LOCAL LEGEND

Adrienne Mayberry grew up in the 1930's and ‘40’s in West Palm Beach, Florida.  Her hard-working, no-nonsense, loving parents instilled in her, her older brother and a much younger sister, a set of values that have sustained her throughout her life.  After graduation from high school she attended Tuskegee Institute (now University) in Alabama, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1954 and making several life-long friends.  She accomplished this during a turbulent and difficult time in the history of our country.  From there she moved north, settling and working as a  staff nurse at the local hospital in Englewood, New Jersey.  She married and lived in Englewood with her husband (an electrical engineer) whom she had met during her junior year of college.  By 1962 she had earned a Master of Arts degree in nursing at NYU.  In 1963 she joined the staff of the New Jersey Hospital Association in Princeton as the Nurse Consultant, working with hospitals throughout the state.  

In 1970 she, her husband, and 2 children, packed up and moved cross-continent to Southern California.  She became Director of the California Nurses’ Association, Los Angeles office, remaining until 1975 when she joined the faculty as an Associate Professor of Nursing at California State University Long Beach.  Adrienne remained at the University for 21 years, retiring in 1998 as Professor and as Director of the Undergraduate Nursing Program.  During that time she earned a Doctorate in Public Administration at USC. She is still active, serving as chairperson and member, of doctoral dissertation committees, making periodic trips to California for this purpose.

Adrienne first picked up a tennis racket at the age of 44.  She began with lessons and clinics and continues to do so, feeling that to learn and improve one needs professional direction.  She moved to the Las Vegas area in 1998 and began enjoying the sport almost full time.  She had a setback in 2004, needing rotator cuff surgery.  She worked diligently at her therapy and healed quickly, but along the way scar tissue and adhesions formed too soon.  This led to a second surgery, followed by another round of therapy..  Her serve and overhead motions are not what they used to be but Adrienne has a wicked forehand to which many opponents can attest.

Tall and thin, she attributes her good health to a combination of factors.  Regular exercise is a primary one.  She eats very little red meat, enjoys fruits, vegetables and ice cream with an almost daily regimen of breakfast oatmeal.  She loves music, especially jazz, and has a large collection of albums and framed pictures of greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Mel Torme and Nancy Wilson.  She also likes to read (Mandela is her latest) and to entertain, being an extremely good cook.
She is the proud mother of 2, grandmother of 6, and great grandmother of 2.  Her car license plate holder says “My grandma plays awesome tennis.”  How old is her grandma?!? 
 
See you on the courts, Adrienne!