Homemade bread worth effort to make

The saying goes that when you want something done you search for the busiest person you can find because he or she will add it to his or her list. This doctor’s wife is one of the busiest retired women in town, and she has a long list of activities, including making her bread.

Pat Wills’ husband, Ted, is a physician at the Mason Eye Institute at the MU School of Medicine. He was in private practice for 27 years in Greeley, Colo., where his practice served the huge farming community around Greeley. His wife worked in his office as bookkeeper and fill-in office nurse, as well as helping with his hospital surgeries.

The couple had four children, three of whom are living, and they make an effort to see their eight grandchildren at least twice a year. With a son in North Carolina, another in the Navy and a daughter in Tennessee, they put in a lot of travel time. They lived in Heidelberg, Germany, for three years during the mid-1960s and camped with their children through many parts of Europe, and they love to travel together.

The Assistance League was active in Greeley when they lived there, and Pat served as its budget officer and treasurer. After moving to Columbia, she was instrumental in getting the local league started. The Fortnightly Club has been a wonderful source of social affiliation for Pat and her husband, and they often attend interest group meetings together. At one time, they belonged to four food groups but have since cut back to two.

From 1999 until 2000, Pat was president of Fortnightly. She remains active in a large number of interest groups, attending at least one every day. She can choose from two daytime book groups, quilting and Needlecrafters, genealogy, biking, a ladies discussion group and two antiques groups.

She also remains active in the Boone County Medical Society Alliance, The Boonslick Trail Quilting Guild and The Alter Guild of the Episcopal Church, PEO and King’s Daughters.

The Lifespan Learning program at MU, where she attends at least one class every semester, is her latest interest. Her free time in the evening is spent knitting.

She was about 8 when her mother introduced her to cooking. She made a blueberry pie for her father. She was an only child, and she helped her mother prepare and serve the meals. She tends to prefer the lighter foods and serves a lot of fish, chicken, salads and all kinds of fruits and veggies.

Her breakfast always includes oatmeal, and she has a light daily lunch.

She likes to make her bread and will schedule her bread making with her laundry, using the heat on the top of the dryer to help the bread rise. Her Easy White Bread recipe makes four loaves and can be made along with setting the house to rights.