About Jerima
A Life of Love, Activism, and Adventure
I embarked on my first overseas trip at fifteen, leaving Panama with my mother, Gilda, to celebrate my (quinceañera) in Bogotá, Colombia. We journeyed through Medellin and Cali, where I had my first taste of raspberries, a fruit not found in Panama. This trip was the start of a lifetime filled with travel, love, and activism.
A little over a year later, I traveled to Waterloo, Iowa, as an exchange student, staying with the True Family in Elk Run Heights. It was there I encountered cultural nuances like paying taxes on candy, which was a new experience. More importantly, I met Bill King at East High School, who would become the love of my life. We began dating that school year and maintained a long-distance relationship before marrying in December of 1976.
Bill’s career in the Air Force took us on journeys across the U.S. Our hopes of being stationed in Panama or Europe didn’t pan out; instead, we moved from Texas to Mississippi, where our daughter, Anna, was born, and then to Nebraska, where our son, Adam, was born. I also became a naturalized U.S. citizen in Nebraska, a significant milestone in my life.
After Bill’s retirement from the Air Force, he worked as a contractor, enabling us to travel to places like Spain and Hawaii. In Spain, we visited my Aunt Iberia, who has lived there for decades, along with my cousins Iberin, Aidita, and Anita. Together, we explored the blend of modernity and history in Madrid and Toledo, connected by a high-speed train.
My love for travel later took me to China and Azerbaijan with the Junior Olympic boxing team. In China, I visited pandas and met young people eager to practice English, while in Baku, Azerbaijan, I experienced a blend of ancient culture and stoic Russian architecture. I also enjoy cruises, which have taken me from Alaska to the Caribbean, and on an unforgettable journey through Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea, visiting places like St. Petersburg, Norway, Finland, and Estonia.
Despite a near-drowning experience as a child, I’ve developed a love for water activities, including snorkeling in Mexico, Panama, and Aruba, and white-water rafting in Colorado. I’ve also explored remarkable destinations in the U.S., such as South Dakota’s Black Hills, Utah’s Zion and Arches National Parks, and the Grand Canyon, where I shared special family memories with Bill, our children, my mother Gilda, my aunt Nana, and my stepdad Mundo Varela.
My adventures are filled with unique collectibles, each a reminder of cherished moments. Inspired by a spoon rack given by my mother-in-law, I collect spoons from each place I visit and spoons given to me by friends and family members. I also cherish a rare spoon from the United Nations building, a place I once thought I’d never see. My other treasures include decorated chopsticks, molas from Panama’s Guna Yala people, woven Wounaan baskets, and carved tagua figures, which are my favorite collectibles.
Languages have enriched my life, as I’m fluent in Spanish, English, and French, and I am currently studying Portuguese and Italian. I even practiced French weekly with friends from Canada and France, a connection that brought joy and growth in my language skills.
Some of my most profound experiences have come through activism. I protested against banks funding the Dakota Access Pipeline (my first arrest) and spoke out against the separation of families at the border (my second arrest). My work as an interpreter led me to support immigrants through Accompaniment and Sanctuary COS (ASC COS). This journey of faith and activism connected me with inspiring women at Vista Grande United Church of Christ, who showed me the true meaning of Christianity and continue to support me in my fight for justice for Black and Brown individuals and our unhoused neighbors.
One of my most treasured assignments was as an interpreter during the birth of a baby boy. Holding him moments after his birth was magical, a moment that felt even more significant to me than to the baby’s parents, who already had five children.
My activism has extended to helping those in need in Colorado Springs. After witnessing the neglect of unhoused people in a tent city, I became involved with Blackbird Outreach and later Spreading Smiles and Sandwiches, an organization that has served, and continues to serve, the community for over seven years with food, toiletries, and clothing.
Through the years, I’ve had the privilege of supporting several charities, including Plan International, Doctors Without Borders, The Nature Conservancy, and the Colorado Immigrants Rights Coalition. My professional journey also included a career as a software engineer, where I worked on GPS systems at Falcon/Schriever AFB, a role especially impactful during Desert Storm. Later, I transitioned into teaching, interpreting, and translating, roles that allowed me to connect deeply with the communities I served.
In recent years, I’ve faced a new challenge with glioblastoma. The journey has been difficult, and the fatigue is beyond what I’ve ever experienced. Yet, the loving and compassionate care from the Memorial Central Cancer Center and the staff at Memorial Central Hospital, especially those on the 7th floor, has provided immense comfort. My story continues as I await my next MRI results on September 29.
It is with great sadness that I witnessed the second inauguration of Donald Trump with fear for all the marginalized people he has chosen to attack viciously. I fear for my fellow immigrants and my friend from the LGBTQIA+ community. I fear for the environment and the planet as a whole. As the glioblastoma progresses I feel weaker and less able to fight. There now is a cardboard "Jerima" who can attend protests and rallies for me. I call her my "protest twin".