Joyce Wainscott
Meet Magdalena de Block, president of SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary. First, you see the impish countenance, then boundless energy, the bright smile, mischievous eyes, and exploding laughter, which is often followed by an utterance of, “Oh sheet!” A perfect blend of a whirling dervish and Mother Teresa.
Maggie entered the SaddleBrooke charity scene in 2007 with SaddleBrooke Community Outreach, serving as president for four years. She orchestrated and continues to coordinate portions of the Adopt-a-Child program with shopping, wrapping, and delivering the gifts to San Carlos Apache Reservation. She grew the Kids’ Closet from an abandoned San Manuel schoolroom to a modern steel building in Mammoth, leasing the land for $1 a year.
In her spare time, she golfs, belongs to Verde Sputters, plays poker, and visits her brothers in Florida and relatives in the Netherlands. Maggie’s Rotary activities include volunteering at the Golden Goose, the Tri-Community Food Bank, the Tucson Marathon aid station, SaddleBrooke’s “I Don’t Want It” Sale, the Triangle Y Ranch Camp cleanup, and San Manuel Elementary School.
The project closest to her heart is 51 Homes Vets in Tucson, a homeless veterans assistance program. Maggie’s life tells us why. Maggie’s family, Dutch citizens, helped colonize the Dutch West Indies in the 1860s and had substantial holdings. As war spread in Southeast Asia and Europe, they attempted to return to Europe in 1940. Their efforts were thwarted when Holland fell under German occupation. Maggie’s father and uncle were called to serve in the Dutch military in Southeast Asia. Maggie’s grandmother, a government official, was imprisoned in 1943 after the Japanese invasion. The remaining women (Maggie’s mother, aunt, and sister) fled north into the mountains.
Magdalena was born in Garat in 1945. Her family was held in an internment camp during the latter part of the war. In late 1946, the Dutch government repatriated Dutch citizens to Holland. Maggie, her sister, brother (born in early 1946), her mother, and her grandmother were sent to The Hague. Housing was difficult, and the children were placed in care for two years to deal with malnutrition and allow the women to help rebuild the country. They visited on weekends. In 1952 Maggie’s mother remarried, and in 1959 the family (excluding the grandmother) immigrated to Florida. Two brothers were born there.
After high school, Maggie served in the Air Force as a medic, completed a degree in political science, and returned to the Air Force where she completed Officer’s Training as a Second Lieutenant and worked in Air Intelligence during the Vietnam War. In 1972 she became a contracting officer, serving internationally. She retired a Lieutenant Colonel in 1982 and left the reserves in 1997. Maggie worked for TRW on defense contracts until 2005.
If you have a passion for service, laughter, and camaraderie, consider joining us. You will love meeting Maggie and the rest of our cast of characters. Contact us at [email protected].