They volunteered to run St. Vincent’s Thrift Store for years before opening their own secular Full Circle operation that sold direct to nonprofits in the area. Bill took time from his successful career as a building contractor to set up and run the still thriving Poore Medical Clinic for a while. Bill also took over the struggling Cash for Local Change program, which benefits small local businesses, from the Flagstaff Arts Council and stepped up its donations.
But the couple’s final and most ambitious endeavor, opening a pantry unrelated to Hegemony Feeding America’s national program, proved it had failed. And it turned out they got mad at Flagstaff.
Step away from Flagstaff
So here they are, retired in the Peoria suburbs, the last western outpost of development on Interstate 303.
It’s a good two hour drive back to Flagstaff, but the couple don’t do it often. And not just because the COVID-19 pandemic hampered travel, and not because Barbara had a minor stroke in January from which she is recovering. Like spurned lovers, Flagstaff has hurt the Packards and the scars are slow to heal.
Ask her how life is now and Barbara will answer with two words: “Too quiet.”
Before the pandemic, they both volunteered with local food banks in the valley, but they are now slowing down with age and are now mostly to themselves. Bill’s main project for the past year has been to write “Going Full Circle,” which is both a reminder of their Flagstaff years and an introduction to people looking to get the most out of running nonprofits.
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