Welcome to the first article of Meet Your Neighbor. In the spirit of building community, we will be highlighting one of your Rancho Vistoso neighbors and capturing aspects their unique lives that make up the diversity of our community.
Meet Ulla Warner – Vistoso Hills Neighborhood
If you were to sit down and have a cup of coffee with Ulla, you wouldn’t have to worry about finding interesting topics to talk about. Ulla’s perspective on life has been influenced by her international background and multitude of experiences.
Born and educated in Germany, Ulla has been a competitive tennis player, business manager in Germany, a standby interpreter for a Pakistani Ambassador, owner of multiple Baskin Robbins ice cream stores, a travel agent for 35 years, and most recently, a prolific painter and quilter. One of the many fun facts of Ulla’s life is at the age of 18 she was in a Frankfurt bar and danced with Elvis Presley. Ulla will confirm that Elvis was the most handsome man she has ever met!
Ulla and her husband Jim have been living in Rancho Vistoso since 1999, back when the closest grocery store was 5 miles away. Prior to moving to Vistoso, Ulla and Jim lived in Bellevue, Washington for 35 years. She first discovered the beauty of Tucson while attending the opening of the El Conquistador Hotel in the early 1980s.
Working as a travel agent allowed Ulla and Jim to travel extensively, visiting over 100 countries and helping organize world rallies. When Ulla was 65, her and Jim participated in a challenging rally sponsored by her brother that went from Singapore to Heidelberg. Unfortunately, the timing of the rally coincided with the rainy season in Asia and Ulla had to contend with floods and torrential storms. But her most vivid memory of that time – being held up at gun point in the mountains of Laos.
With all this world experience, Ulla will tell you that her favorite place to be is right here in Rancho Vistoso. Why? Ulla relishes in the unobstructed mountain views and tranquility of living in our serene and safe neighborhood. “Lead your life the way you want to,” is Ulla’s philosophy. “We live in America where we can do that. Never take that for granted.”
Do you have a neighbor we should meet? Please tell us at [email protected] why you think they would be good to meet and supply the neighbor’s phone number and email address. Also, be sure to let your neighbor know that you referred them to us.