Dow Anna McGregor grew up volunteering. Her mother, Francis Dunaway McGregor volunteered at hospitals, nursing homes, churches and people’s homes. So it was just natural that Dow Anna McGregor would follow in her footsteps.

“I used to wonder why I love to volunteer and then I started thinking about the things my Mother and I used to do together and most of it was helping and serving others. As long as I can remember my mom took me with her to nursing homes, churches, and hospitals while she helped everyone. I just grew up helping my mother help others. My mother loved to serve and thought that service was one of the most noble things that you could do,” explained McGregor.

Almost everyday you can find Dow Anna at Trinity Mission visiting and helping the residents. She said, “I love the residents at Trinity Mission. They have become like family to me. I do the little things for them because the staff takes care of everything else.”

You can see McGregor going down the halls patting a resident on the back or giving them a big hug. “Some of the folks up here have no family. No one comes to see them. Sometimes they just need a pat on the back, or a hug,” she explained.

If you don’t see her in the halls then just look in the dining room. There she will be helping those that need a little help eating, or just a helping hand or companionship. Who wants to eat alone?

For thirty years McGregor was a junior high school teacher. She taught in Waxahachie and Duncanville. She retired from Duncanville ISD after teaching there for fifteen years. She taught art, english and coached basketball. She came from a long line of teachers. Her grandmother and her mother both were teachers. She explained, “It was just a natural thing for me to teach. I loved all my teachers when I was in school and I wanted to make a good and lasting impression on my students and help anyway I could.”

“I love the residents at Trinity Mission, they are like family. Frustration runs rampant with the elderly because they cannot do everything they used to be able to do. I am their outside connection. I love what I do and I love them, they make my life better.”