Rev. Dr. Thomas Purchase
Dawnmarie is a native of Sarasota and is married to her college sweetheart Jerry Carsky, also a native of Sarasota. She grew up surrounded by agriculture including horses and cattle and was active in FFA throughout school.
Her work history has been diverse including management positions, customer service, software training, etc. She has worked in retail, construction, food industry, and the legal community.
Her parents brought her up to be independent and instilled a love of God and a belief that you are never too old to chase new dreams and set new goals. She has been a lifelong member of Bee Ridge Presbyterian and is active in the session, serves as clerk of session and treasurer as well as the current chair of the community relations committee (their mission/outreach team). Faith is very important to her and she has a heart for mission.
On the outside of her left ankle, she has a tattoo of a bee with the word courageous underneath it to represent one of her favorite verses from the Bible, Joshua 1:9. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” The tattoo also represents a commitment to her faith as well as a nod toward Bee Ridge Presbyterian.
If you were to get in her car, on the radio you might find country, pop, hip hop, big band, jazz, blues, rock, Christian, but most likely you’d find classical. Over the years she has been fortunate enough to attend a couple of the band concerts at Northminster Presbyterian and enjoyed them immensely.
She enjoys cooking, hiking, almost all animals, swimming, golfing, and has started to mountain bike and plans to do her first race in the fall of this year. She loves to laugh and to get others to laugh.
Dawnmarie is excited to find a home with Northminster Presbyterian.
Dawnmarie Carsky, office administrator
Edward L. Stiles Jr. is the Director of Music Ministry at Northminister Presbyterian Church. Prior to coming Sarasota, Mr. Stiles was a music educator in Ohio for 31 years, where he taught Band, Choir, at the middle school and high school levels in the Maplewood School System for 7 years and the remaining 24 years were spent at his alumni school of Struthers City Schools. Ed received his Bachelors degree from Youngtown State University, and his Master’s Degree from The Vander Cook School of Music in Chicago, Ill.
While in Ohio, Ed was one of the founding members of Lifeline, a youth ministry, then performed with the Lost Then Found a street and prison ministry, and also directed the First Covenant Church choir. Since retiring to Sarasota with his wife Sandra, he is the Music Director at ODA Siesta Key Campus for the 4th and 5th grade students, he has performed with the Venice Concert Band, the Manatee Concert Band, and is a member of the Sun Coast Concert Band, the Jazz Ambassadors and the Sarasota Pops Orchestra.
Ed Stiles, Minister of Music
Gail Ofterdinger-Ledgister, Accompianist
Gail Ofterdinger-Ledgister was born in a suburb of Philadelphia where she began piano lessons at age 8. She was playing in the school band and accompanying the choirs by 6th grade. She attended Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ and the Philadelphia Musical Academy (now the University of the Arts) and graduated with a Bachelor of Music in piano performance. Graduate school took her to Temple University and she earned her Master of Music in music history. Additional graduate work in harpsichord at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music was followed by completion of the coursework for a PhD in historical musicology from Rutgers University.
Gail taught in colleges for 10 years and met her first organ teacher in one of these classes. She began substituting in churches in the late 1970's and took her first permanent organist post in 1982. She has been a piano instructor for 45 years and a church musician for 38 years.
She, her husband, Fragano, and their feline, Marjorie, chose Sarasota for their retirement years because of the sun and the rich cultural opportunities. Gail is elated to be serving as your organist/pianist.