Early Beginnings

My mother, Ingrid, was born in Germany during WWII and immigrated to the U.S. My father Jerry grew up in Georgia in a farm family. He joined the U.S. Army in the 1960s and first served in the Infantry and then became an Army helicopter pilot. I was only two weeks old when my dad was sent to Viet Nam. After he returned, our family spent most of our years in Germany, Fort Benning, now Fort Moore, and Fort Rucker, now Fort Novosel. In 1982, my mom started Ingrid's Jewelers in a small shop in Daleville. In 1987, my dad retired from the Army and had my mom's "Castle" built where Ingrid's Jewelers stands today on Daleville Avenue, which included an authentic German cafe. Unfortunately, the Covid outbreak forced us to downsize and eventually close the cafe in late 2021. It was around the same time my mom was diagnosed with dementia and early Alzheimer's disease and became a resident at a local memory care facility. I took over the business that same year. Today, with Georgia Flemming, a wife of a retired U.S. Navy officer, Kelly Sutterfield, a wife of a retired senior U.S. Army NCO, and my husband Michael, also a retired U.S. Army officer with 32 years of service, we commit ourselves to maintaining the guiding business principles, first established by my parents more than 40 years ago, of honesty, integrity and dedication. I'm very proud to be a second-generation woman-owned, family-owned, veteran-owned business.