, and a cat and dog fills their lives.

Stephen Rookard

Stephen has had a deep voice all his life. As a teenager he would scare many a mother with a voice that sounded well beyond his years when calling for a date. Though he never studied music, he did get a Bachelor of Arts in Radio-TV as he put his outstanding voice to use in college as an announcer & DJ at the campus of UTEP. He worked 28 years with AT&T and its affiliates, including several years doing voice overs on long distances announcements for all of AT&T and using his voice for call answering prompts.

Stephen also developed his speaking skills with Toastmasters for seven years, serving as president three years. His wife was a scholarship winner in Music at Texas Tech. She was a soprano that joined the Goldtones Choir four months before he did. Not sure of his talent for singing, but at her urging, he ventured out into the world of singing. Stephen brings a deep, low bass voice much enjoyed by those that hear him. He seems to be a keeper.

Jerry Roy

I was fortunate to be born into a wonderful family that loved music. All seven of Dad's siblings and his Mom & Dad played instruments. When all nine of them got together, there was a lot of music. The interesting thing was not even one could read music. My Dad was the most accomplished player of the family. He was a Jazz musician, that did very well with his Tenor Saxophone.

I was exposed to that influence for years, which caused my love of music to soar. My Grandmother wanted me to be a preacher, but I declined that suggestion. That is when she sent me to song leading school in 1951 with the message, if you are not going to preach, then you will have to lead singing in the church of Christ, which used music with shaped notes. So, off and on over the next 30 years, I have continued to lead at churches in Texas, Georgia & Canada.

My first love in singing is acapella harmony, especially religious music which is why I spent 20 years singing with Rosemont church of Christ Chorus. Finally, in the last 10 years, I have sung with the Southwestern Baptist Seminary Chorale, Ft. Worth Baroque Society, Ft. Worth Choral Society, and Cantorum De Renaissance, which has exposed me to all types of music.

By the way, I still love to sing and still cannot read music.

Joyce Whitley

Joyce was born in Jal, New Mexico and moved to Midland Texas before first grade. She attended public schools and graduated from Texas Tech with a secondary education degree with emphasis on English. She lived in California for one year and then came back to Texas. She taught English to eighth graders for 33 years and guesses that she taught somewhere around 4500 teenagers. She loved that age group and liked to think that she made an impact on their lives as they did hers.

She was a single parent to three wonderful children and she now has seven grandchildren who are the lights of her life. Five of them live in this area and two live in Houston. She always looks forward to the summers when they would all come to her house for "Camp Grammy." Being closer to them and her children is what prompted her to move to Fort Worth. One sister lived in Arlington and one with her in Midland so they decided to buy a house together in Fort Worth. She loves being closer to family and not having to travel five hours to see them. She also loves waking in the morning and being able to say good morning to her two best friends.

Her sister saw the notice for the Gold Tone choir wanting new members and suggested that they might like to "check it out".. They did and, as the saying goes "The rest is history." She sings alto and enjoys it very much. Never did she imagine that she would be a part of a show choir, replete with costumes, but she is and she loves it.

David Wright

David and his wife, Deborah, settled in Fort Worth from Los Angeles in1978. Their son, Seth, works as a 9-1-1 call dispatcher for MedStar. David's first born son, Bruce, is a computer animator for Disney.

Encouraged by his mother's piano style ansd singing as well as her musical parents he learned the art of entertaining at a very young age. In high school his music education continued with choir and Madrigal Membership. In 1997 he joined the Barbershop Harmony Society singing lead, tenor, or bass in competetive Chorus and Quartet events as well as theatrical shows and recitals.