Where are they now? Retirement is in the bag for Debra Fink

It’s been more than seven years since Debra Fink became Maricopa’s first municipal employee to retire. Her retirement to Sonoita with husband John has been everything she wanted it to be, “and more,” she says.

Three years ago, she and her sisters Vicki Mabery, who lives in Maricopa, and Gayle Maloney of Sonoita went into business together converting cowboy boots into bags, purses, totes and other items.

“If they don’t want to get rid of their boots, we can make something out of them that is like another heirloom,” she says. “We hand-make every one of our items.”

That started when their father passed away and the sisters wanted to do something to preserve his boots. They had seen a small article in a magazine featuring a conversion and thought they could do something similar.

They did, and the craft has become StageCoachBags.com.

The family venture and her retirement exploits are a far cry from her three years as the customer service manager for the city of Maricopa. That was during the boom years from 2004 to 2007.